From Deadline Hollywood:

Warner Bros has been as stingy as any major on handing out overall production deals to actors in recent years. But I’ve learned the studio has just given a first look 2-year deal to Zac Efron. And Warner Bros plans to buy pitches, spec scripts, and books for Efron and his still unformed company to develop as star vehicles. His manager, Alchemy Entertainment’s Jason Barrett, will be an exec producer on the projects.

But that’s not all at Warner Bros: I’m told the studio also is in the process of making an overall deal with its Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr who’s about to form a production company with his wife, seasoned development exec and now producer Susan Downey. And Warner Bros also will make an overall deal with duo Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who are moving over the first-look pact they had together at Media Rights Capital (MRC)…

At 22, Efron is by far the youngest actor with an overall Warner Bros film deal. I’m told he hasn’t named his company and is still working out details like whether he’ll take office space on the lot. My insiders said the studio has been high on him for several years, especially his hustle on the New Line film 17 Again which he promoted heavily in six overseas territories. (That pic grossed $136 million worldwide). Warner Bros is determined to find him a franchise. Which begs the question whther he’ll be the next DC Entertainment superhero, or Bourne-like action thriller leading man, or buddy comedy co-star, or all, or none. True, Efron has made a determined effort to steer away from his High School Musical teen heartthrob image, dropping out of a Footloose remake to attach to Universal’s serious dramatic vehicle The Death And Life of Charlie St. Cloud releasing this fall. But one of Zac’s upcoming projects I’ve already announced will be the first developed under his new Warner Bros — the Back To The Future-like film, as yet untitled, that melds two projects: a pitch from writers Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski, and the other called Algorithm that the studio was already developing.

Wow, so exciting!! I’m happy for him.. this is huge.

Hey guys.. unfortunately the release of “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud” has been pushed back. It will now hit theaters on October 15th.. blah, I know it sucks, but I guess its better for the movie in some way that we don’t know about!

Universal is on “Fire.”

The studio has picked up the rights to the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis. Zac Efron is attached to star and will exec produce with his manager, Jason Barrett.

Neal Moritz is producing with David Engel of Circle of Confusion, the company that reps Bendis.

Written and drawn by Bendis before he went on to become one of Marvel Comics’ top writers, the story centers on a college student who is inducted into a special CIA project that tests whether training ordinary citizens to be agents can be successful.

The move puts Efron, who is also repped by CAA, and Bendis back with Universal. Efron is coming off of starring in the Burr Steers drama “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud,” while Bendis has an adaptation of his graphic novel “Jinx” set up at the studio.

Source

From Deadline Hollywood:

The list of young actors who transition to adult leading men isn’t that long… Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Christian Bale, etc. Zac Efron is hoping to make that transition so he’s linked himself to a pair of projects he hopes will give him the chance to broaden his range. One of them would be his first action turn, in a Ludlum-esque spy thriller. Efron has a just made a deal at Universal for Fire, an adaptation of a graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis that was published by Image Comics.

The plan is for Efron to play a college student who is recruited by the CIA, only to find that he has been trained for a program that creates expendable agents. Bendis, the fanboy favorite whose comic book creations include “Ultimate Spider-Man”, will write the script. While little material moves during Sundance, Efron and Bendis got the deal after they schlepped around to three studios, pitching the project on a rainy day last Friday. The project has the steady hand of Neal Moritz, who’ll produce with Circle of Confusion’s David Engel. Efron and Alchemy Entertainment’s Jason Barrett will be exec producers.

Efron has made a separate deal at Warner Bros to star in a Back To The Future-like film that melds two projects. One’s a pitch from writers Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski, and the other is a WB project called Algorithm that the studio was already developing as a directing vehicle for Nick Stoller, the Forgetting Sarah Marshall director who just wrapped Get Him To The Greek. Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff are producing and Alan Riche is exec producer along with Efron and Barrett.

Efron’s quest to be taken seriously, and to shed the teen heartthrob label thrust upon him after a trio of hit High School Musical films, really began when he bailed on a Footloose remake to instead re-team with his 17 Again director Burr Steers in The Death And Life Of Charlie St. Cloud, playing a young man who carries the guilt over the death of his younger brother. It isn’t easy, as one of the films he made recently, Me and Orson Welles, was barely seen. But he wasn’t looking for box office as much as the chance to be part of a strong cast in an art film. Good for him.

Very exciting, I like the sound of both of them!!

This is funny. I hadn’t heard the rumor, but it’d be great!

Hey guys! I’ve just found out a release date for “Me and Orson Welles” in Australia… March 25th, 2010!

Also, I uploaded a photo of Zac on the set of “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud”.. its soo cute! Click the photo for full-size. Enjoy..

The Me & Orson Welles cast were just nominated for several BAFTA Awards on the Long List. Me & Orson Welles has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Make Up & Hair, Editing, and Costume Design. In addition, Claire Danes and Christian McKay were also nominated for their roles as Sonja and Orson Welles. Congrats, guys!

Hey guys! Just got some good news about “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud”.. its set to be released on June 11th, 2010. I’m so excited!!

Heyy! Don’t forget to tune into the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.. Zac will be on the show doing more promotion for “Me and Orson Welles” which premieres in NY and LA tomorrow!

Also, here is the video from Zac and Claire on “The Early Show” this morning..

And click here to read a nice, lengthy review of MAOW at newyorker.com.. they said some great things about Zac and the film.