the industry

Spielberg Falls for Sexy ‘Anime’ Robot

Getty Images, Courtesy of Bandai Visual Company


DW Seeing Ghosts: A 3-D live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell is in the works, and no less than Steven Spielberg himself spoke out to “enthusiastically welcome” the Japanese property to DreamWorks. The original otaku manga has already inspired three animated movies, three video games, a TV series, and millions dirty, geeky fantasies. [Variety]

Demi Wants Moore: Demi Moore has booked back-to-back roles in indie movies. She joins Woody Harrelson and Josh Hartnett in Bunraku, a martial-arts salmagundi of visual awesomeness. Moore will also star in the family drama Happy Tears with some indie newcomer named Parker Posey. [HR]

Lifetime Plays Its Trump: Lifetime has turned to Donald Trump to executive-produce a new scripted series. “Think Desperate Housewives in Trump Tower with The Donald narrating, and you get the idea of what we’re after,” said Lifetime. Think “uninspired programming” that “no one will watch” and you get the idea of how we’re feeling. [HR]

Arrested Development Reunion! Sort of: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler will voice parts in Mitch Hurwitz’s upcoming animated pilot for Fox, Sit Down, Shut up. Series centers on teachers at a high school who are preoccupied with their lives and ignore the students. Obviously, Fox is vying for a slice of that lucrative high-school-teacher demographic. [HR]

Feldman Opens Can: Ben Feldman has joined the cast of CBS’ Can Openers, a drama pilot about neurosurgeon residents. Feldman appears in the upcoming Friday the 13th movie, giving him some much-needed experience with brains, bones, and blood. We also heard he was in Cloverfield, but we had our eyes closed for most of it so who knows. [HR]

Hunting Nazis: The unfortunately named Breaking Ball Films has picked up the rights to William Diehl’s spy novel, 27 (a.k.a. The Hunt). Story follows an American ex-bootlegger in the thirties who must stop a Nazi plan to kidnap businessmen in exchange for President Roosevelt’s promise to stay out of World War II. Sheesh! They got the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, now this — what crazy scheme will the Nazis think up next?! [Variety]

Spielberg Falls for Sexy ‘Anime’ Robot