News

In today’s film news roundup, Toby Kebbell joins Vin Diesel in “Bloodshot,” “Rockbarnes: The Emperor in You” gets a release, and Dana Brunetti unveils a new production company.

Casting

Toby Kebbell will join Vin Diesel in “Bloodshot” for Sony Pictures in the role of Axe with principal photography starting in July.

Eiza Gonzalez, Michael Sheen, Sam Heughan, Talulah Riley, and Alex Hernandez also star. Dave Wilson of Blur Studios will direct and Neal H. Moritz is producing.

“Bloodshot,” first published in 1992, centers on a mortally wounded soldier with powers of regeneration and meta-morphing made possible through nano-machines in his bloodstream. “Bloodshot” was created by Kevin Van Hook, Don Perlin, and Bob Layton for Valiant. Over its comic-book run, “Bloodshot” totaled 110 issues with more than 7.5 million copies sold.

Kebbell’s credits include “The Fantastic Four,” the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Kong: Skull Island,” “Warcraft,” and “RocknRolla.” The news...

This just may be ludicrous enough to work.

E! is developing a half-hour mockumentary series in the spirit of HBO’s true-crime smash The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, with ex-American Idol co-host Brian Dunkleman starring as a serial-killer version of himself.

Tentatively titled Quest 4 Truth: Dunkleman, the satire imagines an alternate universe where Dunkleman — despondent after making the billion dollar mistake of walking away from Idol — becomes a suspected serial killer.

RelatedHBO Commends ‘Brilliant’ Jinx Team in Wake of Subject Robert Durst’s Arrest

Psych leading man James Roday co-created the project with Ben McMillan...

Brian Dunkleman has ridden the roller-coaster of fame, rising from obscurity to national recognition as co-host alongside Ryan Seacrest on the first season of American Idol before quitting to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and acting, a move he has publicly admitted as being a mistake. Now he will topline a single-camera project for E! from former Psych star James Roday and Ben McMillan and Universal Cable Prods. Titled Quest For Truth: Dunkleman, the mockumentary…...

The CW has started developing a new show called Swordfighting. The half-hour comedy focuses on two couples who are best friends and neighbours, Deadline reports. However, complications arise when the two wives confess that they have fallen in love with each other. Swordfighting has been penned by Ben McMillan and Josh Greenbaum, who previously collaborated on Atom TV. Meanwhile, (more)...

According to Deadline.com, the CW has picked up a new comedy pilot from producing team Craig Zadan and Neil Meron titled 'Swordfighting.' THepilot was written by Ben McMillan and Josh Greenbaum, and is about 'two young couples who have been best friends and neighbors for years and whose friendship is put to the test when when the two wives reveal theyve fallen in love with each other.'...

The CW is joining the treasure hunt trend this development season with Golddigger. The project, from Bill Haber’s Ostar Prods., centers on a young female treasure hunter who tracks down artifacts for a variety of mysterious and interesting clients. Lauren Horowitz is writing, with Haber and Stephanie Germain executive producing. With Golddigger, the CW is putting a young female twist on a genre that has been pretty hot this pitch season. NBC bought an untitled adventure drama from John Glenn. Described as “Da Vinci Code meets National Treasure,” it centers on a young NYPD beat cop who, along with his family and friends, embarks upon the greatest treasure hunt in history. NBC also is developing an updated version of the 1984 action-adventure romantic comedy film Romancing the Stone, whose plot kicked off with a romance writer played by Kathleen Turner receiving a treasure map. Mark Friedman is writing. And in another book adaptation,...

Rani Aliahmad and Rob Shalhoub formed Trend Media in June 2009. The pair of entertainment industry professionals launched the production company with the familiar plan "to create high-quality content for new media audiences on a cost-effective basis by leveraging key industry relationships and resources." Trend Media's first and only completed production to date was greenlit in February 2010. It's a workplace comedy that centers on the awkward airport hijinks of a team of Transport Security Administration Agents. It's called Homeland Insecurity. The punny tagline describes the program as, "A comedy series about airport security workers with tons of baggage." Deadline reports CBS just picked it up. Sony TV is slated to produce the TV adaptation, with Josh Greenbaum and Ben McMillan on board to continue writing the series. Homeland Security was shot on a $70,000 budget. Alaiahmad and Shaloub hoped to turn a profit with the show on the web, but only as a backup plan.

This has always been the advantage of pitching an international format -- you have a tape to show with your pitch. There have been a couple of projects that applied that model to original ideas this season, with producers financing the filming of a demo that is taken out to the networks. Jamie Foxx did it with drama Tommy's Little Girl, which landed at NBC, and Rob Shalhoub and Rani Aliahmad did it with Homeland Insecurity, a workplace comedy that just sold to CBS. The project, set in the world of airport security, is based on the web series of the same name produced by Shalhoub and Aliahmad's Trend Media. The two created the project with UTA-repped Josh Greenbaum. Greenbaum and Ben McMillan co-wrote the Web series and are also writing the CBS version. Sony TV is producing the adaptation, with studio-based writers David Guarascio and Moses Port set to supervise and executive produce.

Watch a brand new teaser trailer for the Atom TV exclusive comedy “Border Patrol” by director Josh Greenbaum starring David Clayton Rogers (Austin Golden Hour), Michael Trotter (The House Bunny) and Norman DeBuck (Cutthroat Alley). Synopsis: Border Patrol centers on three slacker friends who spend their weekends in lawn chairs at the Mexican border determined to stop illegal immigration. Produced by Josh Greenbaum, Ben McMillan and entertainment legend Ivan Reitman (Old School, Ghostbusters). Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for the latest Atom TV news and videos.