News: Now Filming

Universal Picks Up Desperados

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:07:00 GMT

Universal Pictures has acquired Desperados, a comedy script written by Ellen Rapoport that will potentially act as a starring vehicle for Isla Fisher.

Mark Gordon (2012) and Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) are producing the project, which tells the story of a woman who sends an indignant e-mail to her new boyfriend, who's gone silent after they have sex, but then discovers that he's lying in a Mexican hospital in a coma, and so races south of the border with her friends to intercept the e-mail before he recovers. The project has been described as a female-oriented Hangover, but also seems to have familiar elements from Road Trip as well.

If Fisher takes on the role it will be the next in a line of projects the actress has completed with Universal. She last starred in Confessions Of A Shopaholic and is now developing and producing the comedy The Cookie Queen at the studio, and is also attached to the Gary Sanchez-produced Life Coach.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Friday 6 November 2009

Zach Galifianakis To Lend His Voice To Shrek Spin-off

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:46:00 GMT

Zach Galifianakis is in talks to voice the part of Humpty Dumpty in the Shrek spin-off, Puss In Boots.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Galifianakis, who had his big break with The Hangover this summer, will help tell the story of the events leading up to the feline assassin's first meeting with Shrek and friends, which took place in Shrek 2. Antonio Banderas, who voiced Puss In Boots in Shrek 2 and Shrek The Third, will reprise the role in the new film, and will be joined by his Desperado co-star Salma Hayek. Tom Wheeler is writing the screenplay for the prequel after Chris Miller, who co-directed and co-wrote Shrek The Third, wrote an earlier draft. Miller will now be directing the DreamWorks Animation movie.

The film is scheduled for a November 4, 2011 release.

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Thursday 5 November 2009

Reilly and Parker are Seeing Red

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:28:00 GMT

On Tuesday we brought you the news that Helen Mirren had signed up to star alongside Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman in Red, Robert Schwentke's big screen adaptation of the DC Comics book series. Now there are two more names coming out of the woodwork - John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) and Mary-Louise Parker (The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford) are apparently in talks to join the cast.

The film is about a retired CIA agent (Willis) who has to contend with younger, more high-tech assassins who show up to kill him because of the classified information he knows. According to Heat Vision, Reilly would play another retired CIA agent who is paranoid that everyone is out to kill him, while Parker would play a federal pension worker and Wilis' love interest.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Thursday 5 November 2009

Johnny Depp Joining Angelina Jolie In The Tourist?

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:15:00 GMT

Johnny Depp is in talks to star alongside Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, which would mark the first time these two mega stars have worked together.

The story, which was originally written by Julian Fellowes and has had rewrites by Christopher McQuarrie and Jeffrey Nachmanoff, would see Depp play an American tourist drawn into a web of intrigue by a female Interpol agent (Jolie) who is attempting to locate a criminal who was once her lover.

The role Depp is looking to fill was originally cast to Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation), but he dropped out recently over creative differences. Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck also dropped out of the project, and now Alfonso Cuar�n (Children Of Men) is in early talks to take over the director's chair. The film has gone through quite a few changes, as at one time Bharat Nalluri was attached to direct with Tom Cruise in the lead role. Charlize Theron was also attached to the project for a long time, but was replaced by Jolie recently.

Production is scheduled to begin in February 2010.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Thursday 5 November 2009

Patrick Dempsey Scores Bank Heist

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 11:01:00 GMT

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy) is to play the lead role in an untitled bank-heist comedy written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the team behind the very successful summer blockbuster, The Hangover.

Dempsey will also co-produce the film, while Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) will be in the director's chair.

Dempsey wil play a man caught in the middle of two different robberies at the same bank who tries to protect a bank teller with whom he's secretly in love.

Production will begin in April.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Wednesday 4 November 2009

Clooney To Topline 'The Descendants'

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 11:03:00 GMT

George Clooney is not a man to stay still for long. Not content with having three films come out within a couple of months of one-another (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Up in the Air) and shooting Anton Corbijn's The American it looks very much like Clooney's going to star in Alexander Payne's The Descendants (Sideways and About Schmidt).

