I can hear the pitch meeting now. It probably went a little something like this: Peter Berg: “Transformers made a crapload of money, right? Well, this is Transformers on the ocean. See, robots attack ships and try to sink the them.” Studio Exec: “You’re a genius. Here’s a bag of money.”

I don’t know if Battlship will be good or not (probably not) or if Peter Berg is really a genius (I’m guessing no) but I can guarantee the movie will be busy and extremely loud. To prove that fact, please take a look at the new trailer just released today. We have it for you after the break.

In it you see lots of robots and whatnot trying to attack a group of ships at sea. All they wanted to do was have some simple war games and now these damn underseas robots have made this shit get real — or something like that. Does the story really matter? Not much as long as stuff explodes convincingly. Hint: it mostly does.

Peter Berg “directs” a cast of pretty people like Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna and the always cool Liam Neeson (obviously doing this one for the money).

As the trailer says “The battle for Earth begins at sea” on May 18, 2012. Check it out after the break.

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If toys make an effective inspiration for movie franchises, why not games? After all, regardless of its relative creative merits, the Transformers franchise has managed to make a metric crapload of money.

So, why not try to do the same with a movie based on a classic game? It could work. That’s just what director Peter Berg and his team have done with the upcoming Battleship. To prove it, we’ve got the first trailer for the film for you right now.

In it we get a lot of the film’s story of a young, upstart naval officer (Taylor Kitsch) in love with his Admiral’s daughter (Brooklyn Decker) who needs to put aside his personal feelings and learn to be a man when an alien invasion threatens his fleet of ships. The movie is, of course, based on the classic board game Battleship and from the trailer, it actually looks like director Berg gets that he’s making a movie based on a game, is in on the joke and doing his best to make it a fun and exciting film.

When I first heard they were making a movie based on Battleship, I was, to say the least, skeptical. After watching the trailer I’m now intrigued, especially as to how Berg and company are going to pull it off. Who knows, maybe they can?

Check out the trailer after the jump. Battleship, which stars Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna, arrives in theaters on May 18th, 2012.

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Though it was upsetting to see Darren Aronofsky to walk away from helming a reboot of the classic 1980′s sci-fi franchise Robocop, we knew that him working on a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine may be a better fit. Also, we were sure MGM would find someone to take on the half-cop, half-machine.

It looks like that creative team is finally coming together. MGM already announced that foreign action director Jose Padilha will be taking on the role of director for the upcoming film, and now news is coming in that the studio has hired Josh Zetumer to pen the script.

Who exactly is Josh Zetumer? Well from what Deadline has been able to dig up, he looks to be Hollywood’s next big thing, if we ever get to see one of his films.

Zetumer first got on the radar when he wrote the script Infiltrator, which made the Black List. That spy thriller script is set at Warner Bros as a potential starring vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio.

He also wrote drafts of Dune when Peter Berg was going to direct that remake at Paramount, and he scripted a fourth installment of The Bourne Identity before Universal instead developed a spinoff with Tony Gilroy. Zetumer just turned in Vale, a supernatural action thriller script at Warner Bros.

So while Detroit is still battling with getting their real-life RoboCop statue to kick off, we could be seeing more of this celluloid version very soon. The next question then becomes: who will they get to play protagonist Alex Murphy aka RoboCop? We’re sure to get an answer soon enough.

This week’s Christmas war pick is the 1992 release of Keith Gordon’s A Midnight Clear which was adapted from the novel by William Wharton. The film stars Ethan Hawke (Sgt. Will Knott), Peter Berg (Pvt. Bud Miller), Kevin Dillon (Cpl. Mel Avakian), Arye Gross (Pvt. Stan Shutzer), Gary Sinise (Pvt. Vance ‘Mother’ Wilkins), Frank Whaley (Pvt. Paul ‘Father’ Mundy), Larry Joshua (Lt. Ware), and John C. McGinley (Maj. Griffin).

The film tells the story of  a six man U.S. Army intelligence squad which is hand picked by their regimental commander (Griffin) to scout out an old French chateau in the Ardennes forest in December of 1944 which may house forward German patrols who are trying to push through a gap on their way towards Bastogne, Belgium. Sgt. Knott (Hawke) and his men are at the breaking point fighting the war and try very hard to disassociate themselves from the normal chain of command.

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Liam Neeson has joined the cast of Battleship today. Neeson was added to the cast of the Universal Pictures science fiction action adventure just as filming began today.

