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Seven years ago writer/director Rian Johnson took the indie film world by storm with his thriller Brick, which followed a teen named Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who was in search of his ex-girlfriend's killer.

What made that film so cool was the 1930's noir spin Johnson laid on it.

Now, both Johnson and Gordon-Levitt have reunited on the filmmaker's latest, Looper, which has Johnson putting his own twist on the time travel subgenre and also stars Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Piper Perabo, Paul Dano and Noah Segan.

During the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, Dread Central was on hand for the Looper press conference featuring Johnson, Gordon-Levitt and Blunt chatting about what looks to be one of the best sci-fi flicks of the year. The trio discussed their thoughts on the project, talked more about their characters and gave us a lot of insight on what we can expect from...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen in 50/50

Photo: Summit Entertainment On August 23, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in Seattle promoting his upcoming film 50/50 in which he plays Adam, a young man who learns he has cancer. The film follows Adam's story upon learning the news and details his relationships with his friends, family and other cancer patients and it does so with a sense of humor as if to take the piss out of the situation. 50/50, however, is not just another Hollywood dramedy. Not only is it excellent, it's also based on the true story of Will Reiser, who adapted the screenplay based on his life story.

If you ask me, Gordon-Levitt's performance is worthy of an Oscar nomination. Whether he'll get one or not is still yet to be determined, but as an actor he is showing serious growth and a continuous ability to tackle new material. And it's that new material...

Bret Easton Ellis by way of Gossip Girl, Reefer Madness, and in the cataclysmic finale, Alejandro Gonzaléz Iñárittu, Joel Schumacher’s laughable Twelve could be called The Lost Boys (And Girls) if he hadn’t already used that title 23 years ago. Based on Nick McDonell’s novel, the film marinates in the glamour and ennui of Upper East Side brats who indulge in sex, designer drugs, and wild bacchanals while their parents are out yachting in some far-flung locale. Working from a script by Jordan Melamed—whose one feature as a director, 2001’s underrated Manic, dealt ...

Whenever I see something like "Gossip Girl" or "Pretty Little Liars" or "The Hills," it makes me die inside. Because that's teaching teens if you want to be cool, you do coke and fuck everyone. All while wearing clothes that cost an entire summer job salary. Because you're nothing unless you have someone else inside you. It's the entire mantra of the fashionistas that fill magazines -- both advertisements and content -- that pretty and money are the only commodities you need to succeed in life. Thus came Nick McDonell onto the scene, the privileged son of high-profile parents, who scribbled his first novel Twelve at the precocious age of 17. People praised it because that's what rich people do; they take E and suck each others' cocks. We know this because we've watched the online upskirt shots and camera phone videos of Lindsay Lohan blowing a record producer's nephew on a yacht,...

Very few films are as good as the book, but that still doesn't excuse an absolute travesty of a book-to-film adaptation. The unfortunate thing is Twelve had such unbelievable on screen potential. Not only is the subject matter widely appealing -- pretty people doing bad things -- but it has a stellar cast to go with it. All director Joel Schumacher had to do was follow the story, trim a little fat and he would have ended up with a solid production. But he and screenwriter Jordan Melamed just went about it all wrong, making Twelve an extended episode of Gossip Girl rather than a dark and foreboding tale.

The film stars Chace Crawford as White Mike, a smart kid who resorts to a life of seclusion and drug dealing after losing his mother to cancer. His clients include just about anyone who hangs out at Chris' (Rory Culkin) house,...

Joel Schumacher directs "Twelve," an indie drama/thriller screenwritten by newcomer Jordan Melamed based on the novel by Nick McDonell. The Gaumont, Artina Films, Radar Pictures and Original Media production opens July 30th via Hannover House. Starring are Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin, Emily Meade, Rory Culkin, Esti Ginzburg, Billy Magnussen and featuring Kiefer Sutherland ("24") as the narrator. Based on the controversial Nick McDonell novel, Twelve follows high school dropout turned successful drug dealer White Mike (Chace Crawford) in New York's Upper East Side. Business is booming when all of the kids are home from boarding school and everyone has money to blow. Mike leads a double life...

