Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures has "refashioned" a new version of the 1984 hit The Karate Kid as a star vehicle for Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith.

The film will retain the original's producer, Jerry Weintraub along with Overbrook Entertainment which includes Will Smith.

The script is being written by Chris Murphy, and the film will shoot next year in Beijing and other cities. While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

The younger Smith, who next stars in The Day the Earth Stood Still, is a martial arts practitioner.

 Joe Johnston has inked a deal to direct "First Avenger: Captain America," Marvel Studios' take on its ****c comic book character. Marvel's Kevin Feige is producing.

No writers are on board, but the studio, which is hearing pitches, expects to hire shortly.

Johnston first met with Marvel two years ago. When the two parties clicked, general talks turned into Captain America-specific meetings, with much of the project's current direction resulting from those early conversations.

"This is a guy who designed the vehicles for 'Star Wars,' who storyboarded the convoy action sequence for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' " Feige said. "From 'Rocketeer' to 'October Sky' to 'The Wolfman,' you can look at pieces of his movies and see how they lead to this one."

Created in 1941 by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon for Timely Comics, Captain America is the heroic alter ego of Steve Rogers, who is rejected by the Army for being too sickly and undergoes an experiment that takes him to the pinnacle of human form. Paired with an indestructible shield, he became a symbol of the war effort, in and out of comics.

The character disappeared in the 1950s but was revived during the early era of Marvel Comics. He was reintroduced as part of the Avengers, the absence explained by having him being in a state of suspended animation during a war mission until found by the superteam.

Kicking off with "Iron Man," Marvel Studios' slate of movies --including "Thor" and the "Iron Man" sequel -- is building toward an "Avengers" movie set for release in 2011, in which the characters from the films team for one big adventure. "Captain America" is scheduled for release May 6, 2011.

"Captain America" will be a World War II-set movie, and the character will appear in the modern day-set "Avengers." Executive producing on "Captain" are Louis D'Esposito, Stan Lee and Marvel Studios' chairman David Maisel.

The character's last live-action appearance was in 1990's "Captain America," a cheap production from 21st Century Films that ended up going to straight to video. The movie starred Matt Salinger as the hero, dethawed in modern times to fight his archnemesis, the Red Skull.

CAA-repped Johnston's credits include "Jurassic Park III" and "Hidalgo." He is in post on Universal's retelling of "The Wolfman," starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.

A city of brittle stars off the coast of New Zealand, an Antarctic expressway where octopuses ride along in a flow of extra salty water and a carpet of tiny crustaceans on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor are among the wonders discovered by researchers compiling a massive census of marine life.

"We are still making discoveries," but researchers also are busy assembling data already collected into the big picture of life in the oceans, senior scientist Ron O'Dor said.

The fourth update of the census was released Sunday ahead of a meeting of hundreds of researchers that begins Tuesday in Valencia, Spain. More than 2,000 scientists from 82 nations are taking part in the project, which is to be completed in 2010.

A discovery that delights O'Dor is that many deep-ocean octopuses share an Antarctic origin. As the Antarctic got colder, ice increased and octopuses were forced into deeper water, he said in a telephone interview.

Salt and oxygen are concentrated in the deeper waters, he said. This dense water then flows out, carrying along the octopuses that have adapted to the new conditions, enabling them to spread to deep waters around the world.

Deep-water octopuses worldwide, he pointed out, lack the ink sack that allows their shallow-water cousins to shoot out a camouflage screen.

After all, if they live where it is dark, ink is unnecessary, said O'Dor, a Canadian member of the research team.

Patricia Miloslavich, a senior scientist from Venezuela, is pleased with newly discovered mollusks, from snails to cuttlefish to squids.

Once the census is complete, the plan is to publish three books: a popular survey of sea life, a second book with chapters for each working group and a third focusing on biodiversity.

O'Dor said researchers also are working with the online scientific journal PLoS ONE, which is open to anyone and thus would make the results readily available.

Scientists at this week's sessions will hear about the discovery of what the researchers call a brittle star city off the coast of New Zealand.

The brittle stars, animals with five arms, have colonized the peak of a seamount -- an underwater mountain -- where the current flows past at about 2.5 mph. The current delivers such an ample food supply that thousands of stars can capture food simply by raising their arms.