Battleship is based on the popular board game by the same name. The writers are obviously taking some liberties with the game in order to create the film. In the movie, a naval fleet at sea must protect the earth from alien invaders.

Neeson will be playing Admiral Shane, a Naval officer whose daughter is engaged to the film’s main protagonist, Alex Hopper, who is played by Taylor Kitsch (X-men Origins:Wolverine).

Neeson’s daughter will be played by relative unknown Brooklyn Decker, who had guest appearances on television shows including  Chuck and Ugly Betty. Alexander Skarsgaard (True Blood) plays Kitsch’s older brother, and R&B songstress Rihanna is making her acting debut as she plays Kitsch’s crew mate and a weapons specialist. Tom Arnold will also be part of the cast, but no news on what his role will entail.

Set for release on May 18th of 2012, Battleship comes from producers Scott Stuber, Peter Berg, Duncan Henderson and Sarah Aubrey, as well as Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir. The flick will shoot on location in Hawaii and Baton Rouge.

It’s ironic how we were just having the discussion on this week’s podcast that Sam Worthington feels like a forced “action star” in Hollywood today, as news is now hitting that Taylor Kitsch has been cast to star in Peter Berg’s film adaptation of the timeless board game Battleship. From Heat Vision:

Pete Berg is directing the action adventure movie, whose story has drawn heat from some quarters for adding an “alien invasion” element to what has been traditionally seen as a grounded Naval game. The script, by Jon and Erich Hoeber, sees an international fleet come together to battle a water-bound armada of otherworldly origin.

In “Battleship,” Kitsch is playing a Naval commander named Alex Hopper, described as “wildly spirited” and “a great seaman but a lousy politician.”

Kitsch was a relative unknown a few years ago, but since being cast as Gambit in last year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he’s already been cast as the titular lead in Pixar’s upcoming John Carter of Mars as well as being the lead in the TV adapatation of Friday Night Lights. Much like how Worthington was put over the top by getting roles in Avatar, Terminator: Salvation, and Clash of the Titans.

With this new role, it could seem that Kitsch is going to be the next “Worthington”, but what could that mean for the first “Worthington”? Is there room in Hollywood, amidst the stack of reboots and remakes as far as the eye can see, for two actors that Hollywood is forcing down our throats?

It’s been reported by Entertainment Weekly, that Pierre Morel – director of last year’s Taken, and the fun, French Parkour film, District B13, has signed on to direct the new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune. The movie, which was originally to be helmed by Peter Berg, kind of fell to the wayside when Berg seemed to become more interested in the (clearly higher quality) property of Battleship: The Movie. The good news is that this means Dune could get many more scenes of throat-punching.

Paramount, the studio backing the new film, is also supposedly looking for a new writer to work on incorporating the sensibilities of the French director. Morel is apparently is looking to make a much closer adaptation than the previous version of the script by Quantum of Solace screenwriter, Josh Zetumer. In case you’re not familiar, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides, and the futuristic inter-galactic feudal system involving his family’s rule of the desert planet Arrakis.

The story explores the politics, religion, technology and ecology of it’s incredible in-depth universe. The book was previously made into a movie in 1984 by David Lynch, and been brought to television through a couple of mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel.

NBC seems to be pulling out all the stops promoting its new Fall shows. Well, at least some of them because they keep sending us new promos for the shows pretty much weekly and, of course, we’ll keep putting them up so you can get a look at them. This time around we’ve got a couple looks at both Trauma and Mercy — two of the networks freshmen medical dramas — for you today. In these clips, more sneak peek at actual things going on in the shows than traditional promos, we get further information about the characters and situations that we can expect when watching them.

Its been a while since I really liked a medical drama having given up on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and ER long ago. But after seeing all the promos and such for these two shows I’m still kinda interested in both of them. Each has its strengths to be sure such as interesting casts — Taylor Schilling and Michelle Trachtenberg in the case of Mercy and Cliff Curtis, Derek Luke and Jamey Sheridan in the case of Trauma — and somewhat unique perspectives on the medical drama. But in the long run I guess before I can really make a determination, I’ll just have to watch them. Of course, I will — especially if the kind folks at NBC send over some screeners.

Trauma hits the air on Monday, September 28th and Mercy on September 23rd. Check out the new sneak peeks after the break.

