“Jadoo”  by writer/director, Amit Gupta, has a deal and is now on the really fast track.  That’s a great start to the new year for one filmmaker.  Done Deal Pro reports Gupta is repped by Abram Nalibotsky over at Gersh.

Based on Gupta’s family experience, the story revolves around  two feuding twin brother chefs who set up rival restaurants across from each other, leaving it up to a daughter, 20 years later, to try to bring them back together to cook her wedding feast.

AIR productions greenlighted the comedy feature and Nikki Parrot of Tigerlily Films is co-producing. The cameras are set to roll on “Jadoo” in March, according to Variety.

“Shrek Forever After” number one again

For the third week in a row, “Shrek Forever After” is king of the domestic Box Office, but the achievement is overshadowed by the lackluster performance of a new crop of films. Audiences are not packing the theaters like they did last year at this time.

“Shrek Forever After” drew the biggest crowds making $25.4 million, bringing its three week domestic take to $183.2 million. In second place the new film, “Getting Him to the Greek,” which opened with $17.5 million. The comedy centers on a record company intern who takes the job of escorting an out-of-control British rock star to a concert in Los Angeles. Jonah Hill and Russell Brand star.

Another new movie,”Killers” landed in third with$15.8 million. The action comedy is about a woman who discovers, three years into her marriage, that she’s hooked up with a CIA hitman who has a contract on his head.  Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl star.

“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” earned $14 million for fourth place. Rounding out the top five, “Sex and the City 2″ with $12.3 million — bringing its two week domestic haul to $73 million. Box Office Mojo has more on the weekend movie derby.  

“Now You See Me” spec script sale

The cold spec script market warmed up somewhat with the sale of, “Now You See Me.” Screenwriters Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt sold their spec to Summit Entertainment. The script is a thriller with a hocus -pocus kind of twist. In the plot, a top FBI team takes on some of the greatest illusionists who create magic on stage while pulling-off a series of daring bank heists. The Hollywood Reporter has more on this deal and other projects involving these two hot screenwriters.  

Sandra Bullock re-teams with Ryan Reynolds for new flick

Oscar-winning actress, Sandra Bullock, is back in the mix. During the past few days, Bullock made her first official appearances since being hit with all that personal drama from her ex-husband’s infidelities. Before that, Bullock was on a high after winning the best actress Academy Award for, “The Blind Side.” Over the weekend, The actress dropped by “Spike TV Guy’s Choice Awards” and “The MTV Awards.”

Today, there’s buzz about Bullock and Ryan Reynolds co-starring in a new action comedy, “Most Wanted.” Bullock and Reynold clicked in the successful romantic comedy, “The Proposal.” That film debuted at number one its first weekend back in June of 2009, then went on to earn $162 million at the domestic Box Office and $317 million worldwide.  Details on the new teaming of Bullock and Reynolds here.

Hollywood is tapping a new source for movie ideas — blogs!  I have heard of other projects based on websites, but this latest one, being developed for Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, sounds like a real winner. Over on the deadline.com/New York site, Mike Fleming is reporting that Columbia Pictures has made a deal with blogger/author Ree Drummond for a romantic comedy, ”The Pioneer Woman.”

Drummond is known as ”The Pioneer Woman” who writes a popular blog with the same title,   http://thepioneerwoman.com/  The website description says she’s “plowing through life in the country  …one calf nut at a time.” Drummond is a self-confessed city girl who fell in love with a cowboy and is now making a lot of hay, ah, money writing and blogging about her life on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma. 

 Last year Drummond’s cookbook, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks, recipes from an accidential country girl,” came out and became a New York Times bestseller.

Next Valentine’s Day, William Morrow will release, “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels,” Drummond’s story of love and adventure in the country. On her website, Drummond describes the book as “… the complete saga (to date) of the rip-roaring true story of how I met my husband, Marlboro Man, and how I went from spoiled city girl to domestic ranch wife in the blink of an eye.”

Spec script season in full swing

Some interesting spec scripts making the rounds of the production companies and studios lately. Literary manager Kathy Muraviov is shopping, “The One” by Stan Evans, according to the Spec Chaser site. This is a romance about a woman who gets the ultimate choice: one week with her “soul mate” or a lifetime with a man she cares about, but who is not “the one.”  

Also, spec scripts are being snatched up and bought. On the Spec Chaser, the spec screenplay “Ruthless,” by Cooper Layne, is marked sold!

“Ruthless” is a crime thriller about an ex-con who shows up suddenly in a small Louisiana town and begins to cause havoc by exposing the secrets of the town folks. The script sold to Double Nickel Productions.