Category Archives: Entertainment

May 14 2012

Swamp People’s Mitchell Guist Dead Aftering Boating Fall

Some sad news to report today, Mitchell Guist, one of the stars of History channe’s popular Swamp People, died today after suffering a fall from his boat this morning in Intracoastal Waterway. He was taken to the hospital and passed away there. At this point, the cause of death is unknown.

I enjoy Swamp People, it’s a good show. Mitchell and his brother Glenn were both highlights of the show in my book, as both are both funny guys. On behalf of everyone at TVE, our thoughts and prayers are with Mitchell’s brother Glenn and all of his family and friends.

(via CinemaBlend.com)

May 8 2012

Quick Movie Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Starring: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, AnnaSophia Robb, Jordan Fry, Julia Winter, Philip Wiegratz
Director: Tim Burton
Writer(s): John August, Roald Dahl (book)
Studio: Warner Bros.
Runtime: 115 minutes
Released: July 10, 2005
Rated: PG for quirky situations, action and mild language
Official TVE Cinema Score: 

For the sake of being fair to this movie in this review, there’ll be no comparisons made between “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” or “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, because no one can play the role of Willy Wonka the way Gene Wilder did. With that said, Johnny Depp performed the role brilliantly, as he does pretty much every character.

Poor kid Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) finds the last of Willy Wonka’s (Johnny Depp) “Golden Tickets”. The tickets, of which there were five, allow for the five ticket founders and one guest, to follow Wonka around on a tour of his world famous chocolate factory, which no one had seen the inside of for many years.

Charlie joins the other kids; rich girl Veruca Salt (Julia Winter), the competitive girl Violet Biodegrade (AnnaSophia Robb), video game/television addict boy Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry) and the fat boy Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) in the tour of the factory. One by one, the kids do stupid stuff that breaks Willy Wonka’s rules, and they suffer the consequences; whether it be being sucked up a pipe, turned into a blueberry, being attacked by squirrels and thrown down the garbage shoot, or the standard being transported into the television and made extra small. Charlie doesn’t break any rules, and thus wins the grand prize.

The Oompa Loompa’s, or I should say Oompa Loompa since they’re all the same guy (Roy Deep) are absolutely hysterical. The songs in this film are very well done, and are often pretty funny, though mainly because of the music video style that it’s shown in. The performances are well done, even by the kids, though Augustus looks terribly CGI at times.

Johnny Depp excelled as Willy Wonka, and everyone else filled their role quiet nicely. Tim Burton took a classic and made a great adaptation of it, one that is visually wonderful. A fun film that the whole family can enjoy, it’s highly recommended.

Review originally written in 2008.

May 7 2012

Quick Movie Review: Pathfinder

Pathfinder
Starring: Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means, Clancy Brown, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Ralf Moeller
Director: Marcus Nispel
Writer(s): Laeta Kalogridis
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Runtime: 99 minutes
Released: April 13, 2007
Rated: R for strong brutal violence throughout.
Official TVE Cinema Score:

Besides the subpar acting, one thing stood out as the downfall of what could have and should have been a wonderful movie- the directing. So I wasn’t too surprised when I looked up Marcus Nispel on the Internet Movie Database and found that the only thing he’d ever directed was music videos; and boy does that show. Pathfinder is filled with cameras shaking and rapid angle changes, all edited together to leave you scratching your head wondering what the hell was the point of doing that. Nispel tried to make the film different and use a “style”, all he did was fail miserably, and the end result was movie not worth paying to see.

The plot is simple and yet still ridden with holes: Vikings come to North America, young Viking boy refuses to kill Native American child. With the Vikings gone, the young boy is left behind and raised by the Native American’s. The Vikings return to finish off the Indian’s, and Ghost is now a man with exceptional sword fighting skill (in spite of being raised by Native’s) and he is looking to stop his kind… by killing all of them. So much for being against killing.