Researchers found a carpet of small crustaceans inhabiting the head of the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. There are as many as 12,000 of these small crustaceans per square yard.

Among the other findings being reported at the meeting:

The mid-Atlantic ridge half way between America and Europe is home to hundreds of species rare or unknown elsewhere.

The ridge includes the world's deepest known active hot vent, more than 13,300 feet (4,100 meters) deep and populated by anemones, worms and shrimp.

Reefs deep in the Black Sea are made of bacterial mats using methane as an energy source. The bacteria form chimneys up to 13 feet (4 meters) high.

The deepest comb jellyfish ever found was discovered at a depth of 23,455 feet (7,217 meters) in the Ryukyu Trench near Japan. The discovery raises questions about the availability of food resources at such depths, which had not been thought capable of supporting predators such as this one.

The White Shark Cafe. Satellite tagging discovers that white sharks travel long distances each winter to concentrate in the Pacific for up to six months. While there, both males and females make frequent, repetitive dives to depths of 975 feet (300 meters), which researchers theorize may be significant in either feeding or reproduction.

On the first Sunday after a gay marriage ban passed in California, activists rallied in defiance, including hundreds of protesters outside an Orange County megachurch whose pastor brought Barack Obama and John McCain together last summer for a "faith forum."

About 300 gay-rights advocates fanned out along sidewalks leading to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest to voice their anger of the church's support of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment approved by voters Tuesday that overturns a state Supreme Court decision in May legalizing same-sex unions.

Ed Todeschini, a Human Rights Campaign volunteer, accused Saddleback in particular of helping propagate what he called misinformation about the Supreme Court ruling, including that gay marriage would have to be taught to kindergartners.

A message seeking comment left at the church's main office, which was closed Sunday, was not immediately returned.

"They told such obvious lies. They used their lies to deceive the public," Todeschini said of the church, which gained national attention in August when its pastor, Rick Warren, brought Obama and McCain together to discuss their religious faith. The two candidates embraced during an often-contentious presidential campaign.

Todeschini said Sunday's rally was peaceful, with demonstrators waving placards with slogans including "Equality for all" and "Shame on you."

The amendment was passed last week with 52 percent of the vote, and backlash at churches over their support swept across California on Sunday after days of protests.

In Oakland, a large protest at the city's Mormon temple led the California Highway Patrol to close two highway ramps to ensure pedestrian safety. Protest organizers said they hoped to tone down the anger that has characterized some previous demonstrations.

"Our intent is not to disturb churchgoers," organizer Tim DeBenedictis said in a statement. "Our goal is to mend fences and build bridges so that all Californians can achieve marriage equality under the law."

The pastor of the 4,000-member All Saints Church in Pasadena spoke out against Proposition 8, calling the religious community's support of it "embarrassing."

The church announced that while it could no longer legally marry same-sex couples, it would continue blessing gay civil unions.

"It's very unfortunate and embarrassing that the (Christian religion) is in large part responsible for this act of bigotry," the Rev. Ed Bacon said after his sermon.

In Sacramento, a protest at the state Capitol was boisterous but peaceful as speakers led the crowd in noisy chants. Protesters waved rainbow flags, a symbol of the gay rights movement, and "No on 8" signs as police watched from the side.

Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed disappointment at Proposition 8's passage.

"It is unfortunate," Schwarzenegger said. "But it is not the end because I think this will go back into the courts. ... It's the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This falls into the same category."

An accident that killed 20 people on a new Russian nuclear submarine was caused by a malfunctioning fire safety system that spewed out chemicals, according to an initial investigation, officials said Sunday.

At least 21 other people were injured during Saturday's test run in the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

It was Russia's worst naval accident since the nuclear submarine Kursk sank after an onboard torpedo explosion on August 12, 2000, killing all 118 crew members.

The latest fatal accident was the result of the "accidental launch of the fire-extinguishing system" on the Pacific Fleet sub, Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo told reporters.

Russian news agency Interfax said a preliminary forensic investigation found that the release of Freon gas following the activation of the fire extinguishing system may have caused the fatalities.

Seventeen of the fatalities were civilian members of the shipyard crew, Interfax reported. The submarine was being field tested before it became a official part of the navy, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement.

