Variety reports that Anthony LaPaglia is producing a new comedy for the Fox network, with a literally infernal theme: Fox project “Damnation” is a half-hour about a recently deceased young man who believes he’s wrongly been sent to hell. He makes a deal with the devil and ends up working to recruit souls to the underworld. Canadian playwright Morris Panych is writing the script. Timothy Busfield (“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”), who brought the project to Last Straw, will... Read more

There are any number of ways to spin the box-office success of Bon Cop, Bad Cop, as today’s Toronto Star demonstrates: On the face of it, the numbers tell the story. Bon Cop, Bad Cop has taken in $11.3 million. That piggy movie of yesteryear took in $11.2 million. Declaring victory, Vivafilm, the Montreal distribution arm of Alliance Atlantis, has issued its own feel-good statement: “The goal was to be the first completely bilingual production to entertain audiences from coast... Read more

Jerome Joseph Gentes at Sightings has an interesting sidebar on Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center: Throughout the movie, various scenes establish a profound, almost psychic connection between spouses; one spouse remembers a shared experience, while the other seems to be simultaneously recalling it from his or her own perspective. That McLoughlin would “see” his wife, played by actress Maria Bello, is, under the circumstances, understandable. What gives pause is the fact that she is shown wearing the same shirt she... Read more

Reuters reports that a mysterious Atlanta-based company called Ezekiel 22 is going to pay at least $3.8 million for the rights to a true story about three Mexican fisherman who drifted for nine months across the Pacific Ocean — surviving on raw fish and sea birds, and sometimes even drinking their own urine. Silverio Aspericueta, a government official described as “part of a team of federal, state and municipal officials who led the negotiations on the fishermen’s behalf,” said Ezekiel... Read more

Today, Terry Mattingly at GetReligion.org asked the terrifying question of “whether we are about to witness the birth of what can only be called the Contemporary Christian Movie industry.” And right on cue, Variety critic Joe Leydon posted reviews of three new films — and, perhaps surprisingly, the news isn’t all bad. First, the inaugural FoxFaith movie Love’s Abiding Joy: The debut theatrical release from FoxFaith, Fox’s newly formed subsidiary dedicated to Christian-themed pics, is a repurposed made-for-TV drama likely... Read more

Just a few quickies this time. 1. Production Weekly reports that John Leguizamo may be starring in a thriller called The Ministers, to be shot this winter: Penned by Reyes’ the script centers on a female NYPD detective, whose father was murdered in the line of duty 13 years ago. The only evidence left behind at the scene of the crime was a pamphlet from a mysterious religious group known only as “The Ministers.” When she learns the group has... Read more

Variety reports that Bon Cop, Bad Cop has passed Porky’s (1982) to become the top-grossing Canadian film within Canada, ever: Alliance Atlantis also announced Tuesday that Montreal-made bilingual action-comedy “Bon Cop Bad Cop” has passed “Porky’s” to become the top-grossing local film ever in Canada. “Bon Cop” has grossed $10.2 million since its launch Aug. 3, with ticket sales of $8.1 million from its French version and $2.1 million from its English version. “Porky’s,” which was released in 1981, grossed... Read more

It’s bad enough so many video companies use bilingual packaging of their own free will — or at least, I’ve always assumed it was of their own free will. Now, the Canadian Press reports that dark, sinister forces are trying to enshrine this practice in law: The Quebec agency that enforces the province’s language law is investigating whether the packaging on some DVDs violates the Charter of the French Language. Steve Gagne, a Quebec City resident, filed a complaint with... Read more

Between Evan Almighty, the upcoming More Silly Symphonies two-disc set, Jim Hill’s post today on Disney’s penchant for recycling its ideas, and a couple other things, I had Noah’s Ark and the Disney cartoons thereof on the brain today. So, here are a few quick comments on Father Noah’s Ark (1933), a classic short available on the original Silly Symphonies two-disc set, and the Noah’s Ark sequence starring Donald Duck, from Fantasia 2000 (1999); for now, I’m skipping Noah’s Ark... Read more

Two weeks ago, The New York Times made a passing reference to the fact that the production budget for the Steve Carell vehicle Evan Almighty has ballooned to $175 million. Today, the Los Angeles Times bases an entire story on this fact — looking at how expensive it can be to depict a biblical-style flood and a Noah-like effort to save hundreds of animals, etc., etc. — and adds that the costs could increase to $250 million in total once... Read more