The studio is the second to pass. Universal was previously involved but pulled the plug just before going into production. In light of this, Javier Bardem left the project leaving producers with the task of finding some other guy to sling guns in that thing. (THR)

The Academy wasted no time in announcing a replacement this week after Ratner stepped down when the media caught wind of his recent controversial statements. However, the choice seems suspect. Grazer did after all produce Tower Heist, the film that’s receiving heavy promotion from the Academy Awards. However, I’d recommend moving away from Tower Heist as it’s clearly cursed. It opened poorly at the box office. Brett Ratner was outed as a douche who masturbates while eating finger foods, star Eddie Murphy stepped down as Oscars host, and Courthouse Guard actor Heavy D collapsed and died this week. Did Tower Heist run over a gypsy out by the fairgrounds?

I find it ironic that Ratner was dismissed after stating, “Rehearsal is for fags,” yet Grazer experienced a similar (if not more harsh) backlash when his film The Dilemma stated that “electric cars are gay.” You can’t tell me that there are no electric cars in The Academy. (Deadline)

“We had to pull back to our September start date due to budget delays and ongoing story development and logistical issues, but Dark Tower is moving forward. We’re thinking of starting in early spring now. I can’t really say who’ll be in it yet, but Javier Bardem has shown a great deal of interest. We’ll know by the end of the summer, when our flashing green light goes solid.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa!! Whoa!!! Wait one exact minute. Brian Grazer said that Bardem was “locked in psychologically.” Are we now to believe that obtuse phrase means nothing? That’s the last time I trust an adult dressed as Bart Simpson.

Above is the new trailer for Jon Favreau‘s Cowboys & Aliens, starring Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and Harrison Ford. I like this new trailer. It’s got thrills, chills, cowpokes, alien folks. It gives you just enough to understand the complex, gun-based relationship between cattle rustlers and space invaders.

Based on a graphic novel – because of course it was – by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the film takes place in 1873, in the desert town of Absolution. Those old west towns have the friendliest names. A criminal with no memory of his past (Craig) must team up with the town sheriff (Ford) to stop aliens from destroying everyone. Olivia Wilde plays a girl character. It has a couple producers you probably haven’t heard of, like Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg.

The shoot-out comes to theaters July 29, 2011.

Turns out, he was telling the truth!

Super-producer Brian Grazer confirmed via Twitter that the ‘24‘ movie will hit theaters in 2012. His next tweet confirmed that a bird had just accidentally impaled itself on his hair. He really should wear a red bandanna or something to prevent that from happening constantly.

Bardem is in final talks to join the adaptation of the 7-book series, which will include three movies and two TV mini-series. Okay, but will there also be a web series and a couple Nintendo 3DS games? Rumors say this will be Bardem’s biggest payday ever, but with all the work ahead of him if he accepts, that’s hardly a surprise. Anything less than his biggest payday ever would be a serious bargain.

Ron Howard will direct the first movie this September with a script by Akiva Goldsman. They’re also both working on the first TV show episode. (Deadline)

The script will be penned by Dave Andron, who has most recently written episodes of”Justified,” and Marc Forster, who has largely stayed on the more cerebral side of cinema with Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, and The Kite Runner, is a candidate to direct.

Don’t go thinking this one is going too heavy on the “thinking” angle, though. Brian Grazer‘s Imagine Entertainment is planning on pimping out this actioner. HARD. Video games, TV shows, graphic novels, and (shudder) “interactive content for hand held and mobile devices.” So you will be able to enjoy elements of The Runner while stuck at the DMV. What a time to be alive. (Deadline)

“Javier Bardem, that’s what we’re hoping. We’re in the process of trying to put that together,” Grazer said, “We’re really just focused on Javier right now… He really wants to do it, so we’re absolutely rooting for him to do it.”

Why would Bardem have trepidations? He’s been known to drop out of larger fare tent-poles in the past and Howard’s take on The Dark Tower is one of the most ambitious projects out there. Whoever signs on for the lead role will have to commit to three movies and two television mini-series to bridge the gaps between films. That’s a long time to go without playing tortured artist types who women believe they can change. Hopefully he’ll be able to squeeze in a Natalie Portman film or two during downtime. (MTV)

Universal picked Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) to direct a new ‘one-of-these-guys-is-not-like-the-others’ story. This one’s called The Knife, and it’s about a South Central “gangbanger,” as my dad calls them, who agrees to go undercover for the FBI. He snitches so heartily, he ends up putting his life in serious danger. It’s based on a true story from a GQ article published in 2008, so at the very least, I expect the gang members to be stylishly dressed and quite handsome.

