In surprising news, the forever-developing CG-animated Popeye film has just lost its director. Animation guru Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania) had been devloping the Popeye film for awhile and even dropped some well-received test footage last year, but now he tells Moviefone he's no longer involved and moving on to his first original project, Can You Imagine?, which takes audiences on a fantastic journey through the imagination of a young boy. There's a chance the Popeye film moves on from Sony Pictures Animation and to another studio. Or it may just be dead and in desperate need of spinach.
In more positive news, Joe Carnahan (The Grey) is set to revive the long-in-the-works action flick, Motorcade. The film, which was penned by Billy Ray, has the President's motorcade attacked by terrorists in Los Angeles. Tom Cruise and Ryan Reynolds have been attached for the lead role at various stages, but right now there's no cast. [Variety]
Yet another Stephen King story is headed to the big screen, and Mama director Andy Muschietti will direct it. He'll take the helm for an adaptation of King's 1981 short, The Jaunt, which "takes place in the 24th century, as a father explains the ground rules for 'Jaunting,' a form of teleportation the family will be using shortly to go to Mars. The key is that travelers must be under anesthesia for the short journey, or terrible things happen to the mind of those being jaunted around the solar system. Time stands still and one’s brain implodes with too much time to think in an absence of external stimulation. Bad things happen." [Deadline]
It's been eight years since Gael Garcia Bernal's directorial debut, Deficit, and now he's finally ready for his sophomore effort. Screen Daily says he'll next direct Chicuarotes, which Bernal calls a dark comedy that will "follow a group of kids — around 14, 15 years old — who live by the lake. They’re economically poor but not miserable or unhappy, basically living in paradise," Filming is expected to begin in early 2016.