"Twelve" is the new film from director Joel Schumacher ("The Lost Boys") and producer Ted Field ("Revenge Of The Nerds") , written by Jordan Melamed, adapted from the novel of the same name by author Nick McDonell, following a story of drug addiction, violence and sex among wealthy teenagers from Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, "Twelve" stars Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl") , Emma Roberts ("Wild Child") and 50 Cent ("New Breed") .

"Twelve" is the story of 17-year-old 'White Mike', the privileged son of a restaurant tycoon, who has taken off his senior year in high school to sell drugs to his wealthy peers. When he is not selling drugs he thinks about his childhood and philosophizes about a world he feels he is not a part of. The title of the film refers to a new designer drug, referred to as a cross between cocaine and ecstasy.

"Twelve" will be...

The first poster is up for the Joel Schumacher-helmed "Twelve" starring Emma Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Chace Crawford, Rory Culkin, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Ellen Barkin. Hanover House distributes the film which finds release on July 30th this year. Jordan Melamed adapts the screenplay based on the novel by Nick McDonell. The story follows a high school who has become a drug dealer. The good life starts turning when a cousin is murdered on an East Harlem playground, leaving his best pal as one who is arrested for the brutal act...

Of the 25 reviews that our own Katey Rich did at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the one she wrote for Joel Schumacher's Twelve was probably the most intriguing. It's fairly easy to make a groan-worthy suckfest, but making a movie that's laughably bad is another story entirely. One of the most high-profile films at the festival, she called the picture a "hilarious and melodramatic mess" and went as far as to say that the screenwriter, Jordan Melamed, had trouble wrapping his head around the idea that film is a visual medium. Awfulness of that magnitude needs to be experienced and now we have our first official taste. MTV has posted the first official trailer for the film and...what can really be said? It's a bunch of pretty people doing dumb things; going for a Rules of Attraction meets Requiem For A Dream vibe and falling short of both.

Hannover House has released the first official trailer for Joel Schumacher's Twelve, which no one seemed to like when it premiered as the Closing Night Film in the 2010 Sundance Film Festival (Watch my video review here). From a filmmaker who has given us such diverse films as The Lost Boys, The Phantom of the Opera, Flatliners, A Time To Kill, Batman Forever, Phone Booth and 8mm comes a new drama chronicling of the highs and lows of privileged kids on Manhattan's Upper East Side, in a tale that involves sex, drugs and murder.Basically it seems like Schumacher was flipping throught the television stations and saw Gossip Girl and said "I want to make that movie..." Problem is, his version of Gossip Girl isn't nearly as entertaining as Gossip Girl. Written by Jordan Melamed (the director of 2001's Maniac), the story follows a young drug dealer who watches as...

"The Kids Are All Right" has found a home.

Focus Features appears to have sealed the deal to acquire rights to Sundance Film Festival favorite "The Kids Are All Right" by Lisa Cholodenko, reports the La Times.

The family drama revolves around two teenage kids (Mia Wasikowska, Joshua Hutcherson) who live with their lesbian moms (Julianne Moore, Annette Bening) and decide to seek out their sperm donor dad (Mark Ruffalo).

More Sundance reviews/buzz:

 - "Gossip Girl's" Chace Crawford stars in "Twelve," about a young man named White Mike whose mother has died. He turns to drug dealing New York's wealthy teens. "Crawford has the scruffy handsomeness and soulful eyes required to make this antihero swoon-worthy, but screenwriter Jordan Melamed hasn't given the character much of a drive or personality." [Screen Daily]

 - Gurinder Chadha, who made "Bend It Like Beckham," enters the horror-comedy waters with "It's a Wonderful Afterlife, " about...

