Warner Bros has finally broken their silence when it comes to the much talked about Where the Wild Things Are. As you must remember, the film has been dogged with rumors of reshoots and recasting. The last news we heard wasn't good, as the studio had casting calls out for reshoots.

But finally, someone has managed to get the studio to say what the heck is going on. LA Times writer Patrick Goldstein sat down with studio chief Alan Horn, who finally gave the studio's side of the story. Horn denied all reports that Spike Jonze had been taken off the project, but admitted the film was being reworked. "We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film. We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn't call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right ... The jury is still out on this one. But we remain confident that Spike is going to figure things out and at the end of the day we'll have an artistically compelling movie."

MTV snagged an exclusive photo from the mysterious Where the Wild Things Are, which they spotted at the New York Licensing Expo. Click on the tantalizing photo on the right to see the whole thing over on MTV. It isn't very big, but it is one of those evocative images that makes you absolutely crazy to see this movie. It really is perfect -- from the wolf suit down to those mysterious monster paws.

The rumors still abound about it. The fact that it is appearing at the Licensing Expo gives one hope that we will see it, and that they won't actually recast a child they have featured on the advertising. To catch you up, Kim talked to Tom Noonan at Cannes. He thought the film would be released as Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers had intended it to be.

Yet, as Monika reported at the beginning of June, Warner Bros is prepping a month of reshoots. It was unclear how much was being changed, but new casting calls went out for various stand-in roles. That suggests that it is more than a few pick-up shots, and that all the whispers of unhappiness and drastic alterations are true. The silence from all involved (with the exception Noonan and Forrest Whitaker) doesn't help. At least we can enjoy the picture and wonder.

[via Empire]

Update: Cinematical was informed that the film still does not have a title, though we imagine one will be announced soon. See full (and accurate) press release after the jump.

Since news first broke about Sam Mendes making the leap to comedy with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, I've become awfully curious to see if the man famous for heavy subject matter can pull off a straight rom-com. Coming Soon has received a press announcement from the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tuscon, Arizona, and according to them, the spa has been chosen as one of the locations for the road flick. More importantly, we now know that the film is going by the slightly awkward title of Farlanders.

McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers co-wrote the script with his wife, Vendela Vida, and the story centers on an expectant couple played by Krasinski (sporting some much-maligned facial hair) and Rudolph as they travel the US looking for the perfect place to start their family. The film has a big ensemble cast to play the various 'characters' our couple will meet along the way -- including some very funny women like Catherine O'Hara, Cheryl Hines, and Allison Janney.

Production began back in April, and according to the release, the Arizona shoot will begin in June. Some of the other locations include Colorado, Connecticut, and Florida. There is no official release date, so I guess I'll have plenty of time to get used to that title.

Farlanders The Untitled Sam Mendes Comedy is due to arrive in theaters in 2009.

Great day in the morning! Two of my favorite actors on the planet are joining the cast of Sam Mendes' increasingly promising 2009 comedy, which has yet to find a title. According to a Focus Features press release that landed in my inbox, Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara will round out an ensemble that already includes John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Toni Colette, Cheryl Hines and Allison Janney. The screenplay was co-written by McSweeney's founder and Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius author Dave Eggers and novelist Vendela Vida. The film "follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family."

O'Hara is probably the funniest woman on the planet, and Daniels can bring heart and humanity to any film, so this is good news indeed. With Christopher Guest taking a break from making the movies that have been her bread and butter over the years, O'Hara can use the high-profile work; her only screen appearance this year or last has been in the underrated Penelope.

Mendes also has the DiCaprio-Winslet reunion movie Revolutionary Road in the works -- it will headline the 2008 Oscar season -- but this new project will be his first stab at comedy. Eggers co-wrote the adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are with Spike Jonze, which should finally see the light of day next year as well.

Toni Collette has joined the cast of the still-untitled Sam Mendes relationship film -- you know, the one starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, and being penned by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Collette will be playing a college professor and close friend of the young couple -- two folks who are scouring the country for a place to settle and raise their child, and Collette's character feels that it'll be dysfunctional no matter where they end up. Smart lady!

The movie pairs Collette up again with Big Beach producers Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf, who produced Little Miss Sunshine. Focus is hoping to capture a bit of that magic, since they gave up their claim on that enormous indie hit.

Things have been quiet in the land of the monsters. Too quiet. But support for the the film came from an unexpected source -- Forest Whitaker. He actually provides a voice for one of the monsters, Ira. "He puts the holes in the trees," the Oscar-winner told MTV. "I have a wife and kid, and we're the only family unit inside [the land of the Wild Things]."

Whitaker was appalled at the rumors that Warner Bros was planning to reshoot the entire film, and promised to call director Spike Jonze to get the story. In the meantime, he wanted to stress his support for the film, and report that at least three children handled a screening of it just fine -- his own. "My children are 9, 11, and 16. It was intense. They liked it, though. They enjoyed it ... It's a good movie. I saw an early cut of it. I brought my kids to see it, and I was really impressed."

