Paramount Pictures To Co-finance Scarlett Johansson’s GHOST IN THE SHELL

Paramount has come on board to co-finance and co-produce action vehicle “Ghost in the Shell,” starring Scarlett Johansson, with DreamWorks, Variety has learned.

Under the deal, Paramount will handle the international release of “Ghost in the Shell” while DreamWorks will release the movie through its output deal with Disney on March 31, 2017.

It was reported on Jan. 5 that Johansson was set to star in DreamWorks’ adaptation of the popular anime title, with Paramount having the option to co-finance and co-produce.

The story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime. During last month’s press day for “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Johansson told Collider.com that director Rupert Sanders was expected to begin shooting early next year.

Avi Arad and Steven Paul are producing “Ghost in Shell” from a script by Bill Wheeler. Mark Sourian is exec producing.

Besides starring in “Ultron,” Johansson showed her box office clout as an action star with last year’s “Lucy,” which grossed $458 million worldwide.

Fox is co-financing DreamWorks’ Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies,” starring Tom Hanks, with Steven Spielberg directing. Disney and Walden Media are co-financing DreamWorks’ “The BFG,” which Spielberg has been shooting in Vancouver.

Source: Variety 

GHOST IN THE SHELL Release Date Moved

Disney has moved up the release date of Ghost in the Shell by two weeks. The live action adaptation of the 1995 anime movie will now release on March 31, 2017.

The move was likely made to avoid opening on the same week as Furious 8, now slated for released on April 14, 2017.

Ghost in the Shell will star Scarlett Johansson with Snow White and the Huntsman helmer Rupert Sanders directing, and is based on Masamune Shirow’s cyberpunk, near-future stories. Ghost in the Shell follows Section 9, a branch of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission tasked with fighting cybercrime and cyberterrorism, led in the field by Commander Motoko Kusanagi.

Ghost in the Shell begins production in early 2016.

Scarlett Johansson Offers GHOST IN THE SHELL Movie Update

Scarlett Johansson is one of the most prominent actress in Hollywood, not only proving successful as Black Widow in the Marvel films, but also as the lead of last year’s original actioner Lucy. It was not surprise, then, when DreamWorks tapped the actress to lead its action-centric Ghost in the Shell movie, based on the manga/anime of the same name.

Johansson officially signed on to star this past January with Snow White and the Huntsman helmer Rupert Sanders directing, and so when Collider sat down with the actress at the Avengers: Age of Ultron press day, they asked for an update on the project:

“It’s happening. It will be shooting the beginning of next year, so I think we start production January or February and it’s me and Rupert [Sanders]; and that’s all I know.”

The studio has been developing a live-action iteration of the property for nearly six years now, so this is the closest it’s come to actually happening. And according to Johansson, if all goes according to plan, cameras will be rolling on the new Ghost in the Shell movie by this time next year.

Source: Collider

DISNEY: Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book Pushed Back Six Months; Plus Ghost In The Shell Remake Gets A Release Date

Disney have now announced some shifts among its release dates. Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book has been pushed back to 2016, while Craig Gillespie’s Chris Pine-starring The Finest Hours will arrive sooner than we thought. The new Pete’s Dragon has nabbed its opening day too. And with the sudden flurry of activity around Dreamworks’ Ghost In The Shell remake, there’s now also confirmation of exactly when we can expect to see Scarlett Johansson don her cyber-suit.

Favreau’s live-action-and-CGI take on Rudyard Kipling and Mowgli will now grace cinema screens on April 15, 2016, six months later than originally planned. There’s been no official reason given for this, but it’s clearly a project where a long post-production was always going to be a necessity. It seems likely that it’s a move to get those animal FX looking as seamless as possible. Its new date will see it open opposite the Goosebumps movie and Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man Wedding: the sequel to his 2013 The Best Man Holiday.

The gap The Jungle Book leaves in Disney’s schedule has been filled by The Finest Hours. Gillespie’s coastguard drama will now be with us on October 9 this year, pitted against Halle Berry thriller Kidnap and Warners’ remake of National Lampoon’s Vacation.

Pete’s Dragon, directed by David Lowery, will fly in on August 12, 2016, hoping to fend off strong competition from Robert De Niro’s Dirty Grandpa, Seth Rogen’s Sausage Party and Nic Mathieu’s Spectral. As the only family film in a weekend of ‘adult’ comedies and a sci-fi thriller, that may prove to be a smart decision.

And Rupert Sanders’ Johansson-starring Ghost In The Shell is now officially pencilled in for April 14, 2017.