Don’t expect to see “strong brutal violence throughout”, because due to the horrible directing and editing, you see very little of the action. And of course the parts you do see, you have no idea what the hell you’re looking at.

If you’re looking for a decent flick to watch, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding one to watch in place of this dreck. Avoid seeing this waste of time and money.

Review originally written in 2007.

May 7 2012

Stone Cold Steve Austin Inks Deal With CMT, Will Host Redneck Island

CMT has a new reality show coming out this June called “Redneck Island,” which will be hosted by former WWE Champion turned actor, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The elimination style show will take 12 “rednecks” out of the South and put them in a tropical paradise where they’ll compete for $100,000. The show will run for 10 episodes and will be paired with CMT’s other redneck show, My Big Redneck Vacation.

CMT’s deal with Austin will also see him produce future series for CMT through Austin’s company, Broken Skull Ranch Productions.

“Steve Austin is a true creative powerhouse, both in front of, and behind the camera, and we’re happy to be in business with him,” said Jayson Dinsmore, EVP, Programming and Development, CMT. “In our first project together, he’ll serve as host to the ultimate competition reality series on ‘Redneck Island,’ where he’ll oversee a cast of characters who attempt to survive hilarious and unpredictable challenges in unique redneck fashion.”

  “I am thrilled to join the CMT family and for the opportunity to work with them on future projects,” added Austin.  “I’m also excited to work with the great folks at 51 Minds Entertainment on REDNECK ISLAND.  If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to keep a bunch of rednecks in line.  And that’s the bottom line!”

I like Stone Cold, and have since his days as “Stunning” Steve Austin, but good lord. I’m from Alabama, that’s where TVE is “headquartered,” so why must every show featuring Southerners portray us as rednecks? We’re not all rednecks down here; most are normal. This show sounds horrible.

WWE needs to get Tough Enough going again stat, that way Austin will be involved with something worthwhile again.

May 7 2012

Quick Movie Review: Shooter

Shooter
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Danny Glover, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Rhona Mitra
Director: Antoine Faqua
Writer(s): Jonathan Lemkin, Stephen Hunter
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
Released: March 8, 2007
Rated: R
Official TVE Cinema Score:

A former marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) was living more of a solitary mountain life until he is visited by Colonel Isaac Johnson(Glover) who had received a threat on the President’s life. Reluctantly pressed back into service for his country, Swagger must figure out the assassin’s plan for attack and in which city it will occur.

Trouble for Swagger is, he’s the fall guy for a coup to kill a visiting dignitary and he must now uncover who is behind the elaborate plot. Chaos and action ensue as Swagger always seems to stay one step ahead of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Wahlberg really steals the show in this one. I never thought he was that good of an actor (probably because I never took him seriously), but he really did a great job in this role, while Glover also gave a solid performance. Very good movie, give it a watch, or you could just add it to your collection and give it multiple watches.

Review originally written in 2008.

May 6 2012

Quick Movie Review: K-PAX

K-PAX
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges
Director: Iain Softley
Writer(s): Charles Leavitt
Studio: Universal
Runtime: 2 hrs. 1 min.
Released: October 26, 2001
Rated: PG-13
Official TVE Cinema Score:

Kevin Spacey shows why he is the man in this adaptation of the 1995 book by Charles Brewer. Spacey stars in this drama as Prot, a mental institution patient who claims to be a visitor from the planet K-Pax. Prot falls under the care of Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges), who immediately dismisses “Prot” as delusional. Throughout the course of the movie, several “miracles” happen around the mental hospital, as Prot’s presence seems to calm everyone.

Dr. Powell becomes intrigued by his latest patient, and begins to wonder that maybe Prot is who he claims to be; after Prot reveals something at an observatory, and is shown to have the ability to see ultraviolet light. The doctor sets out on an investigation to find out anything he can on “Prot”. But time is ticking on his investigation, as Prot claims to be leaving Earth and returning home on a given date. Dr. Powell worries about the outcome of such a claim.

