reported by Troy Williams, CyberScreenwriter.com

Juan Carlos Vargas (special effects wizard on the hit film "300" and "Fantastic Four") directs an up and coming talented ensemble cast in a production of stellar scope.

The Spotlight film began principal photography May 11, 2007 under the direction of Juan Carlos Vargas, writer and director, jointly announced by John Azpilicueta, Executive Producer, of JAGQA Productions and Warren Duenas, Producer, of O27 Entertainment. The production is due to wrap on August 12, 2007.

The film’s premise highlights illegal entertainment. Ten young actors audition for a reality show. A million dollar prize is in store if they can survive past three killers, and each other – all streaming live over the internet.

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reported by Troy Williams, CyberScreenwriter.com

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are in final negotiations to star in New Line Cinema's upcoming comedy "Four Christmases".

In the film, Vaughn and Witherspoon will play a couple who struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents' homes on Christmas day.

"Four Christmases" is based on a screenplay by Matt Allen and Caleb Wilson. It is being produced by Spyglass Entertainment's Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Jon Glickman. Vaughn and Witherspoon will also produce.

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reported by Jesse Desi, CyberScreenwriter.com

Incredible autumn viewing awaits movie lovers -- both indoors as the 29th edition of Aspen Filmfest raises its curtain, and outdoors as Mother Nature unveils her fall colors.

One of Colorado's premiere film festivals, Aspen Filmfest runs Sept. 26-30, showcasing some of this year's most anticipated national and international features and documentaries, as well as undiscovered gems. As always, filmmakers and attendees enjoy mingling in Aspen's spectacular Rocky Mountain setting.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

Film Independent has received a two-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to establish a new Sloan Producers Grant as part of the organization’s Producers Lab. The first grant recipient, who will be selected this Fall, will receive admission to Film Independent’s 2007 Producers Lab, a $25,000 development grant, and year-round support from Film Independent.

The grant is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which seeks to create and develop new scripts and films about science and technology and to see them into commercial production with national and international distribution. It has screenplay development programs with the Tribeca, Sundance and Hamptons Film Festivals, as well as other select independent partners and film schools.

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reported by Suzie Talbot, CyberScreenwriter.com

IFC and Comcast will host the IFC Free Film Fest, a state-of-the-art, multimedia independent film tour in Memphis from Tuesday, July 31 -- Thursday, August 2 at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum. Free to the public, the event begins at 6:00 PM each night. Three uncut indie films will be screened on a high-tech outdoor mini-entertainment complex beginning at dusk.

Memphis is the fourth stop on a ten-city tour, which kicked off in Philadelphia on July 10.

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reported by Emily Burke, CyberScreenwriter.com

Ace is back! Josh Flitter has landed the coveted role of the son of everyone's favorite pet detective in the new Morgan Creek comedy Ace Ventura 3, directed by David Mickey Evans, it was announced today by James G. Robinson, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Creek Productions.

Allrighty-then. After his African adventure in ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS, Ace returned to Florida, married girlfriend Melissa and became the doting father of a baby boy. Never one to sit still, Ace's curious nature took him on another remote case. The goofball gumshoe was never to be seen or heard from again.

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reported by Nicholas Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

USA Network has given a series pickup to its newest original action comedy, TO LOVE & DIE (working title), starring Shiri Appleby ("Six Degrees," "Roswell"), Frances Fisher ("Titanic," "Laws of Attraction") and Tim Matheson ("The West Wing," "Animal House"). The series also stars Kristin Dattilo ("Courting Alex") and Christine Adams ("Home Again"). Sara Goodman is the creator and executive producer along with Carla Kettner and JoAnn Alfano as executive producers and Andrew Singer as producer.

The project is from Lorne Michaels Broadway Video Television in association with Universal Media Studios. The series is slated to launch in 2008 with 12 episodes. The announcement was made by Jeff Wachtel, USA's executive vice president, original programming.

"To Love & Die has a high-concept character with a light tone and a slightly twisted soul at its core, which fits our brand perfectly," said Wachtel.

reported by Betty Paulsino, CyberScreenwriter.com

A budding young filmmaker appeals to strangers online to help fund a documentary on the subculture of marijuana in NYC.

What started off as a whim of a project to enter in a local film festival has blossomed into a legitimate full-length documentary with its eyes set on Sundance. 420:NYC is an intimate look into the subculture of marijuana smokers in New York City, told by both native and transplanted New Yorkers. Tied in with a bit of history and novelty, 420:NYC tells a very personal, positive, and honest story of this still somewhat taboo subject matter.

