Via TheWrap.com: “Stretch Armstrong” lives, but without Taylor Lautner.

The big-screen adaptation of the flexible, stretchable toy will finally make its way to the big screen thanks to a new partnership between Hasbro and Relativity Media.

However, the “Twilight” star will no longer be headlining the project due to scheduling conflicts, an individual with knowledge of the project confirmed to TheWrap.

A new cast will be announced shortly.

He said: “‘Stretch Armstrong’ is still in the scriptwriting process at the moment, so we are waiting to hear. There are a couple of other things I’m really excited about that haven’t been announced yet.”

The 19-year-old star will next be seen in thriller ‘Abduction’, where he displays his particularly muscular frames many times, and he admits it is hard to get to a large size and keep it up.

He told Movie Hole: “It was very hard to put on, and then it was just as hard to maintain it.” Taylor has recently revealed he would love a career similar to ‘Mission Impossible’ star Tom Cruise. He said: “The most important thing I did was sit down beforehand and watch a lot of movie and study actors that I look up to.

“We studied Tom Cruise in ‘Minority Report’, Harrison Ford, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington .
“I would love [to follow in their footsteps]. That would be an honour, to be compared to people like that. I look up to Tom Cruise and Matt Damon. I would kill to have the careers they’ve had.”

SOURCE: Virgin Media

After filming in his first leading role since becoming “Jacob” in the Twilight series (he’s “Nathan” in Abduction — due in theaters September 23rd of this year), he started nabbing roles like the lead in Stretch Armstrong, Cancun, and, most recently, Incarceron.

According to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood, 2011 is going to be a big one for Taylor Lautner.

I can scoop that Fox 2000 and New Regency each coughed up an 8-digit paycheck to work with 8-pack-abs Tay-Tay for his two only available time slots this year. Meanwhile, three top producers including Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes are circling Taylor to star in their movies for 2012 and beyond.

The first studio discussed there, Fox 2000, is the one making Incarceron, and you can read the full Deadline report for more on that (including the fact that Emma Watson from Harry Potter might be joining him on-screen — can you imagine!?). As for the second, Finke reports:

The 2nd Lautner vehicle is an as–yet-unnamed international spy thriller set up at New Regency described to me as “The Bourne Identity for the next generation.” The story is loosely based on the exploits of Juval Aviv, a former Israeli Mossad agent who was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-nominated Munich. Lautner will produce with Alexandra Milchan (who is currently producing The Wolf Of Wall Street with Leonardo DiCaprio), daughter of Israeli mogul Arnon Milchan who is New Regency’s founder.

So, it seems our Jacob has become something of a hot commodity in Hollywood. Guess all those ab workouts are paying off … literally! Eight figures? And to think there was once a time when the world was unsure if he’d be asked to return for New Moon.

(Note that Finke goes on to point out that a lot rests on Lautner’s box office draw with this fall’s Abduction. And speaking to that, his Abduction co-star Lily Collins recently did an interview regarding Taylor Lautner’s work in the movie and said, “I feel people are going to be blown away.”)

Source: Examiner

He made the comment in a conference call with analysts following the company’s third-quarter earnings report.

2012 is shaping up as “another stellar” entertainment year for Hasbro’s toy business with its own “Battleship” in partnership with Universal, the recently announced 3D reissue of Fox’s and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” Sony’s latest “Spider-Man” film and Marvel’s “The Avengers,” Goldner said.

That could allow the company “potentially to move “Stretch” out of ’12 and into ’13,” he said.

SOURCE: New York Reporter

Okay, I think we can all agree that Stretch Armstrong isn’t exactly a traditional “superhero” per se, but the fact remains that the popular Hasbro toy is becoming one on the big screen, courtesy of an upcoming live-action film starring “Twilight” alum Taylor Lautner.

And while “Stretch Armstrong” screenwriter Nick Stoller (“Get Him To The Greek”) once compared the tone of the film to “Iron Man” (something Lautner questioned in a subsequent interview), there’s a good chance that the real superpower on display in the film could be Lautner’s mutant ability to attract audiences… to his abs.

“[Lautner] will not wear a shirt,” Stoller joked to MTV News. “Yeah, he won’t wear a shirt through the whole thing.”

All kidding aside, Stoller said he’s not only well aware of the media’s obsession with the “Stretch Armstrong” star, he’s had to carefully choose his words in order to avoid getting caught in the public demand for anything and everything related to Lautner’s abdominal muscles.

