ScreenTalk: Abrams boldly goes to CAA

Film-maker J J Abrams, the man behind Star Trek, has ended months of Hollywood speculation.

He finally plumped to sign with überagency CAA for representation in all areas. Abrams left WME last summer and is currently making Star Trek into Darkness for Paramount Pictures.

Bourne's big fan gets animated

Cartoons and franchise titles is the order of the day for NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke. The studio chief said he wants two animated features a year such as Despicable Me and more Bourne movies, the most recent of which starred Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz to shore up his legacy at Universal Pictures. Also, he fancies Ted 2, soon.

Scary time ahead for the Master

His turn in The Master is garnering plaudits but the next big job for Philip Seymour Hoffman will be his second outing in the director's chair. The actor is to direct Ezekiel Moss, a supernatural drama, which appeared, on the 2011 Black List of hot unproduced scripts. Hoffman's directorial debut was Jack Goes Boating.

J. Lo makes all the right moves

Dance Again, a new concert film of Jennifer Lopez, famous for her curves and her song-and-dance routines, will be shot in 3D. It should add another dimension for fan boys to ogle with the movie billed as a big-screen high-energy documentary. The concert footage will be in 3D while the documentary parts will be shot in 2D.

Couples comedy goes worldwide

The likelihood of seeing romcom Conception, starring Julie Bowen and Sarah Hyland, on movie screens outside North America recently increased. A Canadian-based sales agent is selling the international rights to the movie from writer and director Josh Stolberg. It follows nine couples on the night they conceive.

Sonnenfeld isn't above the Lore

Barry Sonnenfeld is in talks to direct the sci-fi action script Lore. Dwayne Johnson is attached to star. Warner Bros is backing the project after seeing off Paramount and Sony in a bidding war. Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott adapted an IDW graphic novel described as “Men in Black with mythological creatures."