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reported by Jesse Desi, CyberScreenwriter.com

greenlightjobs, the media and entertainment industry's premier online recruitment source, announced that MTV Networks' West Coast Operation has joined its growing client base. MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. The company employs thousands of individuals across multiple disciplines and was named one of the 2006 best places to launch a career by BusinessWeek magazine.

As part of the agreement, MTV, Nickelodeon, Neopets and Atom Entertainment will leverage greenlightjobs' extensive, industry-specific recruiting services and post an unlimited number of job opportunities at http://www.spotlightjobs.com.

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reported by Jesse Desi, CyberScreenwriter.com

greenlightjobs, the media and entertainment industry's premier online recruitment source, announced that MTV Networks' West Coast Operation has joined its growing client base. MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. The company employs thousands of individuals across multiple disciplines and was named one of the 2006 best places to launch a career by BusinessWeek magazine.

As part of the agreement, MTV, Nickelodeon, Neopets and Atom Entertainment will leverage greenlightjobs' extensive, industry-specific recruiting services and post an unlimited number of job opportunities at http://www.spotlightjobs.com.

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reported by Bruce Tanner, CyberScreenwriter.com

Barcelona Homes, among other local businesses in the Catalan Capital city of Barcelona are excited by the presence of Hollywood to one of the most popular beach areas in Spain. Woody Allen and a star studded cast are in town for the filming of his next feature film titled Midnight in Barcelona.

A curious crowd of beach goers gathered behind a police patrolled fence in the city's beach district of Barceloneta late yesterday afternoon hoping to catch a glimpse of the acclaimed director and film maker and his A-list cast working with him on the project.

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reported by Dawn Cassidy, CyberScreenwriter.com

Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, and the Independent Film Channel (IFC), the first and largest network dedicated to independent film, announced the creation of a short film contest inspired by the video game Assassin’s Creed™ due out in November.

Beginning today, film students, video game fans and media arts aficionados are encouraged to submit their short film of six-minutes or less, based on Assassin’s Creed themes for judging via IFC’s Media Lab (http://medialab.ifc.com), a ground-breaking, integrated program which offers filmmakers a destination for posting their independent films online. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000, an Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, an Xbox 360 version of Assassin’s Creed and inclusion of their short film inside the Limited Edition version of the game. The winning film will also be aired on the IFC television network in November to coincide with the launch of the game.

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reported by Nicholas Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

Internet Video Magazine is offering a free guide that makes it easy for families, video amateurs and kids to create their own summer vacation movies and share it on the net.

"Most people shoot video of their vacation and it does not go anywhere, the tapes just sit on a shelf and no one ever gets to see them," said Mark Shapiro, Editor in Chief at Internet Video Magazine. "Nowadays, transferring and editing video is easy - putting it up on a free video sharing site like YouTube, MySpace or Divx Stage6 is simple and safe. Families have no excuse to not share their vacations with the relatives."

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reported by Troy Williams, CyberScreenwriter.com

Bringing 30-foot-tall robots to life in this summer's blockbuster film "Transformers" incorporated some of the most complex modeling and animation ever attempted at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). The experts behind the film will discuss their challenges and successes during a special session at SIGGRAPH 2007, the 34th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques held 5-9 August 2007 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, USA.

Since the film features 14 fully computer generated characters (some containing more than 10,000 individually controllable pieces of geometry), entirely new graphic systems had to be developed to make this not only feasible, but also production friendly - a challenge not to be underestimated. From oil filters and axles to pistons and body panels; each piece had to have the ability to be individually controlled while operating within a substantially complex system.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

Extremefilmmaker.com and Brazen Pictures announce the deadline of August 31 for the 2007 48 Hour Film Festival, screening in September at the prestigious Arclight Cinema in Hollywood, California.

The Extreme Filmmaker 48 Hour Film Festival was established to eliminate the usual excuses that prevent filmmakers from actually completing their films.

With no entry fees, little to no budgets and a time investment of a mere 48 hours from the start of the shoot to the delivery of the final edited product, the 48 Hour Film Festival has motivated literally hundreds of short films and jump-started the careers of dozens of talented filmmakers.

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reported by Samuel Grigsby, CyberScreenwriter.com

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard, whose "Apollo 13" remains one of the most popular and highly-regarded dramatizations of man's exploration of space, is partnering with THINKFilm to present the award-winning film, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, the definitive feature documentary about the Apollo space program and the first-ever landing on the moon. Howard's name, and the "Ron Howard Presents" credit will appear on all prints and in all paid advertising for the film, and Howard will participate in promotion of both the theatrical release and the DVD. THINKFilm will open IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON in exclusive engagements in New York and Los Angeles on September 7, 2007, with an aggressive national expansion planned throughout the month.

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