The doctor reveals several interesting facts about the man known as “Prot”, and seems to have all the answers. That is until the surprise ending, that will leave many confused if they don’t pay attention to the WHOLE movie.

Several small details keep this movie from begin considered “Classic Status”, but those are hardly worth mentioning. Kevin Spacey is at his best in this movie though, and Jeff Bridges is wonderful as Dr. Powell as well. The movie is wrapped in a feel-good story, and a nice moral to go along with it all. And while no-where close to being considered a comedy, it is after all a scifi-ish drama, the movie is littered with little stuff that will have you cracking up; which only serves to make the movie even better.

If you haven’t seen the movie, then it is absolutely worth a rent. If you care enough about what I think, then you should skip the rent and go straight out and add this DVD to your collection, at the first possible chance you get. It does not disappoint.

Review originally written in 2006.

May 5 2012

Quick Movie Review: Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down
Starring: Tom Sizemore, Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Sam Shepard, William Fichtner
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan, Steven Zailian
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Runtime: 144 Minutes
Released: January 18, 2002
Rated: R
Official TVE Cinema Score:

Black Hawk Down is exactly what a historical war movie should be; dirty, intense, graphic, and realistic violence. No BS to try and push one or two characters as the main story, and no romanticizing the facts to make a more “Hollywood friendly movie”.

There are no main characters in this film. Some guys may be shown more than others, but this movie focuses on the reality of what the REAL soldiers went through during the ACTUAL battle of Mogadishu. Get the Ultimate Edition, 3-Disc DVD set and it comes with The True Story of Black Hawk Down documentary that features interviews with the real soldiers who were portrayed in the movie, as well as timelines for the actual event. Watch that, and you will understand how true to the war Ridley Scott kept this film, which was perfectly adapted from Mark Bowden’s novel/Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper series in 1997.

Easily one of the best and most accurate war movies ever made, Black Hawk Down features career best performances from some cast members, as well as some realistic effects. A great job of showing the pure hell some 100 US soldiers went through in what was suppose to be a thirty minute mission. It’s 100 soldiers versus a very angry, very hostile, and very armed city.

A must see film.

May 5 2012

Miniseries DVD Review: Tin Man

Tin Man
Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough, Kathleen Robertson, Raoul Trujillo, Richard Dreyfuss
Director: Nick Willing
Writer(s): Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle
Studio: Imagiquest Entertainment, SyFy Pictures Original
Runtime: Approximately 5 Hours
Released: March 11, 2008 (DVD)
Rated: Not Rated
Official TVE Cinema Score:

For starters, this review is not based whatsoever on the original The Wizard of Oz. As a matter of face, I haven’t seen the The Wizard of Oz in a number of years, nor did I enjoy it the last time I did see it (though I liked it as a kid). So just go ahead now and wipe your opinions of The Wizard of Oz from your mind, as Tin Man is being reviewed as its own story having nothing to do with old Judy Garland movie. Got it? Good.

The epic miniseries from the Sci-Fi Channel took Oz to a new level, a modernized and science fiction level attended for teens and adults. When you factor in commercial breaks, this three night event clocked in at six hours, making its actual length somewhere between 4 or 5 hours. That may seem tedious, but if not for the commercial breaks, it actually flies by pretty fast. That’s because it is a nice fantasy adventure where you can easily get wrapped up in the story and the characters (assuming you don’t view it as a bastardized version of The Wizard of Oz).

The miniseries stars the always cute and talented Zooey Deschanel (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Elf, The New Guy) as the curious and adventurous DG, who is brought into The Outer Zone (O.Z.) from the Other Side via a tornado (travel storm). DG quickly picks up a few allies along the way as she begins her journey to unlocking her past and her destiny. Joining her on her path is Glitch (Alan Cumming; X-Men, Son of the Mask, Goldeneye), the brainless former adviser to the Queen, Raw (Raoul Trujillo; Apocalypto, The New World), the courage-less Viewer, and the Tin Man, Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough; Flags of Our Fathers, The Hitcher), the heartless ex-Tin Man on the Mystic Man’s protection squad.