The statement said 208 people, including 81 soldiers were on board the submarine. In addition to the fatalities, the accident wounded 21, Russian officials said.

The accident did not damage the nuclear reactor on the submarine which later traveled back to its base on Russia's Pacific coast under its own power, Dygalo added.

The submarine returned to Bolshoi Kamen, a military shipyard and a navy base near Vladivostok, state-run Rossiya television said, according to The Associated Press.

Officials did not reveal the name of the submarine, but Russian news agencies quoted officials at the Amur Shipbuilding Factory who said the submarine was built there and is called the Nerpa.

Construction of the Nerpa, an Akula II ****attack submarine, started in 1991 but due to a shortage of funding was suspended for several years, the reports said. Testing on the submarine began last month and it submerged for the first time last week.

The Kremlin is seeking to restore Russia's military power amid strained ties with the West following the war with Georgia.

But despite former President Vladimir Putin increasing military spending, Russia's military remains hampered by decrepit infrastructure and aging weapons.

The Kremlin said President Dmitry Medvedev was told about the accident immediately and ordered a thorough investigation.

Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-park's Oldboy, says Variety. DreamWorks is in the process of securing the remake rights, and the new film will be distributed by Universal.

In the 2003 Korean original, a man gets kidnapped and held in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. Suddenly, he's released and given money, a cell phone and clothes and is set on a path to discover who destroyed his life so he can take revenge.

Smith who would play the kidnapped man if all the pieces fall into place. Spielberg is looking for a writer to begin the development process.

Spielberg is next expected to direct Tintin.

my thoughts are they aren't gonna stay true to the orignial and if he put shia in it the ending would be shia going no no no no no but muttled if you know what happens at the end n damn will smith must want that oscar

if you want do this right put fincher to direct and put ed norton and kevin spacey to play off each other

Steve Niles, the original film's screenwriter and author of the comic book series, and Ben Ketai (writer for a "30 Days of Night" prequel TV series that I never knew existed) are tentatively on the roster to script the follow-up.

In the sequel to the bone-chilling 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, Stella seeks revenge on the blood-thirsty vampires that destroyed her sleepy Alaskan town. Could Melissa George return? Only time will tell...

The author of 'Jurassic Park' and it's sequel, 'Lost World', Michael Crichton has died at the age of 66. Though is death is being reported as "unexpected" ET reports that "he was waging a private battle against cancer."

"While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us -- and entertained us all while doing so -- his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," "He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget."

Wanted co-writer Chris Morgan told MTV that he is getting ready to pen the sequel.

According to Morgan, Universal Pictures is in the final stages of negotiating a deal with graphic novel creator Mark Millar for a sequel to the June 2008 film.

As to the story for the film's sequel, Morgan told MTV "the point is to continue the journey that Wes (James McAvoy) started in the first film. Wherever he ended up at the end of the film, now it's time to move him forward."

"There's a natural journey that Wes needs to take," he continued, adding that the sequel "is going to be opened up to be more global."

The Three Stooges are back, Farrelly $tyle.

MGM is in the process of acquiring the film rights to the Untitled Three Stooges Project from Warner Bros., which has been developing the project for years. MGM wants to fast-track the most recent screenplay, an origin story for Moe, Larry and Curly, written by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. The Farrellys are also said to direct the film.

Mary Parent, chairman of MGM said "The Three Stooges are a timeless staple of comedy...And when we heard what the Farrellys had in mind, we knew it was time for Larry, Moe and Curly to return to the big screen."

The Farrellys' screenplay -- described by the filmmakers as "slapstick with heart" -- breaks the feature into four 20-minute shorts, in an approximation of the vaudeville and slapstick pioneers' most common format in the 1920s and '30s. The first episode establishes the bruising, boisterous brothers as 7-year-old castoffs who terrorize the nun-run orphanage that takes them in. Eventually foced to leave, Moe (the hostile leader), Larry (the jokey sidekick) and Curly (the childlike dimwit) try to find a place for themselves in a modern world.

No one is yet attached to star, but over the years thinking has run from total unknowns to unexpected A-list "stunt" casting, with such names as Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson floated for the temper-challenged, bowl-cut Moe.