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18 Oct
| Apparently originating in a German GQ interview with Matthias Schweighöfer is some of the more surprising casting news in recent weeks. Not only did Schweighöfer allegedly reveal that he’s in the running for a role in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, he also reportedly announced that Robert De Niro and Jude Law have roles in the movie. Of course, I’ve trawled every last square inch of the German GQ website and found nothing of this sort in any of its nooks and crannies… Though, to be fair, very little material from the print magazine seems to be on the site anyway. But you’d think somebody would scan the page at least, and post it to a forum someplace? If they have, I’ve failed to find that either. Maybe I just don’t know enough Matthias Schweighöfer fan forums. The rumour was sent to Aint it Cool, who ran with it, presumably without seeing the magazine. … |
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17 Oct
| On Friday, /Film’s Russ Fischer said of Devil, the upcoming Dowdle Bros. film from a story by M. Night Shyamalan and script by Brian Nelson, that “The film starts shooting in Toronto a week from Monday, and that’s all we’ve got. It’s tightly under wraps, and has been for a while. Which, I suspect, really means that there’s some info out there that we haven’t dug up yet.” Look’s like we’ve now managed to dig a bit of it up, with a little help from our friends. Be wary of potential spoilers as you read on. After Russ’ post was published, I received a kindly nudge in the direction of the film’s logline. Googling it (of course) I found it published on just one site – the rather unexpected Hollywood.Com. Here it is, word for word: |
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17 Oct
| Probably the most disappointing thing about Green Lantern is that the protracted and delayed production is going to ensure, without any doubt, that director Martin Campbell can’t be in charge of the next Bond film and turn that franchise round again (for the third time). It’s not all bad news, though. On the plus side, a new rumour has pegged Jackie Earle Haley for the role of Sinestro in the picture. You may recall that he’s the mentor character that might just turn out to be a baddie (if they don’t save that for the sequel). The same unnamed gossipmonger has Superman down for a cameo role in the film, which sounds like a wild and unlikely idea but the character was in at least one draft of the script and since Marvel’s multi-picture mashup scheme, I wouldn’t be surprised to see DC try a similar tactic. On the other hand, this … |
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16 Oct
| It didn’t take long at all for Robert Redford’s The Conspirator to get off the ground. The film, which hinges on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, was announced only months ago and is already shooting in Savannah, GA. We knew some of the cast prior to the shoot’s start, but now we’ve got a host of good names to throw your way, in addition to some pics and video. We knew that James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn were the primaries, with Penn playing Mary Surratt, the woman charged and eventually executed for her part in the conspiracy to kill Lincoln. McAvoy is Frederick Aiken, her defender. Now we’ve got a bunch of new names: Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin Kline and Alexis Bledel are on board, as is Justin Long. (CHUD confirmed Long and Bledel before the trades did, and the Playlist first heard that Wood was in, along … |
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16 Oct
| Will Ferrell is set to star in a $10 million independent dramedy, Everything Must Go, based on a work by renown, late short story author Raymond Carver entitled “Why Don’t You Dance.” The project marks the feature debut of newcomer Dan Rush, a former commercials director whose screenplay for Everything was included on last year’s insidery Black List. Ferrell will play “a relapsed alcoholic” who loses his job, and naturally, his wife gives the heave-hoe too, leaving the character to launch a four-day yard sale on their lawn. The character’s main objective: generating quick beer money. Script Shadow via Playlist has called it his “favorite script” (ever?) and is totally perplexed at the casting. His worries revolve around a hypothetical that sees a studio re-cutting the film to heighten the comedic aspects. Shadow concludes with, “but there’s some real weight to this character and I think we’ve seen from Will Ferrell in the … |
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16 Oct
| Couple of quick casting notes for you today. First up, Working Title yesterday paid a lot of money for a pitch from Allan Loeb to write an as-yet untitled comedy for Ryan Reynolds. The film is a “dude-in-drag romantic comedy, with Reynolds playing a jilted lover who must disguise himself as a woman and befriend his ex in order to win her back.” Had to happen sooner or later, really. All manly actors have to prove their mettle not by blowing away a bunch of other manly actors, but by wearing a dress. But if Wesley Snipes can do it, and Terence Stamp can do it, then why not Ryan Reynolds? Watch this one as a double-feature with Buried to see just how much range Reynolds has got. [Variety] After the break, new casting for Devil, the film M. Night Shyamalan wrote for Quarantine writers John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle … |
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15 Oct
| It appears that David Schwimmer is leaving the comedy genre for his latest directorial project, Trust, a dark drama starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener. (And yes, typing out that last sentence did seem a bit trippy.) Owen and Keener will play parents who are shocked to learn that their teenage daughter (played by Liana Liberato) has been victimized by a sexual predator who she met in an online chat room. The film will explore the impact of that event on their family life. Schwimmer certainly isn’t the first person I’d think of to take on a project like this. His first feature, Run Fatboy Run, was a mess of a comedy that even the likes of Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran couldn’t save. He’s most recently been working on the Little Britain USA series (which is apparently good, but I haven’t seen), and he’s also had previous experience TV episodes … |
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15 Oct
| I haven’t had much reason to look forward to the upcoming remake of Charles Bronson’s The Mechanic. Sure, having Jason Statham in the lead role as a weary hit man seems like an easy sell, but you have to temper that with the fact that Simon West (Con-Air, Tomb Raider) is directing. I had relegated the project in my mind as yet another schlocky action fest that Statham was simply too good for—that is, until we learned that Ben Foster and Donald Sutherland will be joining the film. Foster will play an apprentice to Statham’s character, and Sutherland will portray Statham’s handler and Foster’s father. If Foster can bring even half of the intensity he’s portrayed in 3:10 to Yuma and (to a lesser extent) Alpha Dog, it’ll make this film worth a look for me. Foster also proved he can hold his own against the towering on screen presence … |
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14 Oct
| I suppose we should have seen this coming. Over the last few months we’ve reported quite a bit on the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan film series — a franchise that has been all but dead since The Sum of All Fears failed to make a big dent in the box office. We know that Paramount has been planning to revive it, however, and thanks to films like The Hunt For Red October and Patriot Games (and their respective portrayals of the character by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford) there’s quite a bit of interest in seeing the character continue. We’ve also known that Paramount wanted to skew the character younger. That being the case, of course they’re turning to the man who had a lot to do with reinventing another Paramount character for a younger generation: Chris ‘Captain Kirk’ Pine. Variety reports that Pine is in talks to take on the … |
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13 Oct
| I suppose we should just get used to seeing Anna Paquin and her True Blood co-star/real life fiance together all the freaking time. The couple are now starring in a new thriller, Open House, directed and written by Paquin’s brother Andrew. His past credits don’t suggest much, but I suppose having some hot stars in the family makes it easier to get projects off the ground. According to Dread Central, the film will apparently concern a young and wealthy couple who host an open house to sell off their property, only to learn that one guest never left. The cast also features Tricia Helfer, Rachel Blanchard, and Brian Geraghty, among many others. As a thriller setup, I actually think its quite promising. An open house is one of those events that can be incredibly anxiety-inducing—especially to people who feel the need to always be in control. The synopsis makes it … |