Earlier today I saw a screening of Joel Schumacher's Twelve, which stars Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, 50 Cent, Ellen Barkin and Rory Culkin. Twelve takes place in a similar world as Gossip Girl, focusing mostly on super rich upper east side New Yorkers. "A new drama chronicling of the highs and lows of privileged kids on Manhattan's Upper East Side, in a tale that involves sex, drugs and murder. Written by Jordan Melamed (the director of 2001's Maniac), the story follows a young drug dealer who watches as his high-rolling life is dismantled in the wake of his cousin's murder, which sees his best friend arrested for the crime." While most people like to give Schumacher shit for his Batman films, many forget his better films, like The Lost Boys, Flatliners, A Time To Kill, and Phone Booth. Is Twelve a return to form? Or just a disaster? Watch the...

As Sundance Twentyten approaches, we'll be posting mini-previews with photos from some of the films we're looking forward to over the next month and a half. Last week we posted the first photos from Hesher, I Love Sarah Jane director Spencer Susser’s Feature Debut. Today I bring you the first photos from Joel Schumacher's Twelve, which is screening as the Closing Night Film in the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section. From a filmmaker who has given us such diverse films as The Lost Boys, The Phantom of the Opera, Flatliners, A Time To Kill, Batman Forever, Phone Booth and 8mm comes a new drama chronicling of the highs and lows of privileged kids on Manhattan's Upper East Side, in a tale that involves sex, drugs and murder. Written by Jordan Melamed (the director of 2001's Maniac), the story follows a young drug dealer who watches as his high-rolling...

On Wednesday the Sundance Film Festival unveiled the films competing in late January 2010. Yesterday they announced the rest of the line-up of independent films vying for attention for industry types and the curious public.

The entire list of 53 films is below, but here are a few that stood out to me from the premieres alone:

Mumblecore directors the Duplass Brothers, have a new, untitled movie starring an unusually high-profile cast compared to their usual improvisational crew. John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and Catherine Keener. Reilly and Keener are actually in two films at the 2010 festival.

The Company Men, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt about corporate downsizing.

Rodrigo Cortes’ Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds as a man buried alive in a coffin. I’ve read the script and its great. More on that as soon as I can.

The Runaways, the...

We are 49 days out and counting down to Sundance 2010. Yesterday, we unveiled the list of competition films for the upcoming festival. Today, we have your list of out-of-competition films which include Premieres, Spotlight, New Frontier, and, my personal favorite, Park City at Midnight, which has featured past entries like Black Dynamite, The Descent, and Saw.

Check out next year’s lineup for the out-of-competition films:

Premieres

To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

Abel / Mexico, USA (Director: Diego Luna; Screenwriters: Diego Luna and Agusto Mendoza)–A peculiar young boy, blurring reality and fantasy, assumes the responsibilities of a family man in his father’s absence. Cast: Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi, Carlos Aragon, Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruiz-Esparza. World Premiere

Cane Toads:...

Yesterday we got the list for the films playing in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and today we get the rest of the films that will be featured and there are quite a few that make 2010 look much stronger based on pedigree alone than I have seen in quite some time. Variety has a big write-up detailing the categories and more on the festival right here, but I am just going to offer up the titles and let you sort it all out.

The titles already in the RopeofSilicon database are linked.

Premieres

All films are from the United States unless otherwise noted Abel (Mexico-u.S.), the directorial debut of actor Diego Luna, written by Luna and Agusto Mendoza, about a peculiar young boy who, as he blurs reality and fantasy, takes over the responsibilities of a family man in his father's absence. With Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi,...

Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the out-of-competition section of Premieres. Some very anticipated films that we have been tracking are included. Films like The Runaways, starring Kristen Bell and Dakota Fanning as the 70s girl rock group headliners, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. We have also been following The Company Men and Nowhere Boy, so we are excited to see these films at Sundance 2010.

To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. The Premiere section is being presented by Entertainment Weekly.

Abel / Mexico, USA (Director: Diego Luna; Screenwriters:Diego Luna and Agusto Mendoza)-A peculiar young boy, blurring reality and fantasy, assumes the responsibilities of a family man in his father’s absence. Cast: Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi,...

In addition to the competition titles which were announced yesterday, Sundance has announced the remainder of their line-up and it includes some titles we’re already familiar with along with a huge number of premieres.

Also on the docket are two new series: Next which showcases low/no budget films and Spotlight which highlights films which festival programmers deem worthy of extra love including Enter the Void (review) and Lourdes (the trailer for which I really liked).