All four have an ax to grind with Azkadellia the Sorceress (Kathleen Robertson; Hollywoodland, XX/YY, Scary Movie 2), the evil witch who rules over the O.Z., and her band of Longcoats (police/army). But in order to get on their way, they have to swing by Central City and speak with the Mystic Man (Richard Dreyfuss; JAWS, Mr. Hollands Opus, Poseidon), a drugged out “wizard”. Together, and at times separated, they make the long and difficult journey to the final showdown with Azkadellia, in a last ditch effort to save the O.Z. form the evil of the Witch and permanent darkness. They even pick up a shape-shifting Toto/Tutor (Blu Mankuma; Eureka, Look Who’s Talking, Stargate SG-1) along the way.

There are twist and turns throughout the film, a few of which are very important and really help make the show, so I’ll won’t spoil any of them.

Going into the miniseries, having seen the previews, I wasn’t really expecting a whole lot. Leaving all thoughts of The Wizard of Oz behind though, I was thoroughly impressed… especially for a Sci-Fi Channel original miniseries.

I am a big fan of Zooey Deschanel, and she preformed her role as DG exceptionally well, all cute and innocent looking yet witty and brave at the same time. The rest of the actors all did great, with standouts being Alan Cumming’s Glitch, Neal McDonough’s Wyatt Cain and Kathleen Robertson’s Azkadellia (the sexist witch EVER). Richard Dreyfuss’ brief time in the show was also well done and at times, funny.

If you’re looking for a great fantasy adventure, that’s funny yet very dark, then Tin Man is for you. An imaginative, well thought out miniseries based (loosely) on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book by L. Frank Baum. All around a great, captivating, story.

Review originally written in 2008.

May 4 2012

Quick Movie Review: Eastern Promises

Eastern Promises
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer(s): Steve Knight
Studio: Focus Features
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes
Rated: R
Release Date: September 8, 2007
Official TVE Cinema Score:

After a mysterious girl dies giving birth in a London hospital, Anna Khitrova (Watts) discovers the girl’s diary and tries to use it to find the newborn baby’s relatives. Naturally, it is written in Russian so Anna cannot understand it, but her uncle can, and despite his warnings to stay away, she goes off to seek answers at the Trans-Siberian restaurant that is the front of a violet crime family headed by a man named Semyon (Mueller-Stahl). Semyon’s driver Nikolai (Mortensen) takes a liking to Anna, and his allegiances are tested when Anna keeps nosing around to find out what happened to this girl at the hospital and who the father of the baby is.

That’s a very short summary of this movie. And looking at that, one would think you would get, at the least, a fairly decent, gritty crime drama packed with some good action. One would be wrong.

What you do get is a movie that is too busy for it’s hour and 40-minute time frame. And despite it being a busy movie, it somehow manages to be boring at the same time. I can only recall one really good fight scene, but that was in a bathhouse, which resulted in Viggo Mortensen fighting naked.

How this movie got great reviews from so many big time, mainstream film critics is beyond me, but then again, there are countless movies that I don’t understand why Roger Ebert and his cohorts give the praise they do, but perhaps they enjoy the sight of Mortensen’s ass in the bathhouse. I cannot and will not recommend this movie to anyone. I watched it with my dad and a friend and they were bored to death as well. If you want a good action flick with Viggo Mortensen in it, go watch A History of Violence, it’s a far better film. This, this is just gibberish. It sounds like English, but I can’t understand what it’s saying. Stay away.

Review originally written in 2009.

May 3 2012

New Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Hits the Web

A new third official trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man has landed, and it’s pretty sweet. I enjoyed ALL of the previous three films (yes, all of them), and have cared for comic books, so I was a little bummed when word came out that the franchise was being rebooted with new actors.

These trailers though have changed those feelings, and now I’m quite looking forward to the release of this film.

