io9 – Apparently, pre-release fears about GI Joe being too America-centric were way off the mark; two weeks after its release, it’s still the #1 movie internationally, even as it tumbles down the US charts.

Variety reports the somewhat surprising news that Joe had grossed $91.6 million internationally by this time last week, almost matching the movie’s US take of $98.6 million, something which, according to studio Paramount, is definitely a strong enough base from which to launch a franchise. Think about that next time someone complains about US cultural imperialism.

Variety – The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are making their way back to the bigscreen.

The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic crime fighters. Project, targeted for release in 2011, would mark the fifth bigscreen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter.

Hollywood Reporter – Universal has quietly entered into negotiations with Glen A. Larson to write and produce a big-screen version of the property he created.

“Battlestar,” which originally aired on ABC in 1978, was produced in the wake of the success of “Star Wars,” which caused a sci-fi revival in popular culture. The premise involved a human civilization living on a series of 12 planets that are decimated from an attack by intelligent robots known as Cylons. The survivors are led by a starship called Galactica in their attempt to find a mythic 13th planet named Earth.

The Sci Fi series, under the direction of executive producer Ronald Moore, took the premise and ran with it, incorporating the politics of war, religion, torture and destiny, becoming the channel’s signature series.

The movie effort would have no connection to the series and would relaunch the story in a new medium. However, staples such as the characters Adama, Starbuck, and Baltar will remain.

Larson was one of the biggest names in 1970s and ’80s TV and creator of shows like “Switch” and “Magnum P.I.”

Universal had no comment.

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Why do we still celebrate the movie Groundhog Day, 16 years after it was first released?

Den of Geek.com – Each February 2nd I perform a small ritual, and this one was no exception. I wake an hour earlier than usual, at 6am to be precise, and using my bedside clock radio I scan the radio airwaves. It doesn’t usually take long to find a station playing the 1965 hit I Got You, Babe by Sonny & Cher. That’s entirely appropriate, as it is Groundhog Day…

Such is the influence of what seems a relatively minor comedy film when it opened in 1993, the last in a chain of movies that had brought Billy Murray and Harold Ramis from Caddyshack, to Stripes and Ghostbusters (I & II) before this apparently low budget affair.

I’m sure reviewers at the time might have also pointed out that the theme of redemption is one that Murray himself explored five years earlier with Scrooged, and in this respect, audiences had already seen him being bad and then learning the error of his ways. Yet, there is something magical about this movie which gets right under the skin, in a way that Scrooged, for all its schmaltz and witty dialogue, can’t quite equal. Perhaps it’s the strength of the concept, or the deft execution, or the characters performances, but whatever happened on February 2nd, it’s stuck in our unconscious collective to be repeated endlessly.

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Troubled singer AMY WINEHOUSE could soon be trading the recording studio for Hollywood – she’s been offered a part in a new movie, according to reports.
The Back to Black hitmaker has been sent a script by bosses at Universal Pictures who are interested in signing Winehouse up to play a music teacher in a problem school.
But she’ll only land the part if she can stay away from drugs, reports Britain’s The Sun newspaper.
A source tells the publication, “The movie is a bit like Michelle Pfeiffer’s film Dangerous Minds. Playing a music teacher will allow Amy to use her singing skills. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is being talked about as her co-star.
“She has been offered an acting coach called Matt Ryan from the Royal Academy of Music Theatre Department in London.
“But she needs to improve her health and state of mind, or the opportunity will be withdrawn. You can’t have a teacher looking like a scrawny crack addict. It’s hoped the offer will be an incentive for her.”

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