I’m particularly excited to see some of the titles in the New Frontier program but overall, the line-up is an impressive one but the Kristen Stewart fan in me is excited to see her turn as Joan Jett in The Runaways and I think it’s fair to say we’re all dying to see Vincenzo Natali’s hotly anticipated Splice (trailer).

In the Midnight section, Adam Green's Frozen is sounding mighty find,...

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: Premieres To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

The Sundance Film Festival's competition lineup for 2010, announced Wednesday, might demand that audiences wear their serious caps. But the out-of-competition selections allow programmers and viewers to cut loose a little.

The 53 films that populate this year's Premieres, Next, Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier sections run the gamut from the cosmically experimental to the star-studded and silly. There is indeed something for everyone at this year's event, which runs Jan. 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

As usual, Premieres collects work involving the industry's higher-profile talent, none more so than John Wells' feature directorial debut, "The Company Men," which stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper. Mexican actor Diego Luna's directorial debut, "Abel," will screen, as will Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Jack Goes Boating."

Michael Winterbottom has the rare distinction of having two films in...

Although the Sundance Film Festival might have tried to wring some extra sunshine from its selections last year, the 2010 lineup looks to be back to its typical mirthless self. One could say it has gone from "You gotta give 'em hope" to "You gotta give 'em mope."

"That's our filmmakers," festival director John Cooper said with an amused mix of pride and resignation. "There's some lightness in here somewhere."

Yes, it's wedged back behind the assassinations, political corruption, war carnage, crumbling educational system and Khmer Rouge revelations. The fest, which runs Jan. 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, might start to feel like 11 Days of Glummer.

But perhaps that's to be expected. The implosion of the independent distribution system amid the ever-present threats of a maimed economy and two wars has provided festival organizers and filmmakers an opportunity to cut loose and follow their probing passions,...

Chace Crawford will star in the Paramount Pictures' remake of "Footloose." He replaces Zac Efron who decided against the project in such a short period of time after "High School Musical 3."    Filming is said to start in March next year. Dylan Sellers produces the film alongside director Kenny Ortega and Craig Zadan, a producer of the original film. Neil Meron also produces. Zadan is up next in Joel Schumacher's drama "Twelve" alongside Kiefer Sutherland, Emma Roberts, Ellen Barkin, 50 Cent and Rory Culkin.   That film is based on the novel by Nick McDowell which newcomer Jordan Melamed is adapting for Gaumont, Original Media and Radar Pictures.   In the 1984 film, Kevin Bacon starred as Ren McCormack, a teen with happy feet in a town where dancing is frowned upon. John Lithgow plays Reverend Shaw Moore, the ringleader against dancing and father of the girl McCormack has a romantic interest in...

Chace Crawford will star in the Paramount Pictures' remake of "Footloose." He replaces Zac Efron who decided against the project in such a short period of time after "High School Musical 3." Filming is said to start in March next year. Dylan Sellers produces the film alongside director Kenny Ortega and Craig Zadan, a producer of the original film. Neil Meron also produces. Zadan is up next in Joel Schumacher's drama "Twelve" alongside Kiefer Sutherland, Emma Roberts, Ellen Barkin, 50 Cent and Rory Culkin. That film is based on the novel by Nick McDowell which newcomer Jordan Melamed is adapting for Gaumont...

Chace Crawford will star in the Paramount Pictures' remake of "Footloose." He replaces Zac Efron who decided against the project in such a short period of time after "High School Musical 3." Filming is said to start in March next year. Dylan Sellers produces the film alongside director Kenny Ortega and Craig Zadan, a producer of the original film. Neil Meron also produces. Zadan is up next in Joel Schumacher's drama "Twelve" alongside Kiefer Sutherland, Emma Roberts, Ellen Barkin, 50 Cent and Rory Culkin. That film is based on the novel by Nick McDowell which newcomer Jordan Melamed is adapting for Gaumont...

The book "Twelve" is getting a big-screen treatment from director Joel Schumacher. Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin and Kiefer Sutherland are set to star!

