Spike Lee to Direct ‘Time Traveler,’ AFI Releases ‘10 Top 10’ List, New J.J. Abrams Film

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – Spike Lee has announced that “Time Traveler” will be his next project. “Time Traveler” will be an adaptation of Ronald Mallett’s memoir. Mallett was one of the first African-Americans to earn a doctorate in theoretical physics.

A labor of love for Lee, he purchased the rights to the novel and will co-write and direct the film. “Time Traveler” is being produced through his Forty Acres & A Mule Filmworks production company. “Miracle at St. Anna,” which is also an adaptation of a novel, was directed by Lee and will be released by Touchstone this fall.

J.J. Abrams also will be producing an adaptation soon. Paramount has purchased the New York Times article “Mystery on Fifth Street” that Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions will produce.

Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky have been hired to write the adaptation. Forbes wrote for “The Larry Sanders Show” and Woladarsky wrote for “The Simpsons”. Most recently, they collaborated on the Rainn Wilson comedy “The Rocker”.

The story, which was written by Penelope Green, ran as a feature in the New York Times last week. It talks about an upper east side luxury apartment that had been renovated to include hidden compartments, puzzles, poems and codes for pre-teen children.

Abrams is currently at work directing a new “Star Trek” film and creating the new series “Fringe” on FOX this fall.

The American Film Institute (AFI) has just unveiled its “10 Top 10” list, which highlights the best films in each genre. Here are the AFI’s “10 Top 10” honorees.

The American Film Institute’s “10 Top 10” films in 2008. Photo credits: American Film Institute

Animation

1) “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” 1937
2) “Pinocchio,” 1940
3) “Bambi,” 1942
4) “The Lion King,” 1994
5) “Fantasia,” 1940
6) “Toy Story,” 1995
7) “Beauty and the Beast,” 1991
8) “Shrek,” 2001
9) “Cinderella,” 1950
10) “Finding Nemo,” 2003

Fantasy

1) “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939
2) “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2001
3) “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946
4) “King Kong,” 1933
5) “Miracle on 34th Street,” 1947
6) “Field of Dreams,” 1989
7) “Harvey,” 1950
8) “Groundhog Day,” 1993
9) “The Thief of Bagdad,” 1924
10) “Big,” 1988

Gangster

1) “The Godfather,” 1972
2) “Goodfellas,” 1990
3) “The Godfather: Part II,” 1974
4) “White Heat,” 1949
5) “Bonnie and Clyde,” 1967
6) “Scarface: The Shame of a Nation,” 1932
7) “Pulp Fiction,” 1994
8) “The Public Enemy,” 1931
9) “Little Caesar,” 1930
10) “Scarface,” 1983

Science Fiction

1) “2001: A Space Odyssey,” 1968
2) “Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” 1977
3) “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” 1982
4) “A Clockwork Orange,” 1971
5) “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” 1951
6) “Blade Runner,” 1982
7) “Alien,” 1979
8) “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” 1991
9) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” 1956
10) “Back to the Future,” 1985

Western

1) “The Searchers,” 1956
2) “High Noon,” 1952
3) “Shane,” 1953
4) “Unforgiven,” 1992
5) “Red River,” 1948
6) “The Wild Bunch,” 1969
7) “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” 1969
8) “McCabe & Mrs. Miller,” 1971
9) “Stagecoach,” 1939
10) “Cat Ballou,” 1965

Sports

1) “Raging Bull,” 1980
2) “Rocky,” 1976
3) “The Pride of the Yankees,” 1942
4) “Hoosiers,” 1986
5) “Bull Durham,” 1988
6) “The Hustler,” 1961
7) “Caddyshack,” 1980
8) “Breaking Away,” 1979
9) “National Velvet,” 1944
10) “Jerry Maguire,” 1996

Mystery

1) “Vertigo,” 1958
2) “Chinatown,” 1974
3) “Rear Window,” 1954
4) “Laura,” 1944
5) “The Third Man,” 1949
6) “The Maltese Falcon,” 1941
7) “North By Northwest,” 1959
8) “Blue Velvet,” 1986
9) “Dial M for Murder,” 1954
10) “The Usual Suspects,” 1995

Romantic Comedy

1) “City Lights,” 1931
2) “Annie Hall,” 1977
3) “It Happened One Night,” 1934
4) “Roman Holiday,” 1953
5) “The Philadelphia Story,” 1940
6) “When Harry Met Sally…,” 1989
7) “Adam’s Rib,” 1949
8) “Moonstruck,” 1987
9) “Harold and Maude,” 1971
10) “Sleepless in Seattle,” 1993

Courtroom Drama

1) “To Kill a Mockingbird,” 1962
2) “12 Angry Men,” 1957
3) “Kramer vs. Kramer,” 1979
4) “The Verdict,” 1982
5) “A Few Good Men,” 1992
6) “Witness for the Prosecution,” 1957
7) “Anatomy of a Murder,” 1959
8) “In Cold Blood,” 1967
9) “A Cry in the Dark,” 1988
10) “Judgment at Nuremberg,” 1961

Epic

1) “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962
2) “Ben-Hur,” 1959
3) “Schindler’s List,” 1993
4) “Gone with the Wind,” 1939
5) “Spartacus,” 1960
6) “Titanic,” 1997
7) “All Quiet on the Western Front,” 1930
8) “Saving Private Ryan,” 1998
9) “Red,” 1981
10) “The Ten Commandments,” 1956

By DUSTIN LEVELL Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]