UPDATES ‘Little Fockers’ Needs A Week Of Pickups
I’ve confirmed that those pickup shots which I first reported that Universal has scheduled for September on Little Fockers are now more than half a dozen full-blown scenes, including 4 with Dustin Hoffman. The notoriously difficult actor was written out of the Meet The Parents threequel altogether when Universal couldn’t reach a deal with him. But John Hamburg and Jay Roach helped convince Dustin to reprise his role which is “not dissimilar to what we were pitching him in the beginning,” an insider tells me. Hoffman won’t come cheap. “It’s costing what we were going to pay him in the first place,” my insider explains. Fortunately for the studio, the film was under budget, but even so it’s at least a $100M film. Hoffman will star in some pivotal scenes opposite Barbra Streisand, and then in a big scene at the end of the movie involving all the major characters. Other pickup scenes focus on Ben Stiller and the kids. Universal continues to spin that Little Fockers could have gone out “as is” since it scored an “85″ for the top 2 boxes with test audiences. ”But we want to make it better. It’s an investment in the future of the franchise.” So we’ll see whether the threequel still set for release in December kills Universal’s golden … Read More

The Wall Street Journal reports that Reliance ADA Group is negotiating with Universal Studios to replicate its  movie-themed amusement parks in India. The result would be a $1.5 billion new park that covers 400 acres –in either New Delhi or Mumbai–and would combine Universal park attractions with others devoted to Bollywood films. Universal would take a licensing fee for its branded attractions that include themed attractions involving such Marvel Comics characters as Spider-Man, The Hulk and Doctor Doom–deals made well before theme park rival Disney bought Marvel–as well as Dr. Seuss attractions. There are also the venerable rides based on the films of Reliance’s DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg–who gets a cut of theme park receipts–with Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park. Universal’s Islands of Adventure just opened an entire wing of the park devoted to the Warner Bros franchise Harry Potter, which recently opened after two years of construction, highlighted by a ridiculously ambitious simulator ride housed within a replica of Hogwarts Academy that has been carved into a faux mountainside setting that is as overwhelming as the $200 million I’m told was spent to build it. WSJ qualifies that the deal is in the talking stage, but it would mark Reliance’s latest foray into Hollywood. Besides its partnership with DreamWorks, Reliance made first look deals with the production companies of Brad Pitt, Chris Columbus, Jay Roach, George Clooney, Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Nicolas Cage and … Read More

EXCLUSIVE: Three years ago, Universal Pictures brass wooed Chris Meledandri away from his president post at Fox Animation to start its first family film unit. Over the weekend, Illumination’

Deadline freelance journalist Diane Haithman visited Universal Studios Tour for the media unveiling of the new “King King 3D 360″ attraction:
In June, 2008, Universal Studios’

While Justin Theroux is writing and preparing to direct Zoolander 2 for Paramount Pictures, he has found time to squeeze in a lead role in Wanderlust, joining Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston in the David Wain-directed Universal comedy about a couple’s attempt to escape the trappings of the city for a counterculture life.
While he started out in front of the camera, Theroux is taking acting and writing jobs in equal measure. He just wrapped the villain role in the Universal comedy Your Highness opposite Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman. He was the sole credited writer on Iron Man [...]

EXCLUSIVE: Media Rights Capital and Universal Pictures closed a deal that will put up to 20 MRC-generated films through the studio distribution pipeline over a five-year period. The pact begins in 2011.
While MRC partners Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu have done repeat business at Universal, this is a new wrinkle in their formula of  assembling and funding film packages with big stars and directors, and then licensing distribution to studios on a case by case basis. Those deals were structured to give creative freedom and maximum upside to stars and directors, and eventual ownership stakes in the films when copyrights [...]

EXCLUSIVE: I’ve just learned that Michael Joe, Universal Pictures’ much valued EVP, has left the studio after 15 years and is jumping to Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity in a senior position. Almost everyone important at Universal is in Cannes for Robin Hood so I can’t gauge reaction. But Joe has been the company’s chief strategy officer, integrally involved in the studio’s business development and strategic planning. While continuing to oversee business development, he also directed the company’s digital initiatives, including wireless, interactive games and d-cinema. Plus, he engineered the company’s entry into new markets and technologies and represented Universal on anti-piracy, public policy and MPAA matters. He also managed Universal’s advanced technology group. Joe [...]

The muscles from Brussels will star with his regular sparring partner Dolph Lundgren in Universal Soldier IV. Mark Damon’

This is unusual: a joint news release from Universal Pictures and United Talent about the news that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) will direct and Clive Owen will star in the new English-language genre film Intruders. Universal Pictures International and Madrid-based Apaches Entertainment. Apache’s Enrique López Lavigne is Fresnadillo’s longtime producing partner. Spanish media company Antena 3 and Universal Pictures International (UPI) are financing the project, which will be distributed internationally by Universal Pictures International, with UPI’

EXCLUSIVE: The Green Day-fueled American Idiot doesn’t bow on Broadway bow until April 20. Already, talks are underway with Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman to turn the musical into a feature film.
Playtone’s last stage-to-screen transfer was the Abba musical Mamma Mia! Critics might not have loved it, but audiences sure did. The film grossed $610 million worldwide, becoming one of the biggest hits in Universal Pictures history. Hanks and Goetzman have a first-look deal at Universal, but the producers will sew up the movie rights before giving the studio first crack, I hear. They just set up Larry [...]