According to Variety the Oscar winning actor is in talks to star in the dramatic comedy by as a father who takes his two daughters on the road to track down his wife's lover.

We here at Screenrush have long been amazed it George's remarkable ability - given the fact that he's one of the most handsome, charming and intelligent men on the planet! - to express pathos (think Michael Clayton and Up in the Air, the upcoming comedy from Juno director Jason Reitman) and so we've decided that he might just be perfect as a love-crossed husband... what do you think? Comments, as ever, below.

SL

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Tuesday 3 November 2009

Helen Mirren Joins Cast Of Red

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 10:52:00 GMT

Helen Mirren has signed on to star in Robert Schwentke's big screen adaptation of the DC Comics book, Red.

According to ScreenDaily.com, who have been discussing some of the American films looking for distribution and financing at the American Film Market's AFI Fest this week, the adaptation of the Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner comic book is to begin shooting on January 11, 2010, and the Oscar-winning actress has joined the already announced cast of Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman.

Willis will be playing retired CIA agent Paul Moses who must fight a hit team sent by the new leader of the CIA (Freeman) who wants to clean up loose ends i.e. former agents such as Moses who know too much. More than likely, Mirren will be playing Freeman's predecessor, Moses' handler who he has kept in touch with over the phone while living in seclusion after retiring. It is not clear yet whether Mirren's character will actually be on screen at all, or just at the end of a phone line.

Stay tuned to Screenrush for more updates.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Tuesday 3 November 2009

Katie Holmes Becomes A Romantic

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 11:06:00 GMT

Katie Holmes has replaced Liv Tyler in the independently financed comedy The Romantics.

The actress will topline as well as act as executive producer for the film, which also stars Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Malin Akerman, Elijah Wood, Adam Brody and Jeremy Strong.

The screenplay has been adapted by Galt Niederhoffer from her own novel, and she will also direct the picture. The story revolves around eight college friends who reunite for a wedding. Holmes will play Laura, the maid of honor to Anna Paquin's Lila, the bride. Laura and Lila are best friends who both have a history with the groom (Duhamel).

The project begins shooting this week in New York.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Monday 2 November 2009

Morgan Freeman Joins Dirty Old Men

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:45:00 GMT

Warner Bros. has picked up a comedy written by Josh Cagan (Bandslam) and Greg Coolidge (Employee Of The Month), to which Morgan Freeman is attached to star and Peter Segal (Get Smart) may possibly direct.

The script has a working title of Dirty Old Men and tells the story of an aging playboy who finally meets the love of his life, leading his best friend and wingman for the past 40 years (Freeman) to do everything to break up the new couple. The tone of the film has been described as similar to The Wedding Crashers and The 40 Year Old Virgin.

Apparently Warner would love to have Jack Nicholson star in the playboy role, which would see him reteam with Freeman after they starred together in 2007's The Bucket List, but so far the actor is not attached.

Freeman will next be seen in Warners' Invictus, which sees him portraying Nelson Mandela for director Clint Eastwood.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Monday 2 November 2009

Julia Roberts' Production Company Acquires 'In The Neighbourhood'

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:33:00 GMT

Peter Lovenheim not-yet published non-fiction In the Neighbourhood, about social-cohesion in suburban America might not seem like the most obvious choice for big-screen adaptation but it seems Julia Roberts thinks different with her production company Red Om Films acquiring the adaptation rights.

The book tells the story of Lovenheim's own adventures in trying to create a sense of community in his suburban hometown by organising sleepover parties in the houses of strangers.

According to Variety Roberts will co-produce with Lisa Gillan and Philip Rose.

SL

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Monday 2 November 2009

Men In Black 3 Finds Screenwriter In Etan Cohen

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:17:00 GMT

It seems things are coming along nicely for the planned sequel to 1997's massively popular Men In Black. The threequel was announced in April, and now it appears that screenwriter Etan Cohen is attached to the project.

