With the recent resurgence of fairy tale themed shows such as NBC’s Grimm and ABC’s own Once Upon a Time, the Disney-owned company is now prepared to launch their second fabled show in the form of a live-action retelling of the children’s classic Beauty and the Beast, originally written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

The pilot will be written by Jonathan E. Steinberg (Human Target, Jericho with Steinberg acting as executive producer with Gary Fleder and Mary Beth Basile. It is also speculated that the series, if picked up, will air after the networks already highly successful Once Upon A Time. This version of the tale is intended as a period piece and will feature a hardboiled princess who develops a connection with a wild beast. No word yet on casting.

As if one Beauty and the Beast show wasn’t enough, the CW has also ordered a reboot of the CBS-produced version which ran on the network from 1987-1989. It starred Ron Pearlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) as Vincent, a lion-faced creature who wanders the New York sewers and occasionally quotes Shakespeare.

As scary TV movies go the original 70’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ranks pretty high. It manages to be quite harrowing and chilling without resorting to gore or other obvious means.

It was so scary good, in fact, that it attracted the interest of big time writer/director Guillermo del Toro who co-wrote and produced a remake. Now, thanks to the folks at MySpace (I know) we’ve got a trailer for the updated version to share with you.

This new one continues the scary trend but also shows what you can do without too much in the way of blood and gore. Although it does seem to be upping the “monster” quotient a bit from the original. Plus, the rest of the elements of filmmaking have obviously come a long way too.

Don’t be Afraid of the Dark, which features Katie Holmes and Guy Pierce, comes from Miramax who will release it January 21, 2011.

Previously, we brought you the first info on the upcoming reboot of the classic horror film Fright Night along with some early casting news. Now, the number of actors in the new film has increased by two. According to Heat Vision, David Tennant, best known for the BBC series Doctor Who and Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad and Kick-Ass fame have joined the film.

The two actors are now part of a cast which already includes Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and Toni Colette who are playing Charlie, an evil vampire and Charlie’s disbelieving Mom respectively. Tennant will play Peter Vincent, a late-night horror show host made famous by the late Roddy McDowall in the original film. In the rebooted version, Tennant instead plays a Las Vegas magician whose act centers on horror movie images.

Vincent, of course, claims to be a vampire expert, but when Charlie asks him for help with Colin Farrell’s evil vampness and his Mom’s recent attraction to the vamps, it turns out his vampire hunting skills leave something to be desired. Mintz-Plasse will star as Charlie’s friend, Evil Ed, who feels slighted when Charlie leaves his nerdy past, and his friend, behind. As revenge, Ed joins the vampires and becomes a nemesis for Charlie.

The film, written by former Buffy scribe Mari Noxon and directed by Craig Gillespie, is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2011.

As reboots go, CBS’s update of the show Hawaii Five-O is actually one I’m kinda looking forward to. Sure, I also wish networks could come up with more original ideas instead of looking to the past and updating shows that have already been around. But I guess you can’t have everything.

Like some of CBS’s other shows, Five-O is a police procedural which takes the concept in a slightly new direction without making it completely different. It’s familiar without being a complete retread and manages to be somewhat fresh take on things.

It also includes lush tropical settings, car chases, gunfights and an appealing cast which includes Alex O’Laughlin, Scott Caan, Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim. Will the show succeed? Perhaps. Fortunately, the cast manages to uplift the somewhat familiar premise and as with most series, will be a key factor in its success.

Fortunately, CBS has done a good job putting the show together and it could enjoy a rather long run on the network. Look for Hawaii Five-O to hit the beach this Fall on Mondays at 10/9C on CBS. Until then, check out a preview of the show after the jump.

We can add yet another film reboot to our growing list of projects which already includes Predators, Logan’s Run, Escape from New York, Planet of the Apes and so many more. Yes, that’s right it looks like director Steven Norrington is going forward with his reboot of The Crow.

Remembered by many as the film during which actor Brandon Lee died, it was a stylistic thriller from director Alex Proyas, who went on to do the equally stylistic Dark City and the less-than-stellar I, Robot. Now, the reboot is going full ahead and MTV Splashpage has got some scoop on the film from producer Ed Pressman.

According to Pressman, Norrington’s screenplay is finished and his vision for the film is inching much closer to reality, with casting announcements on the way and filming beginning this year. In addition, the movie will deviate significantly in locale and the Crow itself will also play a larger role in the film.

