BY Gregg Goldstein

{Hollywood Reporter} - Anchor Bay Entertainment has picked up rights to two thrill-filled novel adaptations: "Walled In," from the "Stephen King of France" Serge Brossolo, and "The Lost," from horror writer Jack Ketchum.

BY John Hopewell

{Variety} - Luc Besson's production, distribution and sales house EuropaCorp has acquired bigscreen adaptation rights to "La Mecanique du coeur" (The Mechanics of the Heart) and will turn Mathias Malzieu's novel into a 3-D animated movie.

BY Mark Schilling

{Variety} - Toshiaki Karasawa will topline Toho's sci-fi trilogy "20th Century Boy." The trilogy's budget is 6 billion yen ($57 million), with shoots skedded for seven countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Thailand and China. Produced by Nobuyuki Iinuma, Toho will release the first pic Aug. 30.

BY Nick Vivarelli

{Variety} - U.S. actor/director Robert Englund, best known as Freddie Kruger in the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise, will direct “The Vij,” a dark gothic fantasy in which Christopher Lee is attached to star.

BY Tatiana Siegel

{Variety} - Amy Adams is in negotiations to star opposite Ben Stiller in 20th Century Fox's "Night at the Museum 2."

BY Michael Fleming

{Variety} - Days after signing an interim agreement with the Writers Guild, RKO has launched Roseblood Movie Co., a subsidiary that RKO topper Ted Hartley said will remake eight classic horror films churned out by Val Lewton when he headed RKO's low-budget horror unit in the 1940s.

The slate includes "Lady Scarface," which will be written by Tom Puryear; "While the City Sleeps," which will be scripted by Shin Shimosawa and Jim Morris; "The Monkey's Paw," which will be scripted by Todd Farmer; and "The Seventh Victim," which doesn't yet have a writer. 

BY Borys Kit

{Hollywood Reporter} - Universal is wasting no time in its search for a director for "The Wolf Man" following Mark Romanek's exit from the period horror movie.

Brett Ratner, Frank Darabont, James Mangold and Joe Johnston have either met with the studio and producers or are expected to do so in the coming days.