Cohen is hot property now, having scripted last summer's comedy Tropic Thunder, which saw Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and co messing about in a war-torn jungle. He also worked alongside Mike Judge on Beavis And Butthead and King of the Hill, so it's a good bet that he'll be able to handle the Men In Black style of comedy.

There is still no news as to whether Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will be returning to their roles as Agents Jay and Kay, but it would be very strange to revive the franchise without their involvement in some way.

Stay tuned to Screenrush for more updates on the Men In Black 3 project...

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Friday 30 October 2009

Reese Witherspoon Is All About Rule #1

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:04:00 GMT

Reese Witherspoon is attached to star in Rule #1, a Terrel Seltzer original screenplay which has been bought by Fox Searchlight.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Witherspoon will also produce the pic, which tells the story of a New York woman who befriends a Puerto Rican girl with attention deficit disorder. Brad Epstein (About A Boy) is also producing the project,

Seltzer wrote the Fox comedy How I Got Into College and co-wrote the George Clooney-Michelle Pfeiffer romantic comedy One Fine Day.

Witherspoon most recently starred in Four Christmases and lent her voice to DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens.

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Friday 30 October 2009

Anthony Hopkins Cast As Thor's Father

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:17:00 GMT

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog have it on good authority that grand-old-thespian (Sir) Anthony Hopkins has been cast as Chris Hemsworth's father in Thor. The role will be the latest in a long-line of bearded old men that this one-time actor has played in recent years.

Other British-thespian Kenneth Branagh's film will start shooting in the new year and will tell the story of the god of thunder as a 'powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war'... as punishmlent for his careless actions Thor is bannished from the heavenly realm to Earth where he must live amongst humans and learn how to become a true hero by facing down the dark invasion force of his nemesis Asgard.

Tell us what you reckon of Hopkins playing Odin, and if you have an opinion on whether Branagh's got the directorial chops to better the bar set by the likes of Zack Snyder with films like 300 and Watchmen then proffer it below.

SL

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Friday 30 October 2009

Jonathan Demme To Animate 'Zeitoun' By Dave Eggers

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:05:00 GMT

Today's news (via Slash Film) that Dave Eggers Zeitoun is to be adapted for the big-screen in animation by veteran director Jonathan Demme may come as something of a surprise to those who have followed the Oscar-winning director's hit and miss career.

We should confess that before Rachel Getting Married came along we'd all but given up on Demme following a string of films that were (at best) bad and (at times) so absolutely terrible as to destroy our faith in cinema as either entertainment or art. But his last film was fantastic and so we can do nothing but look forward to the prospect of the Silence of the Lambs director taking on hot-as-you-like reporter, publisher, novelist and scriptwriter (Where The Wild Things Are) Eggers' remarkable non-fiction tale of a New Orleans family's experiences of the devestating 2005 hurricane and its aftermath.

According to reports, the idea to animate the tale (a la Waltz with Bashir perhaps?) came from the book's cartoon style cover illustration, though we can't help but wonder what Demme could possibly bring to the animation genre... one thing's for sure, with high profile animations opening this year's Cannes and London film festivals (Pixar's Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox respectively), Demme may have taken the right step as animation looks set to continue to ride as high as it ever has since its Disney heyday in the 1940s.

SL

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Thursday 29 October 2009

It's All In The Title For Woody Allen's Next

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:49:00 GMT

On the face of it the announcement published in The Hollywood Reporter this morning concerning Woody Allen's next (not due for release till next Autumn) gives very little away, but, being the experts that we are, we're pretty sure that the clue's in the title.

According to the official release, the film, which was shot in London early this summer and stars - among others - Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Freida Pinto, is about the 'various members of a family, their tangled loves lives and their attempts to try and solve their problems'.

We know it doesn't seem to give an awful lot away, but that's before you consider the title, which - knowing as we do Allen's affection for slipping magic or superficial aspects of the occult into his stories - seems like the kind of prophecy a fortune-teller would give a young woman... which means that either Naomi Watts or Lucy Punch (might they be sisters, Allen loves sisters too) is told by (perhaps) Freida Pinto (Allen loves a bit of light racial stereotyping) that she's going to meet tall-dark-stranger Banderas.