Based on the 2002 book by Nick McDonell, "Twelve" is about teenage drug use set in New York's Upper East Side.

Wikipedia says:

"Twelve is a novel by Nick McDonell about drug addiction, violence and sex among mainly wealthy Manhattan teenagers. The title refers to a new designer drug which the protagonist of the novel, White Mike, sells. The drug is referred to as a cross between cocaine and ecstasy."

Hhmmm, interesting! Jordan Melamed ("Manic") wrote the screenplay.

Production will begin April 20 in New York.

We've already had The Wackness, which dealt with NYC and drug-dealing, but while that had some scary lip-on-lip action, it didn't have a murder twist -- not like this new drug drama. Variety reports that Joel Schumacher is directing Jordan Melamed's adaptation of Nick McDonell's novel Twelve. It's a book that's been compared to both Less Than Zero and Kids, and there's a pretty eclectic cast attached: Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, 50 Cent, Ellen Barkin, and Kiefer Sutherland.

Written in 2002 by a then-17-year-old McDonell, the book follows a high school dropout and drug dealer whose life derails when his cousin is murdered on an East Harlem playground and his best friend is arrested for the crime. So we've got a gritty tale of drugs and affluence, murder, dysfunction, and it'll star a pretty boy from Gossip Girl, the girl who keeps a hotel for dogs, and her...

Director Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin, Phone Booth) has signed on to helm the upcoming big screen adaptation of the Nick McDonell novel "Twelve," with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland, Ellen Barkin, Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts and Rory Culkin attached to star. Story follows a high school dropout-turned-drug dealer. His lucrative life sours when the dealer's cousin is brutally murdered on an East Harlem playground and his best friend is arrested for the crime. Production begins on April 20th in New York. Jordan Melamed wrote the script. McDonell was only 17 year's old when he wrote the novel that starkly depicted teenage drug use and decadence on the Upper East Side.

We haven't seen anything from Joel Schumacher since the disappointing The Number 23 in 2007. His thriller Creek at Lionsgate staring "Prison Break" co-star Dominic Purcell has bounced all over the release calendar and is still without a firm date set, which means it may find its way to DVD before you know it. But that isn't stopping him from lining up his next project, a filmed adaptation of the Nick McDonell novel, Twelve. Variety reports Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin and Kiefer Sutherland have joined the cast with production set to begin on April 20 in New York. Jordan Melamed penned the script which is said to follow a high school dropout-turned-drug dealer. His lucrative life sours when the dealer's cousin is brutally murdered on an East Harlem playground and his best friend is arrested for the crime. McDonell wrote his novel when he was...

Briefly linked to "Footloose" remake, Chace Crawford apparently has been signed for another feature film project where he will share screen with 50 Cent. Both the "Gossip Girl" star and the rapper have been announced to be among the cast ensemble of feature adaptation project "Twelve".

While it is still unclear what particular character they will be portraying in the film, they will star alongside other newly-announced cast members, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Ellen Barkin and Kiefer Sutherland. They are expected to join director Joel Schumacher when production starts in New York April 20.

"Twelve" is a feature adaptation of Nick McDonell's novel, which details on teenage drug use and decadence on the Upper East Side. Set up by Gaumont, Radar Pictures and Original Media, the movie will use the script written by Jordan Melamed. It will follow a high school dropout-turned-drug dealer, whose life sours when his cousin is brutally murdered...

Ensemble casts are hard things to put together - they need the right juxtapositions and complimenting personalities to breathe life into the equally contrasting characters on the page. When done well, the whole tapestry stands out in sharp relief. But when an ensemble cast fails, well, that never goes well. Joel Schumacher is next set to direct Twelve, written by Jordan Melamed and adapted from Nick McDonell's novel, which will feature quite the star-studded cast, as announced by Variety. Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin, and Kiefer Sutherland will star. Twelve follows a high school dropout and his foray into dealing drugs and fall from that life of decadence when his cousin is murdered and his best friend is arrested for the crime. The novel was written by the then 17-year-old McDonnel and shined a brash light on teenage drug use and New York's Upper...

