PRODUCTION UPDATES TORONTO: "CARRIE", "THE F-WORD", "REMEMORY", "ROBOCOP", "LIZ & DICK" & "CYBERGEDDON"

Julianne Moore at TIFF 2009

Just a few updates on Production Timelines for some notable Projects set to film in Toronto this Summer to share as per the Ontario Media Development Corporation:

RoboCop from Director Jose Padilha is penciled-in to film between August 7-December 14, 2012. In addition to Joel Kinnaman being cast for the Remake, Gael García Bernal also has been added to the Film from Sony Pictures. Some rumours are circulating that Sean Penn and Edward Norton also are being eyed for the Project.

Director Michael Dowse (whom we chatted with back in February) recently achieved great success domestically with his Goon being the number one Film in its debut at the Canadian Box Office.  He  now has his sights set on a Rom-Com which he says will be completely different from anything he's done. The F-Word is set to film in Toronto between May 28-July 16, 2012.

Director Mark Palansky who brought Penelope starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci to TIFF 2006 will be filming Rememory in Toronto for a quick Shoot between May 10-June 8, 2012 and attached so far are Emmy and Golden Globe Winner Peter Dinklage and also our own Catherine O'Hara, who like him also is a fellow Emmy Winner.

Mad Men Producer Matthew Weiner is lending his name to Cybergeddon, which although is listed as a TV Movie, is set to premiere on Yahoo this Fall.  CSI:Crime Scene Investigation Creator Anthony Zuiker will be helming the Project, which will be formatted for to be viewed on Mobile Devices and Computer Screens. Cybergeddon films between May 7-31, 2012, also a quick Shoot.

The much-awaited Carrie Remake from Sony Screen Gems starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Jamie King is  closer to having Oscar-nominated Actress Julianne Moore sign-on, and also now is listed officially as a Toronto Production.  It would appear dates are still being finalized for the Kimberly Peirce Horror Film.

And lastly, for those of us excited to see Lindsay Lohan in Toronto filming Lifetime Television Movie Liz and Dick this Summer, The Wrap has just announced that filming will begin in June with Los Angeles mentioned as the locale for the Shoot.  Not sure what this means for Toronto which originally was eyed for Production, but this isn't boding well for Fans and Paparazzi hoping to get a glimpse of Lohan...

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

TORONTO WELCOMES 4 "QUEENS" & A KING THIS SPRING/SUMMER

L to R: Lindsay Lohan, Abigail Breslin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lily Collins & Chloë Grace Moretz

Four "Teen Queens" and a King of Cinema will be in Toronto this Spring/Summer as we play host to several major Stars confirmed to film in our City! Which are you most excited about?

Lily Collins as confirmed by Deadline in March, will be taking on the Lead Role of Clary Fray in The Mortal Instruments.  The Film centers on her mission to find her kidnapped Mother, while discovering she is from a long line of Shadowhunters who protect the World from Demons. Harold Zwart, Helmer of Box Office hit The Karate Kid (2010) has taken over from Scott Stewart who right now is busy in the City prepping the SyFy Network's Defiance.  This is the first Adaptation in Series of six Novels by Cassandra Clare and is set to begin production this August.

The brilliant Abigail Breslin (whom we interviewed back in December) will be teaming-up with Splice Director Vincenzo Natali playing a Girl who along with her Family was murdered in their home in 1986, surfacing to warn her modern day counterpart.  She took to Twitter first expressing her excitement about the Venture, Tweeting on April 3, 2012: "SOO excited to start filming #Haunter and work with the director Vincenzo Natali!". Haunter begins filming mid-April.

As announced previously also Chloë Grace Moretz and former Teen Queen Lindsay Lohan are Toronto-bound too, with the former beginning work on a Carrie Remake and the latter beginning work on a Lifetime Television Movie about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, known tentatively as Liz & Dick.  As a bit of Trivia, Mirvish Productions presented Private Lives last Fall starring Kim Cattrall in role once played famously by Taylor and Paul Gross also in a role filled prior by Burton.  Burton also proposed to Taylor at the King Edward Hotel in the City back in January 1964 - wonder if they will be authentic and film that scene at the same Venue?

And as if that weren't exciting enough, the Ontario Media Development Corporation confirmed Friday that Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) will be filming An Enemy here in Toronto late May. Heartthrob Jake Gyllenhaal whom we met back in May 2010, will be playing a Dual Role in the Thriller based on the Novel, The Double by José Saramago.  Gyllenhaal's Character rents a DVD to find his exact Double in the Film, going out on a search to find him which turns both of their lives upside-down.  IndieWire was among the first broke the Story back in March that Gyllenhaal was being considered for the Lead Role.   

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W., Relativity Media & Universal Pictures)