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According to THR Ari Sandel , who made his directorial debut with The DUFF , is coming on board to direct Monster High , Universal’s adaptation of the popular Mattel toy line. The studio has been developing the project since 2009 with, among others, producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and their Fake Empire shingle. The two also worked on the screenplay (the initial writers were Alfred Gough and Miles Millar). It is, however, the first time it’s had a director in play, with Sandel in negotiations to helm. The female-skewing property focuses on the spawn of famous monsters including Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman (Draculaura, Frankie Stein and Clawdeen Wolf, respectively) undergoing the trials and tribulations of high school. High is not just toys but involves animated movies, video games, apps, among other games and activities. Mattel’s Playground Productions is executive producing. Sandel has proven to have a light touch with teen-oriented material not only w...

The First Daughter gets a facelift. By Brandon Wolfe Master of disaster Roland Emmerich has revealed via his Twitter account that It Follows star Maika Monroe has joined the cast of the rapidly assembling Independence Day sequel. Monroe will play the now-grown daughter of Bill Pullman’s President. Though Monroe is rightfully moving quickly up the ladder after her breakout performance in It Follows , the role of the President’s daughter was portrayed by actress Mae Whitman in the original film. Whitman, who remains a very active actress, seen in Arrested Development , Parenthood and, most recently, The Duff , was apparently not given the opportunity to reprise the role, striking up some controversy online about how that may be due to her being less Hollywood-glamorous than Monroe. If that is the case, it is indeed a shame, especially for a sequel that has seemed to take pains to bring back as many original ID4 actors as possible. In related news, Will Smith is still not...

This week's episode of Inside the Bucket is online! Revel in the digital mastery! On this week's edition of Inside the Bucket , Matt, John, Brandon, and Sue brave the elements to deliver the best movie and television news from our website SANDWICHJOHNFILMS.COM , including Steven Speilberg getting his love on for Chris Pratt and further updates on Mission: Impossible V. Please check out all the links to the items we covered in today's podcast. Later, they angrily discuss San Diego Comic-Con's continued poor release of tickets, while Matt argues about today Oscar ceremony inRants and Raves, a discussion of entertainment-related items that they've followed since our last podcast. Finally, they review two movies:Hot Tub Time Machine 2starring Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott, as well as The DUFF , starring Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell. We encourage you to participate in our Open Forum Friday, which is your chance to get in our business abo...

The hysterical, sweet The Duff renews our faith in teen comedies. Review by Matt Cummings Has recent teen programming always been this awful? In a world where Disney live-action programming makes you feel like you've entered The Dumb Zone with its horrible acting and cheesy scripts, The Duff arrives to kick all of them in their collective pants and then laugh about it all the way to the high school bathroom. Bianca (Mae Whitman) is a high school brainiac whose super-hot friends Casey (Bianca A. Santos) and Jess (Skyler Samuels) are the center of every high school boy's fantasies. Yet, Bianca's Nirvana/Seattle style makes no one turn their heads, escpecially the football team's quarterback and Bianca's longtime neighbor Wesley (Robbie Amell). Through a strange twist of fate, Bianca comes face to face with the jock, learning that she has been designated as a Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), and that this phenomenon is repeated with kids all over camp...

Here is the first TV spot for CBS Films' THE DUFF ! Don't miss the upcoming comedy starring Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Bianca Santos, Skyler Samuels, Nick Eversman, Allison Janney, Romany Malco & Ken Jeong opens in theaters on February 20, 2015! Bianca (Mae Whitman) is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as 'The DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends (Skyler Samuels & Bianca Santos). Now, despite the words of caution from her favorite teacher (Ken Jeong), she puts aside the potential distraction of her crush, Toby (Nick Eversman), and enlists Wesley (Robbie Amell), a slick but charming jock, to help reinvent herself. To save her senior year from turning into a total disaster, Bianca must find the confidence to overthrow the school's ruthless label maker Madison (Bella Thorne) and remind everyone that no matter what people look or act like, ...

McG Gets His Hands On "The DUFF" McG is going after " The DUFF ," optioning feature rights to Kody Keplinger 's coming-of-age novel to produce through his Wonderland Sound and Vision with Vast Entertainment. McG will produce with Vast Entertainment CEO Lane Shefter Bishop. Wonderland's Mary Viola will exec produce. " DUFF ," which stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend , focuses on a 17-year-old high school student who realizes she's the epitome of "Duffness" and subsequently struggles with maintaining her sense of identity while juggling a tumultuous home life. It is the debut novel by the 20-year-old Keplinger and will be released this fall by Poppy. "DUFF" was featured at last week's BookExpo America on the Young Adult Editors' Buzz panel. Here’s Amazon’s description of the book: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long sho...