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With great comic-to-film news coming from left and right this week, there was bound to be one or two stories that make us cringe just a bit. Sadly, that story has to do with director Peter Berg talking up a sequel to last year’s successful foul-mouthed superhero film Hancock. Not only is there a sequel being planned, but it looks like Berg wants another A-lister alongside Will Smith and Charlize Theron.

According to our buddies at MTV Splashpage, the director has confirmed that the full cast is back, and that we may even see a new player:

The big reveal at the end of “Hancock” was that [Spoiler Alert!] both Smith and Theron’s characters are immortal gods who become vulnerable when near each other. For the sequel, Berg said we can expect the appearance of at least one more all-powerful god. What’s more, he’s got his eye on a well-known name to play a third superhero. “We have [someone in mind],” Berg said. “I’m not gonna tell you who, but we have!”

There hasn’t been much speculation on who the third “god” could be, but Will Smith and Charlize Theron are definitely considered to be A-list stars, so putting someone up on a poster alongside them and calling them a “well-known” player may be a pretty tall order. Our suggestion? Harrison Ford as the grizzled veteran god who just wants his family back. Thoughts?

Update: In addition to Smith and Theron, it seems Jason Bateman will also be returning as well. Good news for the film because any movie benefits from his participation.

Our fine friends at NBC have sent us some video and we, being the cool people that we are, are eager to share it with you. First up is a brand new episode of NBC’s “controversial” reality show The Wanted, which concerns an elite group of crime fighters who have no real affiliation and are just private individuals, who join together to hunt down people known to be part of terrorist organizations.

Next up is a promo for a new show, Trauma, which hits the airwaves on September 28th at 9/8C, is Executive Produced by Peter Berg and is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics.

To be honest, I’m kinda on the fence about The Wanted. I think the “reality” elements of the show at times feel scripted and not real at all. Plus, its just sorta hokey and lame in some parts as well. Trauma, on the other hand, seems like a pretty interesting show and one I will tune in and check out.

Click through to check out both shows after the break.

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Sadly, not very many of you ended up watching Ron Moore and Michael Taylor’s “back door” pilot Virtuality on Fox last Friday. The numbers were not very high at all, which pretty much ensures the show will never become a series. That’s unfortunate because the pilot was very well done and would have made quite a good series.

Well cast, well directed (by Peter Berg) with engaging characters, clever dialog, some action, suspense and a mystery plot twist at the end would have made me tune in each week to follow the continuing story of the Phaeton crew on its mission to save earth. My one major problem with the show isn’t really a problem with the show exactly, its with Fox billing it as a “TV Movie.”

This is not a movie because a movie has an ending that finishes a story and explains most of the questions raised during the story. This was a pilot that assuredly ended with the beginning of a story, which is exactly what a pilot is supposed to do. For whatever reason, Fox has consigned Virtuality to the scrap heap of discarded quality shows that never really got a chance and decided to cut its losses and air the show on Friday to see what happens.

Fortunately, you can now catch this terrific pilot on Hulu and Fox on Demand. Go watch it and enjoy it as much as I did. Then, if you do, let Fox know you would really like to see it become a series. Who knows, maybe they’ll actually listen? Although, I wouldn’t suggest holding your breath.

Be sure to check out the show on Hulu or feel free to watch it right here after the jump.

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Yes, you read that headline correctly. With at least one costly yet tepid mini-series and a decent, if somewhat misguided, feature film already out there based on Frank Herbert’s classic novel Dune, it looks like producer Kevin Misher and director Peter Berg are giving a big screen version of the novel another go. According to an interview over at io9, Misher confirmed that he and Berg are indeed working on a script for a “reboot” of the Dune franchise and expect to deliver said script shortly.

According to Misher in the article, Dune is “one of my favorite books of all time, and I made a movie with Pete (Berg) called The Rundown. . . so we decided to get back together. Pete had loved the book as well. It’s a great opportunity for us.” As for the progress they’ve made so far, Misher said: “We’re working on the script right now. We’re going to turn it in shortly. The script is coming in, we’re hoping to get a green light shortly.”

So, apparently all systems are go for a reboot of the Dune franchise. However, as much as I loved the novel and would be interested in  a new, updated feature film version, I’m not sure the guy who directed Very Bad Things and Hancock and the producer who made The Interpreter and The Scorpion King are the right guys for the job.

In my world where I run the studios, I think I would assign this task to a different team. Who would I pick? How about Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven or Zack Snyder and Lawrence Gordon?

I think either of those teams would do a bang up job. Peter Berg and Kevin Misher? I guess we’ll see.