“I gave an interview about how I had a meeting with Taylor Lautner [and] with Rob Letterman, who’s directing the movie, and in real life [Lautner] is a very good-looking guy,” said Stoller. “I kind of joked about how good-looking he was to some interviewer, and then on the internet was: ‘Writer Of Stretch Armstrong Thinks Taylor Lautner Is Hot.’”

“I was half joking about it, but yeah, I’m sure we will find a way for him not to have his shirt on at some point in the movie,” he laughed.

As for the film itself, Stoller described “Stretch Armstrong” as a “full-on superhero movie,” adding that it was “very grounded, kind of in the “Bourne” way, but kind of a cool superhero movie, too.”

“We have to create a whole mythology for this character, because there’s nothing — there’s no conflict, because it’s not based on anything except a stretchy toy,” he explained.

Of course, having one of Hollywood’s most popular actors as the male lead is a nice bonus, too.

“It’s really exciting to get to work with a star who’s so white-hot right now,” he laughed. “When we were hanging out with him, I’ve never seen more people come up to a celebrity before, so it was pretty cool. He’s just this really nice kid, [and] it’s such a funny thing to witness.”

“He’s smart, he’s got really good notes on the script, and yeah, he’s just the real deal,” said Stoller. “And yeah, he happens to have an awesome six-pack.”

Source: MTV

“Wardrobe is actually not going to supply him with a shirt,” Stoller jokes with PopcornBiz. “There’s not going to be a shirt option.” As a bonus, Stoller even says that Lautner will be even more ripped in the movie thanks to the magic of special effects. “Most of the visual effects money is going into adding even more abs,” he laughs. “It’s actually going to be a little gross.”

Okay, perhaps slight exaggerations there. But you get the idea that we’ll see plenty of Lautner shirtless in the movie due to shoot in the spring for a 2012 release. Stoller is coming off the giddy success of writing and directing “Get Him to the Greek” which comes out on Blu-Ray and DVD on Sept. 28. He is focusing on other projects such as “Stretch,” which will be directed by Rob Letterman.

As far as a story to go along with the toy, Stoller says the filmmakers have “created a whole mythology” which will have a “light tone.” “It’s’ definitely going to be more ‘Iron Man’ than ‘Dark Knight,’ ” he says. “It’s a little bit outside my genre. It’s not really a comedy. It’s an action super hero movie.”

He recently met with Lautner to discuss the part, but never got to see the famous abs during the meeting. “I was trying to figure out how I could trick him into showing me (the six-pack),” Stoller says. “I was like, ‘What kind of shirt is that, do you mind if I try it on?”
“He didn’t bite.”

SOURCE: NBC Chicago

I see that you’re writing Stretch Armstrong. Is this something that is actually going to happen soon?

Nick Stoller: I have (the script) open on my computer right now. Rob Letterman is directing. And Taylor Lautner is starring. It’s a big, action-type of superhero movie. It is outside of my genre wheelhouse, but it is really exciting to work on it. There are certainly comedic elements to it. But it is very much a superhero movie.

I’m assuming that you are around my age, and that you had a Stretch Armstrong doll when you were a kid?

Nick Stoller: No, I didn’t have a Stretch Armstrong. But I had a friend that did.

This probably sounds stupid, but it so clearly sticks out in my mind. When I see the words Stretch Armstrong, I think of the rubber on this doll getting cracked and dirty, and this jelly oozing out of him. It was devastating when my mom threw the disgusting thing in the trash. That, too me, is Stretch Armstrong. Will we see that referenced in the film?

Nick Stoller: Yeah. I don’t know if we’ll see a mom throwing him in the trash. But I think that is a common thing that people have said to me. When you are a kid, you want to see how far Stretch Armstrong can stretch. I think part of this ties into Hasbro launching a new line of toys. This is not a toy that kids are familiar with now. So they are re-launching a whole line of crazy stretch toys to go along with the movie. Its fun to create a whole universe. There was nothing to the back-story, so it’s exciting.

And you say its going to be a superhero movie?

Nick Stoller: Yeah. It’s going to be a total superhero movie. There is nothing to base the story on. There were never any comic books, or anything. We’ve gotten to have complete creative freedom in terms of creating this universe. Which is kind of daunting, because Marvel has sixty or seventy years of stories to play with. It’s also kind of great, because we’re not beholden to anyone. We are not beholden to any stories. We are not beholden to something that started in 1960. We get to create this from the ground up, and make a very current, fun, superhero story.

With the old toys from the late 70s, they did have Stretch Monster, and the two Stretch Octopi, which all had that gross grape jelly in them, as opposed to the Kyro syrup that was in Stretch Armstrong. Are any of them going to be incorporated into the movie?

Nick Stoller: No. It’s just Stretch. Stretch is a lot different now than he was in the late 70s.

