Scarlett Johansson to star in Ghost in the Shell

Dreamworks' live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell has found its leading lady. Action alum Scarlett Johansson has signed onto the film. It is a live adaptation of the popular Japanese Anime that follows a member of a covert ops group that specializes in tech-based crime.

Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, is on board to direct and the script has been written by Bill Wheeler. There is no set date on exactly when this is going to get rolling, but Paramount is apparently exploring options to co-finance the project. With Johansson confirmed I don't think they will have a problem.

19 animated features submitted for Oscar nominations

A total of 19 films have been submitted to the powers that be to be considered for the Academy Awards in 2014. The nominees will consist of any of these:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
The Croods
 Despicable Me 2
 Epic
 Ernest and Celestine
 The Fake
 Free Birds
 Frozen
 Khumba
 The Legend of Sarila
 A Letter to Momo
 Monsters University
 O Apóstolo
 Planes
 Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie – Rebellion
 Rio: 2096 A Story of Love and Fury
 The Smurfs 2
 Turbo
 The Wind Rises

 My guesses out of this list are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Despicable Me 2, Frozen, Monsters University, and Turbo. A wildcard could be Planes. 

Rob Letterman to direct Captain Underpants

Director Rob Letterman has been tapped to direct the next Dreamworks Animation adaptation, Captain Underpants. Nicholas Stoller has written the script adaptation of Dav Pilkey's children's hero that has 10 books written about him.
Letterman previously directed Monsters vs. Aliens and Shark Tale for Dreamworks while Stoller has written scripts for Fun with Dick and Jane, Get Him to the Greek, The Muppets, and the upcoming sequel Muppets Most Wanted.

Captain Underpants starts off as two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, create the best superhero in their school and bring him to life. Captain Underpants' true identity is a real secret because he doesn't even know who he really is.

I personally used to love the Captain Underpants books and I read them as a kid. This should be a fun movie.

21 films submitted for Best Animated Feature

The competition for the Best Animated Feature category at the 2013 Academy Awards just got a little more intense. A total of 21 animated films were submitted into the category.

The list of potentials:

Adventures in Zambezia 
Brave
Delhi Safari
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Frankenweenie 
From Up on Poppy Hill 
Hey Krishna 
Hotel Transylvania
Ice Age Continental Drift
A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman 
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted 
The Mystical Laws 
The Painting 
ParaNorman 
The Pirates! Band of Misfits 
The Rabbi’s Cat 
Rise of the Guardians 
Secret of the Wings 
Walter & Tandoori’s Christmas 
Wreck-It Ralph 
Zarafa


In my opinion... my final nomination list would be this:

Brave
Frankenweenie 
ParaNorman
Wreck-It-Ralph
Rise of the Guardians

Granted, I have not seen Rise of the Guardians yet but from what I have observed from the trailers the animation alone deserves recognition. I foresee Brave winning it just because Disney/Pixar has dominated the Oscars for years so I don't see why this upcoming awards show would be any different. However, I think ParaNorman and Frankenweenie will give Pixar a run for their money this time around. Both of those films were incredible.

The 2013 Oscar nominations will be released on January 10th, 2013.