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin, Kiefer Sutherland, Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts and Rory Culkin have signed on to star in Joel Schumacher's "Twelve."

Based on the novel by Nick McDonell, the film centers on a former high schooler and drug dealer whose life takes a drastic turn after his best friend is arrested for murdering the dealer's cousin. Jordan Melamed wrote the screenplay.

Schumacher most recently directed "The Number 23," which I admit I pretty much hated. His credits also include "The Phantom of the Opera," "Veronica Guerin" and "Bad Company."

Jackson last starred in "Righteous Kill," and he's got plenty of future projects lined up. Roberts was recently seen in "Hotel for Dogs," while Barkin last appeared in "Ocean's Thirteen." As for Crawford, he's been busy doing "Gossip Girl."

Culkin's credits include "Signs" and "Mean Creek," and Sutherland is still running around as Jack Bauer. He also voiced a character in "Monsters vs.

Joel Schumacher has signed ton to direct an adaptation of the Nick McDonell novel Twelve, about teenage drug use and decadence on the Upper East Side, for Gaumont, Radar Pictures and Original Media. The film will star Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Curtis “50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin and Kiefer Sutherland, who previously collaborated with Shcumacher on The Lost Boys, Flatliners and Phone Booth. Jordan Melamed wrote the script. The story follows a high school dropout-turned-drug dealer. His lucrative life sours when the dealer's cousin is brutally murdered on an East Harlem playground and his best friend is arrested for the crime. Gaumont chairman Sidonie Dumas (Jcvd) and CEO Christophe Riandee will produce with Original Media CEO Charlie Corwin (The Squid and the Whale) and Radar CEO Ted Field (The Heartbreak Kid), who optioned the novel in 2002. Production begins April 20 in New York.

Gaumont, Radar Pictures and Original Media have set the cast for a Joel Schumacher-directed adaptation of the Nick McDonell novel Twelve , reports Variety . The film will star Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ellen Barkin and Kiefer Sutherland. Production begins April 20 in New York for a winter 2010 release. Jordan Melamed wrote the script. In 2002, then 17-year-old McDonell wrote a novel that starkly depicted teenage drug use and decadence on the Upper East Side. The story follows a high school dropout-turned-drug dealer. His lucrative life sours when the dealer's cousin is brutally murdered on an East Harlem playground and his best friend is arrested for the crime.

'Round these parts, Joel Schumacher is mostly discussed as the guy who desecrated, then put nipples on, Batman. But he's got interests beyond latex rubber, and apparently will be examining some drug-addicted teens for his next project. According to this week's Production Weekly, Schumacher is adapting the novel Twelve, set in 1999 and following some Manhattan teenagers who are all into the new designer drug, Twelve. The book's author Nick McDonell was 17 when he wrote it, and apparently the novel captures more truth about teenagers than your average drug expose. It seems pretty impossible to predict Schumacher's taste, given that he's made both The Phantom of the Opera and The Number 23, but this seems like a wild card even for him. Production starts next month in New York, and Jordan Melamed, who directed the 2001 film Manic and has no other credits to his name, will write the adaptation. Can't wait...

Scribe Michael Bacall has been tapped to adapt Justice Deferred for Warner Bros. Pictures and Tobey Maguire's Maguire Entertainment. The studio confirmed that Bacall has been hired to adapt the Len Williams-penned novel, acquired by Warners for Maguire Entertainment in May. It centers on the story of Billy Ray Billings, who has been wrongly convicted under Alabama's three-strikes law, which gives him no chance at parole. He schools himself on the law and then escapes, changes his name and becomes a lawyer. At the studio, the project is being overseen by Kevin McCormick and Alicia Cotter. Maguire is producing along with Sergio Aguero of Three Monkeys Entertainment. Elia Infascelli-Smith will executive produce with Mark Ross, the latter of whom runs Maguire's company. Bacall is repped by ICM and attorney Michael Shankman. He previously penned the film Bookies, starring Nick Stahl, Lukas Haas, Rachael Leigh Cook and Johnny Galecki, and Jordan Melamed's Manic, starring Don Cheadle and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.