Sure, our guessing work hasn't got us very far so do let us know if you've got any better guesses, and let us know also if you've got any thoughts on how Hopkins and Brolin are going to fit into it all.

SL

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Tuesday 27 October 2009

Steve Carell To Topline Missing Links?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:47:00 GMT

Risky Business is reporting that Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired Missing Links, a golf comedy based on a novel from ESPN's Rick Reilly, and that Steve Carell is attached to star as a golfer angling for a better place to play.

Carell is already attached to produce the picture via his Carousel Productions, while the company's Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock are on board as executive producers. Bobby Cohen (Revolutionary Road) is also producing, and Jay Lavender (The Break Up) is penning the adaptation.

Reilly's 1997 comedic novel tells of the group of bumblers who, after playing for years at a run-down municipal golf course in a working-class Boston neighborhood, concoct a series of schemes that they hope will lead to them teeing off at a nearby elite club.

Carell will next be seen in the romantic-comedy Date Night, and is also on board for the sequel to Get Smart.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Tuesday 27 October 2009

Steve Carr To Direct Short Circuit Remake

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:37:00 GMT

Steve Carr (Paul Blart: Mall Cop) has been signed by Dimension Films to direct Short Circuit, the remake of the 1986 sci-fi film.

In the original, a robot called Johnny 5 was built by the military to be a highly sophisticated weapon. When Johnny 5 is struck by lightning, he develops a conscience and personality and befriends a lonely boy and his fractured family.

The remake is written by Dan Milano (Robot Chicken), and there is no announcement on possible casting as yet.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Tuesday 27 October 2009

Anne Hathaway And Others Give Voice To 'Rio'

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:06:00 GMT

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris and Rodrigo Santoro are all in final negotiations to lend their voices to upcoming animated feature Rio.

Directed by Carlos Saldanha (aka Mr Ice Age), the film is about a maccaw who escapes his cage in sleepy mid-west America and flies to Rio de Janeiro and is set for an Easter 2011 release.

SL

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Friday 23 October 2009

Dylan Baker Returns For Spider-Man 4 As Curt Connors... And The Lizard?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:04:00 GMT

Dylan Baker joined Michael Dougherty at a Q&A after a screening of Trick 'r Treat at New York's Walter Reade Theater last night, and in amongst questions about the horror movie, Baker revealed that he would indeed be appearing in Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man 4.

According to reports, Baker said that he had just gotten his first call concerning Spider-Man 4 that very day. Baker appeared in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 as Dr. Curt Connors, a professor at Empire State University. In the comics, Dr. Connors is fated to turn into Spidey's scaly foe, The Lizard, but when this transformation will occur in the feature film franchise is as yet a mystery.

When Dougherty ribbed him about "just appearing in the background", Baker said that that's basically what he'd be doing again, but because they were in a jovial mood it's unclear whether he was being truthful or if in fact his role will expand to see him become supervillain The Lizard in this fourth entry in the film series.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Friday 23 October 2009

Dave McKean Has Plans For Cages On The Big Screen

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:53:00 GMT

Multimedia artist Dave McKean is hoping to develop his graphic novel Cages into a feature film.

Plans for the big screen adaptation appear to be in the very early stages, with McKean being the first to acknowledge that there is even the possibility of an adaptation on his Twitter page: "Great first meeting about Cages film; a long term possibility, but good to know all interested parties are on the same page."

McKean is probbably best known for his work with Neil Gaiman. He provided the artwork for many of Gaiman's stories, such as Signal To Noise and Violent Cases, and produced covers for the entire series of The Sandman. He also had his directorial debut on the semi-animated MirrorMask, which was based on a screenplay by Gaiman.

Cages will see McKean working completely independently from his previous collaborator. The serialised story appeared as individual issues sporadically throughout the '90s, before being collected into a single volume by Kitchen Sink and NBM.

Stay tuned to Screenrush to learn more as the ambitious project develops.

Georgine Waller

>> Real the whole article | on Screenrush - Thursday 22 October 2009