Brian Grazer is producing and Vineet Dewan is writing the script. Oh, and if you tell anyone about this, I will slice your throat, holmes. Ya feel me? (Deadline)

Brian Grazer and his weird hair will be serving as executive producer along with Francie Calfo and Chad Hodge, who also wrote the pilot. What started off sounding like a disposable Friday or Saturday-night drama has been given a dash of legitimacy by Heard’s interest, which could expand the audience base to from just nostalgic perverts to nostalgic perverts AND horny teenagers. Way to go, NBC marketing!

Heard has recently made a name for herself, having wrapped on John Carpenter‘s The Ward and Nicholas Cage‘s Drive Angry 3D, so this move could prove beneficial for both the show and the actress in expanding their appeal. That said, the fact that this concept isn’t going to be airing on pay cable makes me so mad that I want to chuck my laptop out the window. (Variety)

Ron Howard might be biting off more than he can chew. The best ginger director working in the business today is teaming up with screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to adapt Stephen King’s beloved novel series The Dark Tower into a feature film and television series. He’s going to direct everything himself, battle all the haters who say it can’t be done, and stave off a nervous breakdown in the process. Ronnie, you be crazy! Deadline has the deets:

The plan is to start with the feature film, and then create a bridge to the second feature with a season of TV episodes. That means the feature cast—and the big star who’ll play Deschain—also has to appear in the TV series before returning to the second film. After that sequel is done, the TV series picks up again, this time focusing on Deschain as a young gunslinger. Those storylines will be informed by a prequel comic book series that King was heavily involved in plotting. The third film would pick up the mature Deshain as he completes his journey. They will benefit from being able to use the same sets cast and crew for the movie and TV, which could help contain costs on what will be a financially ambitious undertaking.

Peter Jackson is sh*tting in his britches right now. I remember when his back-to-back-to-back Lord of the Rings Trilogy was an unprecedented cinematic feat. If Howard’s plan comes together it’ll put the whole thing to shame. Thanks Jackson, but we don’t need your contributions to film anymore. Ronnie’s got the medium on lockdown. 

After letting Tower Heist sit on the shelf for almost four years, Universal has given it the green light with Ben Stiller starring, Brett Ratner directing, and Imagine’s Brian Grazer producing. Because if anyone can make a project work that hasn’t been working, it’s the mastermind behind X-Men 3. Deadline has the deets:

Ben Stiller stars as the overworked manager of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.

Bumbling, inept idiots try to pull off a major heist. Have we not seen this concept countless times already? And not that I have anything against Stiller, but I don’t understand why he’d want to play this type of character again. He’s already been a bumbling security guard twice in the Night at the Museum movies, and a bumbling (insert occupation) in almost everything else. Now he’s relying on Ratner to save a stale concept. Unless that concept is a cupcake, I’m not seeing him succeeding.

Having grown bored with dominating the fields of movie-making and silly hair-having, Imagine Entertainment brohams Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are pulling a Michael Bay. The pair have created an action-oriented reality thriller for TNT that challenges contestants to escape from movie-inspired scenarios. From THR:

In "The Great Escape," ordinary people are put in cinema-inspired settings, challenging them to find a way out using everyday ingenuity. Each week, teams are dropped off blindfolded in a different extreme environment — lost in the desert, trapped in the mountains, locked in a prison, marooned on an island.

This sounds like a fun and fresh premise. There’s so many classic films that can be channeled for the program. Contestants could spend a terrifying night at Camp Crystal Lake, or get your teeth drilled by a nazi dentist. Or worse yet, they could be forced to raise an illegitimate child with Katherine Heigl.

Twilight hunkA hunkA hunkA Taylor Lautner is going to be Stretch Armstrong in Universal’s latest attempt to turn every board game into a 3D movie. You don’t care about this news, I don’t care about this news, but I still find the above picture amusing. 

This thing also (kinda) has a plot. Taylor would play Armstrong "an uptight spy who stumbles across a stretching formula, which he takes and must now adjust to in everyday life and when fighting crime.” Where I come from that’s called an erection. And believe me, it takes more than 90 minutes to adjust to it.

Steve Oedekerk wrote the screenplay and crazy-haired Brian Grazer is producing. No director is on board yet, but the economy is making a slow comeback so it may take a little longer to find one. Unless Shawn Levy is an avid fan of Screen Junkies and is fervently dialing his agent at the same time he’s finishing this post. (THR)