What sort of nemesis is he going after in this movie if its not the green Stretch Monster?

Nick Stoller: I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say about it. I’m new to the world of not being able to talk about stories. I come from the world of comedy, where you can talk about what ever you want. But Stretch lives in a very grounded, real world. Our inspiration is as much The Dark Knight as it is the Bourne movies. His nemesis is a rogue element. Not to get to into it, but they are rogue soldiers. Those are his nemesis.

For years, DC Comics as tried to get Plastic Man off the ground as a feature film. Did you have to look at those comic books to ensure that you weren’t heading down the same road as that iconic character?

Nick Stoller: No. This is quite different from anything else out there. Our fundamental story is a ways away from that. I am not worried about him being too close to Plastic Man or Mr. Fantastic from Fantastic Four. It’s quite different. It’s a lot more grounded in the real world, assuming that you had a guy who could stretch. What would that look like? He’s not creating parachutes. It’s a much-more grounded look.

Source: Movie Web

“You know, they’re doing all of the designing and all that stuff right now,” Lautner said. “They’re writing the script and everything so I haven’t seen any finalized version, but chances are it might be a little different from the doll.”

Oh well, at least we have the New Moon DVD and Eclipse coming out in theaters. Then Lautner will be back for Breaking Dawn, so Stretch can be the one where he doesn’t flex.

“They’re not finished with the script yet. I think they should be shortly so hopefully we’ll know soon. The cool thing about the toy is that there is no story. Like with a superhero you have to stay along these lines, but with a toy you get to create everything which is super exciting and creative.”

Before Stretch, Lautner will film Abduction, a real world kidnapping thriller. “Abduction really has an interesting story. It’s about a high school senior who finds a picture of himself on a missing persons’ web site only to realize that his whole life for 18 years has been a lie.”

We’ll see if Abduction will find Lautner peeling off his shirt after a sweaty chase, but it will have to be integral to the plot. “I mean, it can’t be nonsense action. The action has to make sense and that’s with the story behind it. I’m super excited to get going on that. I start in three weeks.”

Source: Starpulse

“I had my first meeting with him, and let me tell you: That dude is handsome,” Stoller confessed. “That is one good-looking man. Like, he is — I get it. I get it!”

Pressed for further details on his first impressions of Lautner, Stoller said he hasn’t met anyone else in Hollywood who can attract a crowd quite like the “Twilight” sensation does.

“At this point in my career, obviously you spend a lot of time with celebrities,” he said. “I’ve never seen more people approach someone [famous]. So many people come up to him, every age and a lot of French people.”

Stoller also admitted that while he hasn’t seen Lautner without his shirt on, he certainly wouldn’t mind getting a firsthand look at the actor’s shirtless physique. “I’m not even going to do the whole ‘I’m not gay’ type of thing,” Stoller laughed. “Anyone, it doesn’t matter who you are, would want to see that!”

Source: MTV

And even he has fallen for Taylor. “He is a dreamy dude,” Nick tells The Dish Rag. “He is so good looking and such a sweet guy. I have hung out with a lot of celebrities but I have never seen more people go up like they do to him.”

So will Taylor take his shirt off in “Stretch”? “Of course, he’ll take it off!” Nick confirms, before cautiously adding, “We’ll see, we’ll see.”

Oh, c’mon, Nick. You’re not giving any secrets away. The darn doll/toy is shirtless. It’s kind of a no-brainer.

Nick describes the film as having a light “Iron Man” tone.” “I’m very excited about it. I love super hero movies. It’s a genre I have not gotten to work in before and to paint on such a large canvas is really great.”

He can’t tell us much about the back story for Taylor’s character though. “It’s a pretty cool origin story that we’re really still figuring out. There’s not much to go on because Hasbro doesn’t have one.”

Rob Letterman is directing the movie and Nick is working from Rob’s idea about character’s background. According to Stoller, they’re starting pre-production “sometime this summer” and “will start shooting next spring.”

He explains that “with a movie like this, with big visual effects, more stuff has to be locked down ahead of time.” He expects to be working on the film through the very end.

And we expect shirtless scenes, Nick. Lots of them. Taylor’s fans must be appeased. Consider yourself warned.