John Krasinski has had a bit of a rough start transitioning his TV career into a movie career. For starters, have you seen License to Wed? Luckily for my favorite office drone, his upcoming projects look a lot more promising. Variety reports that Krasinski, SNL's Maya Rudolph, and Cheryl Hines have signed to star in Sam Mendes' new untitled comedy. News of the film first appeared back in January, and just over a month later, three top-notch comedians have signed on for the film. That has got to be a good sign, right?

Celebrity novelist Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (author of Girls of the Verge and Egger's wife) wrote the script for the romantic comedy. Eggers made his name with his memoir, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but is still relatively new to the screenwriting trade. In the film, Krasinski and Rudolph will play an expectant couple traveling around the country looking for a place to settle down and start a family.

If you have ever read anything written by Eggers or the McSweeney's 'brand' then you know that this slight premise is just the kind of story you would expect. Knowing Egger's penchant for personal touches, I'm sure some of the details of his life with his own family found their way into the script. The production is expected to start shooting this April in Connecticut, and the film is set for release in 2009.

American Beauty had its comedy, but it was a pretty dark film. After that came Road to Perdition, which jumped into the crime drama vein. Then there was Jarhead. It was all sorts of amusing to see Jake Gyllenhaal gyrate while clothed in nothing more than two Santa hats, but the rest was pretty serious. And we've still got a documentary, Revolutionary Road, and Middlemarch on the way. It's no wonder that Variety is reporting that director Sam Mendes is now running towards comedy!

He has signed on to direct a still-untitled "contemporary comedy" for Focus Features this spring. The film was written by McSweeney's head honcho, and the brain behind A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida (who edits The Believer and wrote Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name). As Variety describes it, the flick "follows a young couple's journey around the U.S. as they search for somewhere to put down roots and raise the baby they are expecting." Ah, there's nothing like getting impregnated and then trying to find out where you want to live. Unfortunately, there's no word on the cast yet (Mrs. Mendes, perhaps??), but as soon as we hear it, we'll let you know.

Look no further, the wild things are in this post ...

Another photo from Where the Wild Things Are has popped up online (see above), courtesy of CinemaBlend. There's actually two photos, but one of them we've already seen (it features the little kid dancing around a group of unseen beasts). This new photo is actually pretty cool; this time we see the "wild things," except they have their backs toward us and are looking at what appears to be a setting sun. I read this book like a thousand times when I was a kid, and I'm stoked to see Spike Jonze directing because, honestly, aside from Tim Burton he's the only one nutty enough to take the challenge. And Jonze co-wrote the script with Dave Eggers! Insanity, folks -- insanity. Cannot wait for this; it arrives in theaters on October 3rd. A heartbreaking work of staggering genius ... or just plain heartbreaking? I guess we'll see ...

And speaking of images, a new one from Hellboy II: The Golden Army has arrived online -- and for the first time we get to see what Ron Perlman looks like as Hellboy. Well, actually, it's the second time we're seeing Perlman as Hellboy, and if you caught the first flick, then the dude looks pretty much the same. I'm sure something has changed (one more rip in his shirt?), but I'll leave it up to you fanboys to discover the new material. In the Guillermo del Toro-directed film, Hellboy and his team of creatures return to defend the earth against a bunch of other creatures. I guess you could call it a "Creature Feature" ... except not really. Hellboy II: The Golden Army arrives in theaters on July 11.

Finally, Slashfilm got their hands on Darren Aronofsky's script for The Wrestler ... and they're digging it quite a bit. This is the film Aronofsky decided to make after The Fountain tanked. It was something a little more commercial -- something that might actually make money at the box office -- and it was originally supposed to star Nicolas Cage in the lead role. Things have changed, and now Mickey Rourke is in the lead role as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, a past-his-prime wrestler whose life has gone into the toilet. But there's always that one last shot at redemption, right? Slashfilm says, "Think Rocky, which is a very apt comparison. And the ending is something you would never expect. It's not an obvious choice. I'm sure some people will leave this movie really angry, while others will love it. One thing is for sure, I can't wait to see it on the big screen."

No, it's not another sequel to the Neve Campbell/Denise Richards classic! The extremely likable Lauren Ambrose (Claire on Six Feet Under, Denise Fleming in Can't Hardly Wait) will voice a character in the upcoming adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved childrens' book -- Where the Wild Things Are. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ambrose is playing KW -- "one of the giant characters in the land of the Wild Things. When a young boy named Max visits their strange world, KW and company turn him into their king."

Ambrose is taking over the role from Michelle Williams. Apparently Williams got along well with the filmmakers, but "her voice didn't match their original vision of how the Wild Things should sound." Where the Wild Things Are mixes flesh-and-blood actors, computer animation, and live-action puppetry. I can't wait to see it, I adored the book as a kid and I love pretty much everyone involved with the film. Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation -- a couple of my favorite flicks) will direct, and wrote the screenplay with Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, one of my favorite books). You can go into the Wild in Fall 2008.