The Amazing Spider-Man hits theaters on July 3rd.

May 3 2012

Quick Movie Review: King Arthur

King Arthur
Starring: Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, Keira Knightley, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Gruffudd
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer(s): David Franzoni
Studio: Touchstone
Runtime: 2 hrs. 10 min.
Released: July 7, 2004
Rated: PG-13
Official TVE Cinema Score:

Bob Longino of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution referred to this film as “…a really, really cheap knockoff of Gladiator.” I’m not usually one to agree with professional critics, but this is one of the exceptions to that rule, as this movie did have me thinking, “Damn, this is almost like Gladiator, only not as good.”

The story centers around Arthur, who spends a whole five minutes (if that) in this movie as King Arthur, and his Knights of the Round Table, stationed in the British Isles. Arthur is actually a knight, as this was during his final pre-King days, and he and his men are about to be freed from their duty to the Roman Empire. However, on the day they are to be granted said freedom, they are dispatched on one final mission, to save a boy who may become the next Pope. This is due to the Romans leaving the British Isles, and the boy and his family are in danger of being killed by the Saxons.

During this mission, Arthur saves a lovely young woman by the name of Guinevere (Knightley) from a dungeon. This incarnation of Guinevere is more bad-ass than queenly, but, as expected, she’s hot nonetheless.

This movie takes a different approach on the myth of King Arthur and his Knights than what most of us learned about growing up. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the story had me struggling to stay involved. Were it not for the ability of the actors to do their job (and for Keira to look as splendid as always), I likely would’ve left the room about halfway through. For that, this movie gets two stars. Don’t make this film a priority, there are much more entertaining movies for your viewing pleasure.

Review originally written in 2005.

May 3 2012

Quick Movie Review: Sin City

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Marley Shelton, Bruce Willis, Jaime King, Jessica Alba, Maria Bello, Kate Bosworth, Jason Douglas, Carla Gugino, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, Nick Stahl, Makenzie Vega, Katherine Willis, Elijah Wood, Benecio del Toro, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Michael Clarke Duncan
Director (s): Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Writer (s): Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Studio: Dimension Films
Runtime: 124 minutes
Rated: R
Official TVE Cinema Score:

I won’t lie, this is going to be a hard movie for me to review. Not just because it has been awhile since I last watched it, but also just because the way the movie is done. What we have here in Sin City, are three different stories surrounding three different main characters. One story is that of Hartigan (Bruce Willis), probably the only non-corrupted cop in the whole city, as he tries to protect Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba).

Another story we have is perhaps the best of the whole movie, and that’s the story of Marv (Mickey Rourke). Marv is a complete badass, complete with a disgusting face. He’s a killer that has never had anyone be nice to him before, until he hooks up with Goldie (Jamie King) and becomes a changed man. Well changed in the fact that while sleeping with Goldie for the first time, she’s murdered. Now Marv doesn’t just want to kill people, he wants to kill the right people, he wants to take out the bad guys. And yes, heads will roll.

The last story is that of Dwight (Clive Owen), and while I’ve seen folks call it the worse story in the movie, I’m going to have to disagree because there are no bad stories in the movie and this one certainly doesn’t deserve to be labeled the worst. Dwight becomes friends with the waitress Shelley (Brittany Murphy), and therefore gets wrapped up with Shelley’s abusive ex-boyfriend, Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro). Things get worse when Dwight and some his hooker friends kill Jackie Boy, which was a bad thing to do in this part of the city. This story is loaded with gangs and pimps and whores.

If you’re looking for something different, Sin City is the movie for you. It features a vastly unique look compared to any other movie, and the end result is a masterpiece of artwork. Yes, the film is black and white, though not 1930’s black and white, and that is part of the visual appeal of the movie that will amaze you. The other colors that are used in the film (green, red, yellow, etc.) are done so brilliantly.

