Broken Frontier

Brett Ratner to Helm Harbinger Adaptation

Rush Hour director Brett Ratner is moving his production company Rat Entertainment to Paramount Pictures, Variety reports. One of his first projects will be Harbinger, based on the Valiant Comics series created by Jim Shooter.

Variety writes that after 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, the director would like to start his own super-hero film series “from the ground up.” Paramount will hire a screenwriter for the project in the near future.

Another Ratner project, Beverly Hills Cop 4, will be written by Wanted screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas.

Justice League Film Limps Along

Oscar-winning director George Miller told Australia’s Sun Herald newspaper that a Justice League of America film adaptation may still be in the works, adding that the production may begin filming as early as next year.

In the interview, Miller praised Megan Gale, who would play Wonder Woman in the long-delayed film debut of the all-star DC Comics team.

"She got the job because she blitzed her screen test. I mean, I had no idea she was so good," Miller said. "She walked into our office in Sydney and read the part. She has done some Italian movies, but I didn't think she would be as good as she was. But once she read we all looked around at each other and said, 'well, there's no question.’”

The Dark Knight Breaks $400 Million Domestically

Earlier this week, The Dark Knight became the fastest film to break the $400 million mark in U.S. and Canadian theaters,  Reuters reports. The previous record holder, Shrek 2, took 43 days to raise that amount. The Batman sequel accomplished that feat in just 18 days.

Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures expects the film to earn another $100 million domestically before it leaves theaters, which would unseat the No. 2 box office draw of all time, Star Wars.

James Cameron’s Titanic, released in 1997, is the current North American box office champ, with a $601 million total gross. Experts remain unsure as to whether the wildly popular Batman Begins follow-up will be able to snag that top spot.

"That $600 million is kind of one for the ages. It's held for 10 years," Paul Dergarabedia, president of Media By Numbers—a box office tracking firm—told Reuters. "It's very, very difficult to get from $500 million to $600 million. But the fact we're even talking about it tells you something about the strength of The Dark Knight and what a phenomenon it is."