FILM CO. NEWS
PARAMOUNT
Following the smash success of his feature debut Sex and the City, Michael Patrick King signed a first-look deal with DreamWorks. He¿ll start with an upcoming "deconstructed" romantic comedy, and has also suggested that a Sex and the City sequel would not be out of the question.
WARNER BROS.
Guillermo del Toro was confirmed as the director of The Hobbit, New Line's two-part adaptation of the prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Del Toro will shoot the movie in New Zealand, working closely with executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. New Line will manage production, with Warner Bros. distributing domestically.
SONY
R.L. Stine's children's horror book series Goosebumps will see a big-screen adaptation, now that producer Neil Moritz acquired rights from Scholastic. Deborah Forte of Scholastic will also produce the Columbia film.