Bruce Willis does a great job of playing Hartigan, though it’s not an entirely new role for him. Jessica Alba is surrounded by a cast that is far superior in acting ability than her, but what she lacks is more than made up for by the fact that she is hot. Mickey Rourke steals the movie, and at least in my opinion, becomes its most memorable star character. Clive Owen and Brittany Murphy also both did very well in their roles. Two other guys who did phenomenal jobs are the assassin Kevin (Elijah Wood), who eats corpses and keeps heads as trophies, and the Yellow Bastard (Nick Stahl), who is perhaps the most disgusting character ever, a child molesting son of a Senator.

Go, give this one a watch or two, and make sure you add it to your DVD collection as soon as you possibly can.

Review originally written in 2006.

May 3 2012

Watch the Official Trailer for The Expendables 2

The official debut trailer for Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables 2 premiered on IGN today, and you can check it above right now.

The second Expendables brings back almost everyone from the first; practically all the big action movie stars are here. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (love his “I’m back” line in the trailer) are all here and ready to blow stuff up and kick some butt.

The Expendables 2 will hit theaters on August 17, 2012.

May 2 2012

Tom Cruise to Star in Val Helsing Reboot

Good news: There’s going to be a new Van Helsing movie!

Bad news: It’s a reboot that will see Hugh Jackman replaced with Tom Cruise! I kid about that being bad news, but I like Hugh Jackman and his version of the film. If anyone was going to replace him, I’d rather it be Johnny Depp (but then Depp is my favorite actor).

A press release issued by Universal Studios today confirmed that Universal has signed a two-year contract with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to bring new versions of Van Helsing and The Mummy to theaters. The full press release is included below:

Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman, Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman, Donna Langley.

Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote the third installment of Mission: Impossible, which grossed nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office. In 2007, they wrote Transformers and went on to write Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2009. Together, those films grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide. More recently, the pair wrote and executive produced 2009’s Star Trek, which grossed more than $385 million worldwide. Accompanying their impressive film resume, Kurtzman and Orci have found tremendous success in television, having created the series Fringe, writing/producing Alias and in 2010, producing the reboot of Hawaii Five-O. They also currently executive produce the highest rated show on Hasbro’s The Hub, Transformers Prime.

“Alex and Roberto are extraordinarily talented writers and producers who know the value of a great story in building successful tentpole films,” Fogelson and Langley said in a joint statement. “They have been a major part of some of Hollywood’s biggest movies and television shows in recent history, and we’re eager to have them build on that success at Universal.”

“We’re thrilled to call Universal Pictures our home,” said Kurtzman and Orci. “From the moment we sat down with Adam, Donna, Peter, Jeff and the entire Uni team, there was an instant flow of inspired ideas. They really understand the importance of building a strong creative team and giving our shared projects their full support. We’re proud to start making movies that will live as part of Universal’s enduring legacy.”

Kurtzman and Orci’s K/O Paper Products will develop and produce a modern reimagining of Universal library titles including The Mummy, alongside producer Sean Daniel and writer Jon Spaihts. The pair will also develop and produce Universal’s reimagined Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise attached to star in and produce the film.

Kurtzman and Orci’s upcoming projects include writing Sony’s next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man; producing Now You See Me, for Lionsgate Summit, set for release in March 2013; and producing Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, also for Lionsgate Summit. Kurtzman and Orci wrote and produced People Like Us, which marks Kurtzman’s directorial debut and is scheduled to be released in June 2012, and wrote and produced the second installment of Star Trek, set for release in 2013. The pair most recently rewrote All You Need Is Kill for Warner Bros., with Tom Cruise attached to star, Doug Liman to direct and Erwin Stoff to produce.

Kurtzman, Orci and the rest of their K/O Paper Products team, including President Bobby Cohen, will be housed on the Universal lot. Former assistants Ben Kim and Kim Cavyan will come aboard as creative executives. Kurtzman and Orci are represented by CAA and attorneys Michael Gendler and Kevin Kelly of Gendler & Kelly, APC.