Source: Zap 2 It

In addition to discussing “Eclipse” and the upcoming “Breaking Dawn” (“I can’t wait to see Renesmee!”, said Kristen; “We have a very good director behind us who can help with that” added Taylor), I also had the opportunity to quiz Stewart on those “Wanted 2″ rumours and get a “Stretch Armstrong” update out of the wonderfully-ribbed Lautner.
Stewart was rumoured to be replacing Angelina Jolie in “Wanted 2″ a few weeks back. One almost expected her to laugh off the rumours – but funnily enough, she didn’t.
“Right now, I have two projects lined up”, Stewart, coyly, responded. “I’m doing On the Road this Summer and then I’m doing Breaking Dawn. So other than that I have nothing ‘nailed down’.”
Doesn’t sound like a denial to me!
Of his future projects, Lautner said “Stretch Armstrong”, based on the toy line, is happening but “it’s not happening for a while though, about a year from now. I’m doing a movie called Abduction which starts in about a month. Then Breaking Dawn. And hopefully Stretch after that”.
Wow, “Stretch Armstrong” is a long ways off – let’s hope it doesn’t fall by the wayside (like the “Max Steel” movie that Lautner was going to do, did!).

SOURCE: Movie Hole

Yay for the start of “Abduction” next month!!! That means more photos of Taylor shooting the movie!

“It’s like a huge superhero movie that we’re taking totally seriously,” Stoller said in an exclusive phone interview on May 21, while promoting the comedy Get Him to the Greek. “It’s going to have more of an Iron Man/James Bond vibe to it, with that light tone of Iron Man but the gadgetry of James Bond. I’m very excited about playing around in that world. I’ve never had the opportunity to.”

Stretch gains the power to stretch his body to superhuman lengths. It’s up to Stoller to think of all the perilous situations where only the power of stretching can save the day. “We’re thinking of a fair number, but I’ll say that it’s going to be the most grounded, realistic version of that,” Stoller said. “I love superhero movies, but I come at everything from a real, grounded character standpoint. What’s interesting to me is to tell a story about this crazy thing happens to this kid and what he ends up doing with the power, versus getting really immersed in the details of such a thing.”

The Stretch Armstrong toy was first released in 1976. If you never played with it, the movie will still be self-explanatory. “What appealed to me about this was getting to write a cool Iron Man [type of] movie,” Stoller said. “I think when the first teaser hits, people are going to be surprised and psyched.”

Hasbro is developing the Stretch Armstrong movie with Universal Studios. The toy makers plan to launch a new line of Stretch toys based on the film. Stoller does have to take notes from Hasbro, since they’ll be building whatever he’s writing.

“They present a lot of designs and stuff, and they obviously have approval on the story,” Stoller said. “We actually just went to the Hasbro factory, which is like a Willy Wonka-style experience. They have a thing called a 3-D printer that you literally can print a toy, just create a toy. It’s a pretty magical place. So they’re more interested in the designs and making sure that the story has a wide appeal, which is obviously something that Rob and I are interested in as well.”

Stretch Armstrong is due in 2012.

Source: Scifi Wire

Rob [ Letterman, director] had a great take on Stretch and he told me about it, and I said, “Please let me write it.” It’s a superhero origin story taking it totally seriously, kind of in the Iron Man tone —for lack of a better descriptor. We’re taking it seriously, but it will have a light tone to it. Hasbro has an idea of it and it’s based on a new version of that character. It’s kind of a blank slate. There wasn’t really much of a backstory to the original Stretch Armstrong so we’re just kind of inventing it from the ground up.

Stoller, whose previous writing credits include low-budget comedies Fun with Dick and Jane and Yes Man, said that another thing that excited him about Stretch Armstrong was the opportunity to work on a big special-effects extravaganza.

It’s more about creating a universe of superheroes that I’m really excited about. Rob and I have cracked a pretty cool story I think and Rob has a really cool take on what this can be, and it’s going to be a huge budget spectacular thing. I love Iron Man, I love The Dark Knight and it’s exciting to get to play in this world, because the budgets of these comedies are pretty small, and to get to do something that’s just gigantic and exciting but a totally grounded human story at the center of it that I think people are going to respond to.

Stretch Armstrong is being produced by Academy Award–winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind), in association with Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennet Schneir. Initially, Steve Oedekerk (Evan Almighty) was listed as the screenwriter, but no mention was made of his involvement with the movie in the ComingSoon interview with Stoller.

Source: Reelz Channel

Hasbro’s action figure was popular around the world beginning in the 1970s and re-launched in the 1990s.

Letterman directed 20th Century Fox’s upcoming Gulliver’s Travels, which was co-written by Stoller. Letterman also co-directed Monsters vs. Aliens, while Stoller co-wrote and directed Universal’s Get Him to the Greek. Stoller also directed the studio’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Steve Oedekerk wrote the original screenplay for Stretch Armstrong.

Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir for Hasbro. Kim Roth is executive producing for Imagine.

SOURCE: ComingSoon.Net

SOURCE: Deadline Hollywood