In case you’re not familiar with the story it concerns a man named Eric who’s fiance is murdered in front of him. He is resurrected by a crow and seeks vengeance on his murderers. He is immortal and can only be injured when the crow itself is hurt.

Pressman expects to begin shooting The Crow later this year for a projected release early in 2011.

Welcome back to Western Wednesdays!  I apologize for losing sight of the trail last week — but let us be stern frontiersmen and women, and not dwell on past failings.

This past week, everyone (including myself) has been eating up the wild wild West in the form of Red Dead Redemption.  I’ve spent hours herding cattle, taming mustangs, and shooting horse thieves, thoroughly enjoying the experience of playing in this genre rather than simply watching it.   So when it came time to pick a film for this week, it was tempting to go for one that reflected the gritty nature of the game.

But then I thought hey, why not go for the exact opposite of Red Dead Redemption? Why not delve into a corner of the genre I’ve dodged thus far, and visit the singing cowboys?   Surely, there was no one more unlike the scarred John Marston than Gene Autry.  So, I selected Tumbling Tumbleweeds and prepared for some wholesome, musical fun.

Now, I had a very specific image of the singing cowboy. They were squeaky clean guys in pretty, fringe decorated shirts and ornamental gunbelts. They had horses with cute names.   They never got dirty, and their movie plots centered around rescuing lost little dogies or kids who wandered onto the prairie. If they shot a gun, it was never to kill, but to startle or warn.

Former Battlestar Galactica cast members keep getting more work, especially the really great looking ones (who also have some acting talent). Katee Sackhoff is currently on 24 and made a lasting impression during an appearance on The Big Bang Theory. Tricia Helfer has made appearances on Burn Notice, Human Target and will be a regular on the new TNT series Dark Blue.

And now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, her cylon pal Grace Park has picked up a new TV role as well. Park will join the reboot of CBS’ Hawaii Five-O and play Kona Kalakaua, the niece of squad member Chin Ho Kelly, which will be played by Lost‘s Daniel Dae Kim.

She’s a beautiful and smart champion surfer who is about to graduate from the police academy when McGarrett recruits her to join his team. Of course, as we already told you, McGarrett will be played in the reboot by Moonlight‘s Alex O’Laughlin. Plus, super writer/producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are in charge of the show.

However, with Park now involved, I’ve got a real reason to watch this show. And no, not just for the eye candy. . . although that doesn’t hurt.

Hollywood has been remaking old television shows into big screen adventures for years now. It’s been a trend with limited success, and every time you think it’ll die off with something like The Mod Squad,  we get news of another Charlie’s Angels or a big screen McCloud.

Lately, there’s been a weird interest in reviving tv westerns.  Last August, CBS Films announced they were developing a feature film based on Gunsmoke, the legendary series that ran for an exhausting 20 seasons.   Prior to television, it ran for nearly ten years as a radio serial.  No one could get enough of Marshall Matt Dillon back in the day, and apparently he’s due for a modern makeover.

Despite having its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, Gunsmoke was quite edgy for its time. Long before John Ford or Sergio Leone,  Norman MacDonald and John Meston sought to dismantle the cutesy, archtypical Old West that had been seen up until then. They wanted a harder, cruder hero and a more realistic and brutal West. Their Marshall Matt Dillon was no hero in a white hat, and the Dodge City he patrolled was full of shady and violent characters.

It was aimed at adults, and was one of the first radio shows to depict scalping, prostitution, opium addiction, and massacres. Dillon killed a heck of a lot of people, and his creators proudly said that he was as scarred and dangerous as the villains of Dodge City.

I’ve made no secret about being excited for the The A-Team movie coming out this summer.  No matter what other trailer I see (including even Iron Man 2) there’s something  about The A-Team that just resonates with me. Maybe it’s the nostalgia factor or it could be that director Joe Carnahan knows how to make a kick-ass action film (see Smokin’ Aces).  Either way, it’s my number one pick for the 2010 Summer blockbuster season.

One particular aspect of the new film I’m looking forward to are the cameos from Dirk Benedict and Dwight Shultz, the original Faceman and Murdock.  With these two secured I was certain Carnahan would pull off the best cameo trio ever and get Mr. T as well. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Latino Review caught up with Mr. T (at a gym no less) and asked him about whether he’d be in the new film, which apparently he won’t be: