Danny Strong to write 'Hunger Games' finale

EXCLSUIVE: Fresh off winning two Emmys for writing and co-exec producing HBO's GAME CHANGE, Danny Strong has been tapped to write the two-part HUNGER GAMES finale MOCKINGJAY for Lionsgate, sources tell Variety, reports Jeff Sneider. 

Studio had no comment.

First pic is skedded for release on Nov. 21, 2014, while the second will open on Nov. 20, 2015.

THE HUNGER GAMES has grossed $685 million worldwide since opening in March. The sequel CATCHING FIRE, which Francis Lawrence is directing from a script by Simon Beaufoy, is due out Nov. 22, 2013. 

Strong was one of Variety's 10 Screenwriters to Watch in 2007 who won a WGA Award for writing HBO's 2009 telepic RECOUNT. 

 

 

Read Full Article

Elijah Wood is a 'Late Bloomer'

 

EXCLUSIVE: Director Randall Einhorn has tapped his WILFRED star Elijah Wood to topline Dignity Film Finance's indie comedy THE LATE BLOOMER, based on Ken Baker's 2001 memoir MAN MADE: A MEMOIR OF MY BODY, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Pic is based on the true story of a nearly 30 year-old man whose body goes through many changes over the course of several overwhelming weeks after discovering he hadn't totally undergone puberty due to a medical condition.

Joe Nussbaum co-wrote the script with Paul Kaplan and Mark Torgove.

"'THE LATE BLOOMER  is the type of wonderful heartfelt comedy that I like to engage in. Puberty can be difficult at best and has the potential to be extremely comedic in normal circumstances," said Einhorn. "This true story is anything but a normal circumstance. That truth is a new twist on something we all know well and Elijah is just perfect to play the lead role."

Read Full Article

Miles Teller is 'Officially Dating'

 

EXCLUSIVE: With three movies in the can and another in pre-production, RABBIT HOLE star Miles Teller is one of the busiest young actors in Hollywood and there's no break in sight this year, as he's set to join Zac Efron in the indie ARE WE OFFICIALLY DATING, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Tom Gormican is writing and directing the romantic comedy.

Gormican's script, which appeared on the 2010 Black List, follows three friends in Manhattan who make a pact to remain single just as they each start to fall in love.

Teller will play Efron's friend and co-worker who like the protag, is determined to remain single and sexually active without having to make a commitment.

Read Full Article

 

Timberlake drinking up 'The Last Drop'

EXCLUSIVE: TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE star Justin Timberlake is having no trouble lining up his next job, as he’s in talks to topline Good Universe’s romantic dramedy THE LAST DROP, Variety's Jeff Sneider and Justin Kroll report. Peter Sollett, who previously worked with the Good Universe team on NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST, is attached to direct. Timberlake would play a charming alcoholic who works as a restaurant critic for New York Magazine. When he falls for a young woman, he realizes he must overcome his self-destructive addiction in order to have a real chance with her.

Carano attaches to femme riff on 'Expendables'

As HAYWIRE star Gina Carano continues to establish herself as an action heroine with an upcoming turn in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 6,  the former MMA fighter has become attached to topline an all-female riff on THE EXPENDABLES, which is being set up by Adi Shankar’s banner 1984 Private Defense Contractors, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Company remains in talks with several prominent actresses affiliated with the action genre in addition to Carano, who director Steven Soderbergh hand-picked to star in HAYWIRE alongside more experienced thesps such as Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to make a movie that is supposed to be the female version of ‘The Expendables’ without Gina Carano in it. It would be like making Twix without caramel or Jamba Juice without jamba,” said Shankar. 

Read Full Article

 

GYLLENHAAL GETS TAKEN 'PRISONER'

Looks like Jake Gyllenhaal isn’t quite ready to end his watch just yet.

Gyllenhaal is in talks to play a detective investigating the kidnapping of a young girl in Alcon Entertainment’s PRISONERS. Discussions are ongoing, and if the deal closes, Gyllenhaal would join Hugh Jackman and Melissa Leo with Denis Villeneuve (INCENDIES) helming, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Script, penned by Aaron Guzikowski, revolves around a small-town carpenter whose young daughter and best friend are kidnapped. After the cops fail to find them, he takes the law into his own hands, but in the process runs up against the big-city detective assigned to the case.

Gyllenhaal caught wind of the project after Villeneuve mentioned it while the two were filming indie thriller AN ENEMY.  Gyllenhaal had been considering the project for some time but discussions stalled; thesp re-engaged after a recent script polish.

 

Jennifer Lawrence 'music video' isn't her vocal after all

EXCLUSIVE: Earlier this week, Relativity Media released this video clip (above) from HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET, showing Jennifer Lawrence in character as a young songstress doing her thing after moving into a new neighborhood. Horror ensues.

"Jennifer Lawrence sings!" cried the Internet, with several sites praising the HUNGER GAMES' star's vocal chops: Entertainment Weekly offered a look at aspiring triple threat Jennifer Lawrence as you’ve never seen her before; IndieWire praised her lovely and demure singing voice; and on Yahoo!'s MOVIEtalk blog, HOUSE music supervisor Steve Lindsey recalls working with Lawrence : "Even [though] she was nervous, her humor about the situation shined through with her begging for us to 'Photoshop' her voice," he said.

Did they ever.

It's true that J-Law recorded a version of the song for the scene -- but it wasn't used. Instead, the filmmakers dubbed in a version from session musician Sarah Rayne, so Lawrence is essentially lip-synching here. (A source tells SHOWBLITZ that Lawrence's version wasn't half bad and nearly made the cut, but filmmakers felt Rayne's sound fit the scene and character better).

To be fair, nowhere in the promo materials does it explicitly say Lawrence's vocal was used -- that was assumed by the dozens of outlets that picked up the story. As for Rayne, we're told she gets a proper nod in the movie's credits.

-- Josh L. Dickey

Paxton cruising toward 'All You Need is Kill'

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton -- together at last.

Though their careers have spanned more than three decades, the thesps have never worked together. That should change as Paxton is in negotiations to star in Warner Bros. sci-fi action pic ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, joining Cruise and Emily Blunt, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Doug Liman is directing the graphic novel-based pic about a soldier (Cruise) in a war against aliens who relives his last day over and over after being killed. Through the training and battles he experiences in these time loops, he becomes a better soldier. Paxton will play the tough leader of Cruise's platoon.

Pic is currently set to start production later this fall in London.

 

Read Full Article

Chan-wook park sets course for 'Corsica'

EXCLUSIVE: 1984 Private Defense Contractors and Ruby Films have set South Korean helmer Chan-wook Park (OLDBOY) to direct crime drama CORSICA 72 from a Black List script by SKYFALL scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Based on a true story, period pic follows two best friends who live on the small island of Corsica where they choose different paths in life — one as an honest working man, the other as a gangster — and feud over a woman who comes between them. Project is gaining steam at Hollywood’s tenpercenteries as agents scramble to get their top under-30 clients in the casting mix. Park recently agreed to direct S. Craig Zahler’s Black List oater THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE for Red Granite Pictures and Mythology Entertainment. That ultra-violent pic necessitates the casting of a major star, so while CORSICA has no start date yet, it is expected to lense before BRIGANDS.

Philip Seymour Hoffman gathers 'Moss' for second directing gig

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off high praise and a record-breaking weekend for THE MASTER, Philip Seymour Hoffman is eyeing a move behind the camera, as the multihyphenate is on board to helm the Depression Era ghost story EZEKIEL MOSS for Mandalay Pictures, Variety's Jeff Sneider and Justin Kroll report. The 2011 Black List script follows a young, imaginative boy living in a small town who befriends a mysterious drifter who may have the ability to communicate with the dead. Pic marks Hoffman’s second directorial effort; he previously helmed JACK GOES BOATING for Overture Films.

Zellweger to helm, star in '4 1/2 Minutes'

EXCLUSIVE: Renee Zellweger is set to make her directorial debut with 4 1/2 MINUTES, a comedy in which she'll star opposite Johnny Knoxville, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. Written by Anthony Tambakis (WARRIOR) and based on the life and comedy of real-life stand-up Dov Davidoff, who shares story credit, 4 1/2 MINUTES follows Jimmy Bennett (Knoxville), a commitment-phobic, train-wreck of a comedian whose life is falling apart when he takes a job looking after the genius son of single mom P.J. Andersen (Zellweger). Story is set in the New York City stand-up comedy world, and production is skedded to start in Gotham in February.

• 

EXCLUSIVE: Emmanuelle Chriqui has landed her biggest post-“Entourage” feature role yet, as the thesp is in final talks to star opposite Luke Wilson in the indie sports comedy MILLION DOLLAR MAN, Variety's Dave McNary reports. Announced at Sundance, the project focuses on a down-on-his-luck route driver (Wilson) for a soda company who’s given a second chance in life as a football kicker. Chriqui, best known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO’s “Entourage,” will play the love interest who helps whip Wilson’s character into shape and guides him to redemption. Also coming aboard is comedian Bobby Lee, who will play the nemesis.

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson are attached to star in Film4's comedy FRANK, Variety's Jeff Sneider reports. Gleeson will play an aspiring musician who finds himself in over his head when he joins an eccentric rock band led by Fassbender. Dubliner Lenny Abrahamson will direct; His latest film, WHAT RICHARD DID, sees its world preem at the Toronto Intl Film Fest.

CONTRABAND thesp Ben Foster is attached to star in writer-director Adam Rapp's indie drama RED LIGHT WINTER, which Parts & Labor principals Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen are producing with Scott Rudin, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Based on Rapp's bleak play of the same name, story follows two male friends who travel from New York to Amsterdam and become caught up in a love triangle with a prostitute, bringing to the surface dark undercurrents in their troubled friendship.

BACHELORETTE star Kirsten Dunst is attached to play the sex worker, while Katherine Waterston (THE BABYSITTERS) is set to co-star as another woman who shares a romantic past with both men.

EXCLUSIVE: Having wrapped his English-language debut STOKER for Fox Searchlight, South Korean helmer Chan-wook Park (OLDBOY) is in talks to direct S. Craig Zahler’s Black List western THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE, which Red Granite Pictures has come on to finance and co-produce with Mythology Entertainment. Ultra-violent pic follows a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob the occupants of a small town. Script was voted No. 1 on the 2006 Black List but has languished in development due to its violent content, which will likely necessitate the casting of a major star. -Jeff Sneider

 

Read Full Article

EXCLUSIVE: Looking to parlay the popularity of football into a feature film, the NFL is teaming with Tony Krantz’s Flame Ventures to produce WEEK 14, a drama that Krantz (SPORTS NIGHT) will produce and direct from a script by Ron Shelton (BULL DURHAM).
CAA is shopping the package, which studios are expected to bid on in the coming weeks, just as the National Football League season kicks off on Sept. 5. Plan is to head into production after the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. Aimed to be a four-quadrant movie, pic will chronicle the last three weeks of the NFL’s regular season as seen through the eyes of fictional players, coaches and their significant others. The script, which Shelton has completed, features interweaving storylines in the vein of CRASH, that sources familiar with the project describe as PG-13 content, since the NFL is very protective of its family-friendly brand. 

EXCLUSIVE: Independent producer Aaron Magnani has attached director Michael Polish and is in talks with Evan Rachel Wood to topline  18 WHEEL BUTTERFLY,  a road movie written by Christian Divine that is described as a cross between THELMA & LOUISE and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

A colorful throwback pic set in Texas during the summer of 1977, “Butterfly” will star Wood as Rainbeaux, a truck driver who must outrace the law, bounty hunters and a pair of fellow truckers after she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit.

There’s no start date in place, as Magnani is currently seeking financing. 

 

Read Full Article

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has inked a development deal with director George Nolfi (THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU), attaching him to helm and oversee a rewrite of social media thriller XOXO, Variety's Rachel Abrams and Jeff Sneider report. Written by BLACK SWAN scribe Mark Heyman, project is an elevated genre tale set in the world of Facebook. Story follows an on-the-rise exec who’s engaged to be married but enjoys flirting online. He meets an alluring woman on Facebook and the two begin a virtual relationship, but the protag soon discovers that his Internet romance is seeping into his actual life in a deadly way. Darren Aronofsky and Michael London (SIDEWAYS) will produce.

Read Full Article

EXCLSUIVE: LOST  veteran Josh Holloway is in negotiations to join Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington in David Ayer's action-thriller TEN, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

A testosterone-heavy riff on Agatha Christie's TEN LITTLE INDIANS,   the Skip Woods-scripted film follows 10 members of an elite DEA task force that robs a dangerous drug cartel under the guise of a tactical raid on one of its safe houses. They think they've gotten away with millions in merch, until team members begin getting bumped off one by one.

Holloway is in talks to play Neck, a tough member of Schwarzenegger's DEA team who also acts as the medic.

Pic will co-star Malin Akerman, Terrence Howard, Mireille Enos, Joe Mangianello, Olivia Williams, Max Martini and Dawn Olivieri.

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER  star Cobie Smulders, who recently played a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in THE AVENGERS,  is in negotiations for the female lead opposite Vince Vaughn in DreamWorks' untitled remake of the hit French-Canadian comedy STARBUCK, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider and Justin Kroll. 

Original helmer Ken Scott is returning to direct from his own script.

Story follows a middle-aged man (Vaughn) whose life is turned upside down when he learns he has fathered 533 children through sperm donation. When a few hundred of the children express an irrepressible need to meet their father, he must decide whether or not he will step up and reveal his identity.

Smulders is in talks to co-star as Vaughn's pregnant girlfriend, while PARKS AND RECREATION thesp Chris Pratt is set to play Vaughn's lawyer.

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: While moviegoers will have to shell out the usual 3D upcharge for Warner Bros.’ THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, U.S. exhibitors have agreed not to charge more for the film’s 48 frames-per-second showtimes. It was widely assumed that auds would have to pay a premium for the doubled frame-rate format, compared to the industry-standard 24 fps — and someday, they might. But with 3D already costing on average $3-$5 more than a 2D ticket, Warners did not advocate for a higher ticket price, and exhibs agreed. As Variety first reported, Warners plans a limited rollout for its high-frame-rate version of THE HOBBIT, which launches Dec. 14. The studio wants to protect the format’s first time out by going in limited release — reaction was mixed during a presentation this spring at CinemaCon — so it’s no surprise that the studio is against a HFR upcharge. - Andrew Stewart

EXCLUSIVE: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has joined the cast of Marvel’s  THOR: THE DARK WORLD as a lead villain, playing the dual roles of Algrim the Strong and Kurse, reports Variety's Dave McNary. 

With so much of the THOR cast reprising — Chris Hemsworth,  Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba — Akinnuoye-Agbaje (G.I JOE, THE BOURNE IDENTITY) will be one of the sequel’s few fresh faces.

In the comicbooks, Algrim the Strong was the most powerful of the race, and is coerced by his ruler, Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston, formerly BBC’s DOCTOR WHO) into fighting Thor. After Malekith betrays him and he’s injured in battle, Algrim is healed and transformed into a much more powerful being — Kurse — who’s twice as a strong the Norse god.

Disney and Marvel Studios have set the second THOR for a Nov. 8, 2013, release with Alan Taylor directing

 

EXCLUSIVE: Charlotte Riley, fiancee of Tom Hardy who was at one point considered for the role of Catwoman in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, is getting her major Hollywood debut role in a different Warner Bros. pic: Doug Liman's sci-fier ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, starring Tom Cruise. Riley has been in several British TV series, miniseries and telepics -- she met Hardy while filming an adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" in 2009 -- but her first major bigscreen role will be a soldier who, along with Emily Blunt, fights alongside Cruise's character in a war against aliens. Story is based on the graphic novel in which the soldier relives his last day over and over after being killed. Through the training and battles he experiences in these time loops, he becomes a better soldier. --Justin Kroll

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Brolin is in talks to star in the Sean Penn-helmed CRAZY FOR THE STORM at Warner Bros, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Both Brolin and Penn's deals need to be worked out, but the plan is to shoot the pic in the first quarter of 2013.

Will Fetters did the script adaptation from Norman Ollestad's memoir, which centers on how the skills Ollestad's father instilled in him as a boy helped him survive after a plane crash stranded him alone on a mountaintop when he was 11. Brolin would play Ollestad's dad.

There was talk early on of Penn also starring but sources say that Penn is opting to focus on helming, as he did with INTO THE WILD. 

Read Full Article

 

The latest look at Daniel-Day Lewis as the Great Emancipator comes via this poster, released earlier today by Disney/Dreamworks. The photograph evokes famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady's last -- and certainly most intimate -- portraits of the president, fitting in that the film will focus on Lincoln's final months.

EXCLUSIVE: The ambitious journey of Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER book series to the bigscreen and TV has hit another setback, as Warner Bros., which had been in talks to take it on after Universal let it go, has also decided to not move forward. Ron Howard would direct and produce along with Brian Grazer and King through Grazer and Howard’s Imagine Entertainment banner. Warner Bros. had no comment. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman had recently delivered his latest draft for the film’s first installment and Russell Crowe had shown interest in playing the lead if Warners gave the film a greenlight. Series revolves around gunslinger Roland Deschain who roams an Old West-like landscape in search of a dark tower, in hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Imagine is still able to take the project back out to other studios, but this latest news is a blow to the film’s future — when Universal first let go of the film, most insiders around town believed WB was its best chance of getting made. -Justin Kroll

EXCLUSIVE: Straight from the New Orleans shoot of THE BUTLER comes this first look at Forest Whitaker as Eugene Allen, the White House servant who worked for eight First Families. The ensemble drama also stars Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Liam Neeson, Aml Ameen, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams. Lee Daniels is directing from a script based on a Washington Post article about Allen.

Just as THE EXPENDABLES 2 explodes into theaters, Adi Shankar’s banner 1984 Private Defense Contractors has tapped Dutch Southern to write an all-female riff on the star-studded action franchise.

 Company is already in talks with several prominent actresses affiliated with the action genre.

2012 has been a banner year for female-driven actioners thanks to the release of THE HUNGER GAMES with Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart-starrer SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and the Gina Carano-led HAYWIRE.

 

 

 

 

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures’ animation division has kept a low profile since its launch last summer, announcing few projects other than a sequel to THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE (2014), and tapping former Walt Disney Animation president David Stainton as its toon topper — only to watch him ankle four months later. But with DreamWorks Animation in talks to move to another studio, Par is reckoning with the prospect of losing its most lucrative partner by ramping up a homegrown slate of family fare. Studio has hired seven scribes to tackle projects, some of which Mary Parent and J.J. Abrams are shepherding. For its first followup to 2011’s RANGO, Par turned to DWA vets Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who wrote KUNG FU PANDA 2, to pen the SPONGEBOB sequel that Paul Tibbitt (a scribe for the series) will direct and show creator Stephen Hillenburg is exec producing; Parent will produce. Paramount chief Brad Grey is also turning to sister division Nickelodeon to supply much of the IP including DORA THE EXPLORER, THE LEGEND OF KORRA and MONKEY QUEST. The division is also trying to spark development with on-the-lot filmmakers who have no prior animation experience — Parent and Abrams among them. Details of Abrams’ project have yet to be revealed, but Parent and producing partner Cale Boyter also are overseeing NEW KID, an adaptation of Penny Arcade’s comic about a lone earthling in a school for aliens. With DreamWorks Animation likely out after its contract runs out this year, Paramount will need these projects to fill its pipeline. -- Justin Kroll and Marc Graser.

EXCLUSIVE: While most of the roles for THE HANGOVER PART III have already been cast, Todd Phillips still has one juicy part to fill, and it looks like he's found the actor he wants. John Goodman is in talks for what sources describe as a small role as an antagonist in the vein of the character Paul Giamatti played in HANGOVER II, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Phillips is back to direct with original cast members Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. 

Plot details are being kept under wraps. Warner Bros. plans to release the pic on May 24.

 

Read Full Article

Tribeca Film has acquired all North American rights from XYZ Films to Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s thriller RESOLUTION.

Story focuses on two friends, one a junkie forced to go cold turkey in an isolated cabin. Pic screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and Fantasia International Film Festival earlier this year.

Tribeca Film plans an early 2013 theatrical release day and date with on-demand platforms. It is also planning a festival run ahead of the commercial release.

Deal was negotiated for Tribeca Film by Nick Savva and on behalf of the filmmakers by Nate Bolotin and Aram Tertzakian from XYZ Films.

-- Dave McNary

WEDNESDAY UPDATE:

Universal Pictures has issued the following statement from co-chair Donna Langley: “We are extremely proud of SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and we’re currently exploring all options to continue the franchise. Any reports that Kristen Stewart has been dropped are false.”

EARLIER (10:43 p.m. PDT Tuesday):

Universal is currently exploring a SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN spinoff that would center on Chris Hemsworth, a plan that that still may include co-star Kristen Stewart and/or director Rupert Sanders, SHOWBLITZ has learned.

The studio is open to several creative directions for its potential franchise -- including the possibility of a straight sequel -- but for now will focus development resources on Hemsworth, the THOR star who appears in Universal's upcoming Formula One racing pic RUSH.

A Hemsworth-led spinoff has been in U's plans for some time: Two months before SWATH opened to a healthy $56 million in the U.S., Universal chief Ron Meyer said that while "the upcoming (SWATH) doesn’t appear to lend itself to a sequel, Universal thinks it can do more movies based on the character of the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) if it is successful."

Around the time of its release, studio brass began getting serious about a straight sequel, a notion it was considering as early as April. That idea was backburnered in the wake of widespread tabloid reports regarding Stewart and Sanders, though either could play a role in future SWATH installments.

Universal just picked up the book 90 CHURCH for Sanders to develop, while Hemsworth has THOR: THE DARK WORLD, AVENGERS 2 and (maybe) ROBOPOCALYPSE on the horizon. After dropping out of CALI, Stewart's sked is clear -- after extensive press tours for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN -- PART 2 and ON THE ROAD.

While the odds of all three being reunited are clearly diminished, some combination of the original SWATH teaming is still very much in play.

-- Josh L. Dickey

EXCLUSIVE: ARBITRAGE star Tim Roth is set to play Monaco’s Prince Rainier III opposite Nicole Kidman’s Grace Kelly in Olivier Dahan’s GRACE OF MONACO, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

 Story finds Kelly as a former Oscar winner and mother of two who had already spent six years as the monarch of a European nation. The retired starlet was called upon to save Monaco from an escalating situation regarding its standing as a tax haven, with French leader Charles de Gaulle giving her husband, Monaco’s Prince Rainier III, six months to reform its tax laws.

Roth will play the ambitious and strong-headed Prince Rainier III, who was forced to run the country at a young age and broke from tradition to marry Kelly. While he initially lets his emotions get in the way of his work and marriage, he eventually lets Kelly guide him in decision-making. 

 

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Robin Wright is in talks to star in the adaptation of the John le Carre tome A MOST WANTERD MAN, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

THE AMERICAN helmer Anton Corbijn is directing from a script by Andrew Bovell. Original story revolved around a Chechnian Muslim who illegally immigrates to Hamburg, Germany, where he gets caught up in the international war on terror.

 

Read Full Article

 

Just days before COSMOPOLIS opens in limited release, star Robert Pattinson has joined the cast of Werner Herzog’s indie QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which will star Naomi Watts as English writer Gertrude Bell. Pic will chronicle Bell’s life as a writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political attache for the British Empire.  Pattinson is attached to play T.E. Lawrence, a British Army officer whose writing earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, on whom David Lean’s classic 1962 epic is based.

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Eric Bana is in negotiations to round out the cast of Pete Berg's next pic, LONE SURVIVOR, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster are already set to star, with plans to shoot the movie this fall.  

An adaptation of the book by Marcus Luttrell, LONE SURVIVOR tells the harrowing story of how Luttrell and his Navy SEAL team members fought to stay alive after being ambushed in Afghanistan in 2005 by Taliban forces during a covert mission in the Hindu Kush mountain region, where the team had deployed to kill a terrorist leader. 

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning are in talks to star in Kelly Reichardt’s indie thriller NIGHT MOVES, which will also star Peter Sarsgaard. Written by Reichardt (WENDY AND LUCY), story follows three eco-terrorists who plot to blow up a dam. Eisenberg will play the ringleader, while Fanning will play a wealthy young girl who funds the plan. Sarsgaard will play the mastermind behind the bomb. 

 

 

 

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: It's been about five years since he last directed a film, but Sean Penn looks ready to step back into the director's chair. Penn is in talks to helm Warner Bros.' CRAZY FOR THE STORM, based on the memoir by Norman Ollestad, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Will Fetters adapted the story, which revolves around Ollestad and his relationship with his father and how the skills his father instilled in him helped him survive after a plane crash stranded him on a mountaintop.

Penn is planning just to direct, not star.

Pic will be the first Penn has directed since he wrote and directed 2007's INTO THE WILD, also a memoir about a man's will to survive.

 

 

Read Full Article

 

With Christopher Nolan declaring himself out of the running for JUSTICE LEAGUE, Warner Bros. has approached another of its go-to directors in Ben Affleck, who’s expected to discuss the project with studio brass in the coming days, multiple sources tell Variety's Jeff Sneider and Justin Kroll. Since guiding WB’s THE TOWN to commercial success and critical acclaim from both sides of the camera, Affleck has ascended high on the studio’s list of filmmakers who can be trusted with prime properties. Thus far, Affleck is the only candidate who’s been sent Will Beall’s JUSTICE LEAGUE script, which the GANGSTER SQUAD scribe was hired to write last summer. DC Comics’ answer to Marvel’s Avengers, JUSTICE LEAGUE is expected to bring together marquee characters Batman and Superman, as well as Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and The Flash. Affleck has made it clear that he’s only interested in directing films in which he also stars — THE TOWN and ARGO are proof of that — so its likely that if this pairing ever came to fruition, he would don a suit of his own. One possible hesitation on Affleck’s part is that any involvement with JUSTICE LEAGUE would take him out of circulation as a director for a few years. He could, however, still fit in an acting gig at Warners. Affleck has spent the last several weeks mulling an offer to star in topline Greg Berlanti’s long-gestating sci-fi drama REPLAY, which WB has spent more than a decade developing. Based on Ken Grimwood’s 1987 bestseller, story follows a man who dies and gets the chance to relive his life over and over again, changing partners and professions each time. JUSTICE LEAGUE won’t likely be ready for release until summer 2015, which could put it up right against Marvel’s AVENGERS 2, which has Joss Whedon returning to helm.

Read Full Article

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. is convinced that high-frame-rate movies are the next big thing — but they’re keeping the first HFR release fairly small, Variety's David Cohen reports. According to source familiar with Warner’s release plans for Peter Jackson’s first HOBBIT, the HFR version will go out to only select locations, perhaps not even into all major cities. People who have seen much of the film in 48 frames-per-second 3D tell Variety the picture now looks vastly better than the test footage shown this April at CinemaCon, which had not yet undergone post-production polishing and got a mixed reception from exhibitors. But the studio still wants to protect the format by going into a limited release for the HFR version, hoping to test the marketplace and expand the HFR release for the second and third installments — provided auds are enthusiastic. As of now, there are still no theaters ready for HFR projection, though some require only a software upgrade that will be ready in September.

Read Full Article

EXCLUSIVE: Aussie thesp Xavier Samuel (THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE) is set to join Emily Browning and Cam Gigandet in Catherine Hardwicke's indie thriller PLUSH, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Browning stars as a rock singer for the band Plush who, frustrated creatively in the wake of her brother's death, falls prey to the psychotic machinations of a new guitarist (Samuel).

Gigandet will co-star as psychic psychologist who delves into the minds of patients and sees their memories in order to help them unleash past demons. He meets his match in Browning's character, who shares his gift.

Read Full Article

 

Having wrapped the lead role in Diablo Cody's untitled directorial debut, Julianne Hough is now attached to star in the Cody-scripted romantic dramedy TIME AND A HALF, which Ol Parker is directing for Groundswell Prods. and Mad Chance Prods, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Hough will play a recent college grad who takes a temp job at a trophy store where she runs into her sister's high school boyfriend with whom she had a one-night stand.

Groundswell principal Michael London is producing with Andrew Lazar of Mad Chance. The filmmakers are currently casting the role of the protag's sister, and the project won't move forward until they find the right actress to compliment Hough.

Should the elements come together, production wouldn't start until next year.

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: The clock is ticking for 20th Century Fox to put its DAREDEVIL reboot into production before character rights revert to Marvel — but Fox chairman Tom Rothman and Marvel brass have been talking about a tradeoff that would allow the comicbook franchise to remain at Fox past its Oct. 10 deadline, report Variety's Jeff Sneider, Rachel Abrams and Marc Graser. One reason for the backroom dealings: Fox is in discussions with Joe Carnahan to direct what’s been described as a “Frank Miller-esque, hardcore 70s thriller” take on blind Hell’s Kitchen superhero Matt Murdock — a vision that would deviate from Disney/Marvel’s family-friendly tone. Carnahan has yet to receive an official offer, though multiple sources tell Variety that he’s the choice. But Fox also has something Marvel wants: Sources say Marvel would give Fox more time to make DAREDEVIL in return for the rights to use characters from the FANTASTIC FOUR universe, including the giant, world-devouring supervillain Galactus, rumored to play a key role in future Marvel pics. Marvel is also eyeing future use of Silver Surfer, who in the comicbooks brokered a deal to serve as Galactus’ herald in order to save his home planet. (Fox owns rights to the Silver Surfer as part of its deal for FANTASTIC FOUR, which the studio is also rebooting with CHRONICLE helmer Josh Trank.) At this point, the ball is said to be in Fox’s court, with talks expected to resume later this week. But as of right now, Fox needs to start lensing by the Oct. 10 deadline to keep DAREDEVIL in-house. Neither Fox, Marvel nor reps for Carnahan would comment on the dealings.

Read Full Article

 

 

EXCLUSIVE: THE HUNGER GAMES  star Jennifer Lawrence is attached to topline the romantic drama ENDS OF THE EARTH, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Written by Chris Terrio (ARGO) and based on the lives of Ernest and Lydie Marland, story follows the controversial love affair between an oil baron and his adopted daughter, which destroys the empire they built together.

Lawrence is attached to play Lydie, an educated, headstrong woman who was adopted as a girl by her aunt Virginia and uncle Ernest. She later becomes their adopted daughter and eventually becomes Ernest's wife. Urging him to raise workers' wages and give them unpredecented access to medical care, she earns the nickname the "princess of the prairies."

 

Read Full Article

 

Sacha Baron Cohen has poked at a variety of things throughout his career -- and now he is ready to have a little fun with Hollywood's favorite secret agent.

Baron Cohen and Phil Johnston have sold an untitled pitch to Paramount that follows a James Bond-like spy forced to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a moronic soccer hooligan. Studio couldn't comment on how much the pitch was acquired for, but sources say it was in the high six- to low seven-figure range.

Baron Cohen, who has a first-look deal with Par, will now get to work on the script with Johnston.

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Add one more thesp to the WEDDING CRASHERS  reunion on THE INTERNSHIP: Will Ferrell is set to join former co-stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Twentieth Century Fox and New Regency's comedy, which is being directed by Shawn Levy, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Vaughn and Wilson play old-school salesmen who, finding themselves suddenly unemployed and passed-by in the digital world, try to reinvent themselves by becoming interns at a major tech company.

Ferrell has agreed to cameo as Wilson's brother-in-law, who sells home electronics and has no problem making inappropriate comments about his attractive customers. 

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Miles Teller and Analeigh Tipton to star in the romantic comedy TWO NIGHT STAND, which music video helmer Max Nichols will direct from a Black List script by Mark Hammer, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Story follows a pair of unlikely lovers who are trapped together in an apartment after a record-breaking blizzard forces them to extend a regrettable one-night stand.

Indie pic will mark the feature helming debut of Nichols, the son of director Mike Nichols.

Read Full Article

 

 

EXCLUSIVE: Is there nothing this guy won't do? James Franco is set to join Jason Statham in Millennium Films' action-thriller HOMEFRONT, which Gary Fleder will direct from a script by Sylvester Stallone, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Story follows Phil Broker (Statham), an ex-DEA agent who moves his family to a quiet town hoping to escape his past. However, he finds the town to be overrun with violence, drug traffickers and an evil meth magnate named Gator (Franco). To save his endangered family, retribution is now the only thing Broker seeks.

 

Read Full Article

EXCLUSIVE: Luke Wilson is in final negotiations to star in the upcoming indie sports comedy MILLION DOLLAR MAN, reports Variety's Dave McNary.

He will play a down-on-his-luck route driver for a soda company who's given a second chance in life as a football kicker. 

Scott Marshall (BLOND AMBITION), son of Garry Marshall, is directing from a script by Alex Schrader.

Read Full Article

 

EXCLUSIVE: Having established a small screen presence with his FX series BRAND X WITH RUSSELL BRAND, Brit comic Russell Brand is turning his attention back to features, as he’s in early talks to star in Larry Charles’ raunchy comedy PIERRE PIERRE, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.  

Politically-incorrect laffer follows an obnoxious French nihilist (Brand) who transports a stolen painting from Paris to London. Along the way he crosses paths with a French police inspector, a serial killer named Pigeonshit and his own brothel-owning mother.

Edwin Cannistraci and Frederick Seton wrote the Black List script.

Read Full Article

'Entourage' star tees up 'Million Dollar Man'

EXCLUSIVE: Emmanuelle Chriqui has landed her biggest post-“Entourage” feature role yet, as the thesp is in final talks to star opposite Luke Wilson in the indie sports comedy MILLION DOLLAR MAN, Variety's Dave McNary reports. Announced at Sundance, the project focuses on a down-on-his-luck route driver (Wilson) for a soda company who’s given a second chance in life as a football kicker. Chriqui, best known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO’s “Entourage,” will play the love interest who helps whip Wilson’s character into shape and guides him to redemption. Also coming aboard is comedian Bobby Lee, who will play the nemesis.

Read Full Article

 

Fassbender, Gleeson want to be 'Frank' with you

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson are attached to star in Film4's comedy FRANK, Variety's Jeff Sneider reports. Gleeson will play an aspiring musician who finds himself in over his head when he joins an eccentric rock band led by Fassbender. Dubliner Lenny Abrahamson will direct; His latest film, WHAT RICHARD DID, sees its world preem at the Toronto Intl Film Fest.

Ben Foster turning on 'Red Light Winter'

CONTRABAND thesp Ben Foster is attached to star in writer-director Adam Rapp's indie drama RED LIGHT WINTER, which Parts & Labor principals Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen are producing with Scott Rudin, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Based on Rapp's bleak play of the same name, story follows two male friends who travel from New York to Amsterdam and become caught up in a love triangle with a prostitute, bringing to the surface dark undercurrents in their troubled friendship.

BACHELORETTE star Kirsten Dunst is attached to play the sex worker, while Katherine Waterston (THE BABYSITTERS) is set to co-star as another woman who shares a romantic past with both men.

'Oldboy' helmer Chan-wook Park in talks to direct Black List Western 'Brigands of Rattleborge'

EXCLUSIVE: Having wrapped his English-language debut STOKER for Fox Searchlight, South Korean helmer Chan-wook Park (OLDBOY) is in talks to direct S. Craig Zahler’s Black List western THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE, which Red Granite Pictures has come on to finance and co-produce with Mythology Entertainment. Ultra-violent pic follows a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob the occupants of a small town. Script was voted No. 1 on the 2006 Black List but has languished in development due to its violent content, which will likely necessitate the casting of a major star. -Jeff Sneider

 

Read Full Article

NFL Feature Film being shopped around Hollywood

EXCLUSIVE: Looking to parlay the popularity of football into a feature film, the NFL is teaming with Tony Krantz’s Flame Ventures to produce WEEK 14, a drama that Krantz (SPORTS NIGHT) will produce and direct from a script by Ron Shelton (BULL DURHAM).
CAA is shopping the package, which studios are expected to bid on in the coming weeks, just as the National Football League season kicks off on Sept. 5. Plan is to head into production after the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. Aimed to be a four-quadrant movie, pic will chronicle the last three weeks of the NFL’s regular season as seen through the eyes of fictional players, coaches and their significant others. The script, which Shelton has completed, features interweaving storylines in the vein of CRASH, that sources familiar with the project describe as PG-13 content, since the NFL is very protective of its family-friendly brand. 

Michael Polish, Evan Rachel Wood to join new indie road pic '18 Wheel Butterfly'

EXCLUSIVE: Independent producer Aaron Magnani has attached director Michael Polish and is in talks with Evan Rachel Wood to topline  18 WHEEL BUTTERFLY,  a road movie written by Christian Divine that is described as a cross between THELMA & LOUISE and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

A colorful throwback pic set in Texas during the summer of 1977, “Butterfly” will star Wood as Rainbeaux, a truck driver who must outrace the law, bounty hunters and a pair of fellow truckers after she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit.

There’s no start date in place, as Magnani is currently seeking financing. 

 

Read Full Article

'Adjustment Bureau' helmer to develop, direct social-media thriller 'XOXO'

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has inked a development deal with director George Nolfi (THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU), attaching him to helm and oversee a rewrite of social media thriller XOXO, Variety's Rachel Abrams and Jeff Sneider report. Written by BLACK SWAN scribe Mark Heyman, project is an elevated genre tale set in the world of Facebook. Story follows an on-the-rise exec who’s engaged to be married but enjoys flirting online. He meets an alluring woman on Facebook and the two begin a virtual relationship, but the protag soon discovers that his Internet romance is seeping into his actual life in a deadly way. Darren Aronofsky and Michael London (SIDEWAYS) will produce.

Read Full Article

Holloway hangs 'Ten' with Schwarzenegger

EXCLSUIVE: LOST  veteran Josh Holloway is in negotiations to join Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington in David Ayer's action-thriller TEN, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

A testosterone-heavy riff on Agatha Christie's TEN LITTLE INDIANS,   the Skip Woods-scripted film follows 10 members of an elite DEA task force that robs a dangerous drug cartel under the guise of a tactical raid on one of its safe houses. They think they've gotten away with millions in merch, until team members begin getting bumped off one by one.

Holloway is in talks to play Neck, a tough member of Schwarzenegger's DEA team who also acts as the medic.

Pic will co-star Malin Akerman, Terrence Howard, Mireille Enos, Joe Mangianello, Olivia Williams, Max Martini and Dawn Olivieri.

Read Full Article

 

Cobie Smulders nabs female lead in 'Starbuck'

EXCLUSIVE: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER  star Cobie Smulders, who recently played a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in THE AVENGERS,  is in negotiations for the female lead opposite Vince Vaughn in DreamWorks' untitled remake of the hit French-Canadian comedy STARBUCK, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider and Justin Kroll. 

Original helmer Ken Scott is returning to direct from his own script.

Story follows a middle-aged man (Vaughn) whose life is turned upside down when he learns he has fathered 533 children through sperm donation. When a few hundred of the children express an irrepressible need to meet their father, he must decide whether or not he will step up and reveal his identity.

Smulders is in talks to co-star as Vaughn's pregnant girlfriend, while PARKS AND RECREATION thesp Chris Pratt is set to play Vaughn's lawyer.

Read Full Article

 

Exhibs: No upcharge for 48fps 'THE HOBBIT'

EXCLUSIVE: While moviegoers will have to shell out the usual 3D upcharge for Warner Bros.’ THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, U.S. exhibitors have agreed not to charge more for the film’s 48 frames-per-second showtimes. It was widely assumed that auds would have to pay a premium for the doubled frame-rate format, compared to the industry-standard 24 fps — and someday, they might. But with 3D already costing on average $3-$5 more than a 2D ticket, Warners did not advocate for a higher ticket price, and exhibs agreed. As Variety first reported, Warners plans a limited rollout for its high-frame-rate version of THE HOBBIT, which launches Dec. 14. The studio wants to protect the format’s first time out by going in limited release — reaction was mixed during a presentation this spring at CinemaCon — so it’s no surprise that the studio is against a HFR upcharge. - Andrew Stewart

'Thor' hammers Akinnuoye-Agbaje into villain role

EXCLUSIVE: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has joined the cast of Marvel’s  THOR: THE DARK WORLD as a lead villain, playing the dual roles of Algrim the Strong and Kurse, reports Variety's Dave McNary. 

With so much of the THOR cast reprising — Chris Hemsworth,  Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba — Akinnuoye-Agbaje (G.I JOE, THE BOURNE IDENTITY) will be one of the sequel’s few fresh faces.

In the comicbooks, Algrim the Strong was the most powerful of the race, and is coerced by his ruler, Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston, formerly BBC’s DOCTOR WHO) into fighting Thor. After Malekith betrays him and he’s injured in battle, Algrim is healed and transformed into a much more powerful being — Kurse — who’s twice as a strong the Norse god.

Disney and Marvel Studios have set the second THOR for a Nov. 8, 2013, release with Alan Taylor directing

 

All Charlotte Riley Needs is 'Kill'

EXCLUSIVE: Charlotte Riley, fiancee of Tom Hardy who was at one point considered for the role of Catwoman in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, is getting her major Hollywood debut role in a different Warner Bros. pic: Doug Liman's sci-fier ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, starring Tom Cruise. Riley has been in several British TV series, miniseries and telepics -- she met Hardy while filming an adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" in 2009 -- but her first major bigscreen role will be a soldier who, along with Emily Blunt, fights alongside Cruise's character in a war against aliens. Story is based on the graphic novel in which the soldier relives his last day over and over after being killed. Through the training and battles he experiences in these time loops, he becomes a better soldier. --Justin Kroll

Read Full Article

 

Josh Brolin in talks to star in Sean Penn's 'Storm'

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Brolin is in talks to star in the Sean Penn-helmed CRAZY FOR THE STORM at Warner Bros, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Both Brolin and Penn's deals need to be worked out, but the plan is to shoot the pic in the first quarter of 2013.

Will Fetters did the script adaptation from Norman Ollestad's memoir, which centers on how the skills Ollestad's father instilled in him as a boy helped him survive after a plane crash stranded him alone on a mountaintop when he was 11. Brolin would play Ollestad's dad.

There was talk early on of Penn also starring but sources say that Penn is opting to focus on helming, as he did with INTO THE WILD. 

Read Full Article

 

New poster for Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln'

The latest look at Daniel-Day Lewis as the Great Emancipator comes via this poster, released earlier today by Disney/Dreamworks. The photograph evokes famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady's last -- and certainly most intimate -- portraits of the president, fitting in that the film will focus on Lincoln's final months.

'Dark Tower' goes dark at Warner Bros

EXCLUSIVE: The ambitious journey of Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER book series to the bigscreen and TV has hit another setback, as Warner Bros., which had been in talks to take it on after Universal let it go, has also decided to not move forward. Ron Howard would direct and produce along with Brian Grazer and King through Grazer and Howard’s Imagine Entertainment banner. Warner Bros. had no comment. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman had recently delivered his latest draft for the film’s first installment and Russell Crowe had shown interest in playing the lead if Warners gave the film a greenlight. Series revolves around gunslinger Roland Deschain who roams an Old West-like landscape in search of a dark tower, in hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Imagine is still able to take the project back out to other studios, but this latest news is a blow to the film’s future — when Universal first let go of the film, most insiders around town believed WB was its best chance of getting made. -Justin Kroll

First look: Forest Whitaker as 'The Butler'

EXCLUSIVE: Straight from the New Orleans shoot of THE BUTLER comes this first look at Forest Whitaker as Eugene Allen, the White House servant who worked for eight First Families. The ensemble drama also stars Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Liam Neeson, Aml Ameen, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams. Lee Daniels is directing from a script based on a Washington Post article about Allen.

"Expendables" expanding to the ladies

Just as THE EXPENDABLES 2 explodes into theaters, Adi Shankar’s banner 1984 Private Defense Contractors has tapped Dutch Southern to write an all-female riff on the star-studded action franchise.

 Company is already in talks with several prominent actresses affiliated with the action genre.

2012 has been a banner year for female-driven actioners thanks to the release of THE HUNGER GAMES with Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart-starrer SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and the Gina Carano-led HAYWIRE.

 

 

 

 

Paramount Animation division stocking pipeline with projects from J.J. Abrams, Mary Parent, Nickelodeon

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures’ animation division has kept a low profile since its launch last summer, announcing few projects other than a sequel to THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE (2014), and tapping former Walt Disney Animation president David Stainton as its toon topper — only to watch him ankle four months later. But with DreamWorks Animation in talks to move to another studio, Par is reckoning with the prospect of losing its most lucrative partner by ramping up a homegrown slate of family fare. Studio has hired seven scribes to tackle projects, some of which Mary Parent and J.J. Abrams are shepherding. For its first followup to 2011’s RANGO, Par turned to DWA vets Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who wrote KUNG FU PANDA 2, to pen the SPONGEBOB sequel that Paul Tibbitt (a scribe for the series) will direct and show creator Stephen Hillenburg is exec producing; Parent will produce. Paramount chief Brad Grey is also turning to sister division Nickelodeon to supply much of the IP including DORA THE EXPLORER, THE LEGEND OF KORRA and MONKEY QUEST. The division is also trying to spark development with on-the-lot filmmakers who have no prior animation experience — Parent and Abrams among them. Details of Abrams’ project have yet to be revealed, but Parent and producing partner Cale Boyter also are overseeing NEW KID, an adaptation of Penny Arcade’s comic about a lone earthling in a school for aliens. With DreamWorks Animation likely out after its contract runs out this year, Paramount will need these projects to fill its pipeline. -- Justin Kroll and Marc Graser.

John Goodman in talks for 'Hangover III'

EXCLUSIVE: While most of the roles for THE HANGOVER PART III have already been cast, Todd Phillips still has one juicy part to fill, and it looks like he's found the actor he wants. John Goodman is in talks for what sources describe as a small role as an antagonist in the vein of the character Paul Giamatti played in HANGOVER II, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Phillips is back to direct with original cast members Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. 

Plot details are being kept under wraps. Warner Bros. plans to release the pic on May 24.

 

Read Full Article

Tribeca Film to release 'Resolution'

Tribeca Film has acquired all North American rights from XYZ Films to Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s thriller RESOLUTION.

Story focuses on two friends, one a junkie forced to go cold turkey in an isolated cabin. Pic screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and Fantasia International Film Festival earlier this year.

Tribeca Film plans an early 2013 theatrical release day and date with on-demand platforms. It is also planning a festival run ahead of the commercial release.

Deal was negotiated for Tribeca Film by Nick Savva and on behalf of the filmmakers by Nate Bolotin and Aram Tertzakian from XYZ Films.

-- Dave McNary

'K' still in U's 'Huntsman' stew

WEDNESDAY UPDATE:

Universal Pictures has issued the following statement from co-chair Donna Langley: “We are extremely proud of SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and we’re currently exploring all options to continue the franchise. Any reports that Kristen Stewart has been dropped are false.”

EARLIER (10:43 p.m. PDT Tuesday):

Universal is currently exploring a SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN spinoff that would center on Chris Hemsworth, a plan that that still may include co-star Kristen Stewart and/or director Rupert Sanders, SHOWBLITZ has learned.

The studio is open to several creative directions for its potential franchise -- including the possibility of a straight sequel -- but for now will focus development resources on Hemsworth, the THOR star who appears in Universal's upcoming Formula One racing pic RUSH.

A Hemsworth-led spinoff has been in U's plans for some time: Two months before SWATH opened to a healthy $56 million in the U.S., Universal chief Ron Meyer said that while "the upcoming (SWATH) doesn’t appear to lend itself to a sequel, Universal thinks it can do more movies based on the character of the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) if it is successful."

Around the time of its release, studio brass began getting serious about a straight sequel, a notion it was considering as early as April. That idea was backburnered in the wake of widespread tabloid reports regarding Stewart and Sanders, though either could play a role in future SWATH installments.

Universal just picked up the book 90 CHURCH for Sanders to develop, while Hemsworth has THOR: THE DARK WORLD, AVENGERS 2 and (maybe) ROBOPOCALYPSE on the horizon. After dropping out of CALI, Stewart's sked is clear -- after extensive press tours for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN -- PART 2 and ON THE ROAD.

While the odds of all three being reunited are clearly diminished, some combination of the original SWATH teaming is still very much in play.

-- Josh L. Dickey

Roth to play Prince Rainier in 'Grace of Monaco'

EXCLUSIVE: ARBITRAGE star Tim Roth is set to play Monaco’s Prince Rainier III opposite Nicole Kidman’s Grace Kelly in Olivier Dahan’s GRACE OF MONACO, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

 Story finds Kelly as a former Oscar winner and mother of two who had already spent six years as the monarch of a European nation. The retired starlet was called upon to save Monaco from an escalating situation regarding its standing as a tax haven, with French leader Charles de Gaulle giving her husband, Monaco’s Prince Rainier III, six months to reform its tax laws.

Roth will play the ambitious and strong-headed Prince Rainier III, who was forced to run the country at a young age and broke from tradition to marry Kelly. While he initially lets his emotions get in the way of his work and marriage, he eventually lets Kelly guide him in decision-making. 

 

Read Full Article

 

Robin Wright for 'Wanted Man'

EXCLUSIVE: Robin Wright is in talks to star in the adaptation of the John le Carre tome A MOST WANTERD MAN, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

THE AMERICAN helmer Anton Corbijn is directing from a script by Andrew Bovell. Original story revolved around a Chechnian Muslim who illegally immigrates to Hamburg, Germany, where he gets caught up in the international war on terror.

 

Read Full Article

 

Robert Pattinson to play young Lawrence of Arabia in Herzog indie

Just days before COSMOPOLIS opens in limited release, star Robert Pattinson has joined the cast of Werner Herzog’s indie QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which will star Naomi Watts as English writer Gertrude Bell. Pic will chronicle Bell’s life as a writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political attache for the British Empire.  Pattinson is attached to play T.E. Lawrence, a British Army officer whose writing earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, on whom David Lean’s classic 1962 epic is based.

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Article

 

Eric Bana circling 'Lone Survivor'

EXCLUSIVE: Eric Bana is in negotiations to round out the cast of Pete Berg's next pic, LONE SURVIVOR, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster are already set to star, with plans to shoot the movie this fall.  

An adaptation of the book by Marcus Luttrell, LONE SURVIVOR tells the harrowing story of how Luttrell and his Navy SEAL team members fought to stay alive after being ambushed in Afghanistan in 2005 by Taliban forces during a covert mission in the Hindu Kush mountain region, where the team had deployed to kill a terrorist leader. 

Read Full Article

 

Eisenberg, Fanning making 'Night Moves'

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning are in talks to star in Kelly Reichardt’s indie thriller NIGHT MOVES, which will also star Peter Sarsgaard. Written by Reichardt (WENDY AND LUCY), story follows three eco-terrorists who plot to blow up a dam. Eisenberg will play the ringleader, while Fanning will play a wealthy young girl who funds the plan. Sarsgaard will play the mastermind behind the bomb. 

 

 

 

Read Full Article

 

Sean Penn riding Warner Bros.' 'Storm' as director

EXCLUSIVE: It's been about five years since he last directed a film, but Sean Penn looks ready to step back into the director's chair. Penn is in talks to helm Warner Bros.' CRAZY FOR THE STORM, based on the memoir by Norman Ollestad, reports Variety's Justin Kroll. 

Will Fetters adapted the story, which revolves around Ollestad and his relationship with his father and how the skills his father instilled in him helped him survive after a plane crash stranded him on a mountaintop.

Penn is planning just to direct, not star.

Pic will be the first Penn has directed since he wrote and directed 2007's INTO THE WILD, also a memoir about a man's will to survive.

 

 

Read Full Article

 

Warner Bros. approaching Ben Affleck for 'Justice League' directing job

With Christopher Nolan declaring himself out of the running for JUSTICE LEAGUE, Warner Bros. has approached another of its go-to directors in Ben Affleck, who’s expected to discuss the project with studio brass in the coming days, multiple sources tell Variety's Jeff Sneider and Justin Kroll. Since guiding WB’s THE TOWN to commercial success and critical acclaim from both sides of the camera, Affleck has ascended high on the studio’s list of filmmakers who can be trusted with prime properties. Thus far, Affleck is the only candidate who’s been sent Will Beall’s JUSTICE LEAGUE script, which the GANGSTER SQUAD scribe was hired to write last summer. DC Comics’ answer to Marvel’s Avengers, JUSTICE LEAGUE is expected to bring together marquee characters Batman and Superman, as well as Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and The Flash. Affleck has made it clear that he’s only interested in directing films in which he also stars — THE TOWN and ARGO are proof of that — so its likely that if this pairing ever came to fruition, he would don a suit of his own. One possible hesitation on Affleck’s part is that any involvement with JUSTICE LEAGUE would take him out of circulation as a director for a few years. He could, however, still fit in an acting gig at Warners. Affleck has spent the last several weeks mulling an offer to star in topline Greg Berlanti’s long-gestating sci-fi drama REPLAY, which WB has spent more than a decade developing. Based on Ken Grimwood’s 1987 bestseller, story follows a man who dies and gets the chance to relive his life over and over again, changing partners and professions each time. JUSTICE LEAGUE won’t likely be ready for release until summer 2015, which could put it up right against Marvel’s AVENGERS 2, which has Joss Whedon returning to helm.

Read Full Article

WB plans limited release of high-frame-rate 'Hobbit'; may not include all major cities

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. is convinced that high-frame-rate movies are the next big thing — but they’re keeping the first HFR release fairly small, Variety's David Cohen reports. According to source familiar with Warner’s release plans for Peter Jackson’s first HOBBIT, the HFR version will go out to only select locations, perhaps not even into all major cities. People who have seen much of the film in 48 frames-per-second 3D tell Variety the picture now looks vastly better than the test footage shown this April at CinemaCon, which had not yet undergone post-production polishing and got a mixed reception from exhibitors. But the studio still wants to protect the format by going into a limited release for the HFR version, hoping to test the marketplace and expand the HFR release for the second and third installments — provided auds are enthusiastic. As of now, there are still no theaters ready for HFR projection, though some require only a software upgrade that will be ready in September.

Read Full Article

Xavier Samuel joins Hardwicke's 'Plush'

EXCLUSIVE: Aussie thesp Xavier Samuel (THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE) is set to join Emily Browning and Cam Gigandet in Catherine Hardwicke's indie thriller PLUSH, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Browning stars as a rock singer for the band Plush who, frustrated creatively in the wake of her brother's death, falls prey to the psychotic machinations of a new guitarist (Samuel).

Gigandet will co-star as psychic psychologist who delves into the minds of patients and sees their memories in order to help them unleash past demons. He meets his match in Browning's character, who shares his gift.

Read Full Article

 

Julianne Hough has more 'Time' with Cody

Having wrapped the lead role in Diablo Cody's untitled directorial debut, Julianne Hough is now attached to star in the Cody-scripted romantic dramedy TIME AND A HALF, which Ol Parker is directing for Groundswell Prods. and Mad Chance Prods, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Hough will play a recent college grad who takes a temp job at a trophy store where she runs into her sister's high school boyfriend with whom she had a one-night stand.

Groundswell principal Michael London is producing with Andrew Lazar of Mad Chance. The filmmakers are currently casting the role of the protag's sister, and the project won't move forward until they find the right actress to compliment Hough.

Should the elements come together, production wouldn't start until next year.

Read Full Article

 

Fox, Marvel talk character swap to keep 'Daredevil' going; Joe Carnahan choice to direct

EXCLUSIVE: The clock is ticking for 20th Century Fox to put its DAREDEVIL reboot into production before character rights revert to Marvel — but Fox chairman Tom Rothman and Marvel brass have been talking about a tradeoff that would allow the comicbook franchise to remain at Fox past its Oct. 10 deadline, report Variety's Jeff Sneider, Rachel Abrams and Marc Graser. One reason for the backroom dealings: Fox is in discussions with Joe Carnahan to direct what’s been described as a “Frank Miller-esque, hardcore 70s thriller” take on blind Hell’s Kitchen superhero Matt Murdock — a vision that would deviate from Disney/Marvel’s family-friendly tone. Carnahan has yet to receive an official offer, though multiple sources tell Variety that he’s the choice. But Fox also has something Marvel wants: Sources say Marvel would give Fox more time to make DAREDEVIL in return for the rights to use characters from the FANTASTIC FOUR universe, including the giant, world-devouring supervillain Galactus, rumored to play a key role in future Marvel pics. Marvel is also eyeing future use of Silver Surfer, who in the comicbooks brokered a deal to serve as Galactus’ herald in order to save his home planet. (Fox owns rights to the Silver Surfer as part of its deal for FANTASTIC FOUR, which the studio is also rebooting with CHRONICLE helmer Josh Trank.) At this point, the ball is said to be in Fox’s court, with talks expected to resume later this week. But as of right now, Fox needs to start lensing by the Oct. 10 deadline to keep DAREDEVIL in-house. Neither Fox, Marvel nor reps for Carnahan would comment on the dealings.

Read Full Article

 

 

Lawrence attached to 'Ends of the Earth'

EXCLUSIVE: THE HUNGER GAMES  star Jennifer Lawrence is attached to topline the romantic drama ENDS OF THE EARTH, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Written by Chris Terrio (ARGO) and based on the lives of Ernest and Lydie Marland, story follows the controversial love affair between an oil baron and his adopted daughter, which destroys the empire they built together.

Lawrence is attached to play Lydie, an educated, headstrong woman who was adopted as a girl by her aunt Virginia and uncle Ernest. She later becomes their adopted daughter and eventually becomes Ernest's wife. Urging him to raise workers' wages and give them unpredecented access to medical care, she earns the nickname the "princess of the prairies."

 

Read Full Article

 

Sacha Baron Cohen sells spy spoof to Paramount

Sacha Baron Cohen has poked at a variety of things throughout his career -- and now he is ready to have a little fun with Hollywood's favorite secret agent.

Baron Cohen and Phil Johnston have sold an untitled pitch to Paramount that follows a James Bond-like spy forced to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a moronic soccer hooligan. Studio couldn't comment on how much the pitch was acquired for, but sources say it was in the high six- to low seven-figure range.

Baron Cohen, who has a first-look deal with Par, will now get to work on the script with Johnston.

Read Full Article

 

Ferrell signs up for 'The Internship'

EXCLUSIVE: Add one more thesp to the WEDDING CRASHERS  reunion on THE INTERNSHIP: Will Ferrell is set to join former co-stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Twentieth Century Fox and New Regency's comedy, which is being directed by Shawn Levy, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider. 

Vaughn and Wilson play old-school salesmen who, finding themselves suddenly unemployed and passed-by in the digital world, try to reinvent themselves by becoming interns at a major tech company.

Ferrell has agreed to cameo as Wilson's brother-in-law, who sells home electronics and has no problem making inappropriate comments about his attractive customers. 

Read Full Article

 

Duo set to have 'Two Night Stand'

EXCLUSIVE: Miles Teller and Analeigh Tipton to star in the romantic comedy TWO NIGHT STAND, which music video helmer Max Nichols will direct from a Black List script by Mark Hammer, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Story follows a pair of unlikely lovers who are trapped together in an apartment after a record-breaking blizzard forces them to extend a regrettable one-night stand.

Indie pic will mark the feature helming debut of Nichols, the son of director Mike Nichols.

Read Full Article

 

 

James Franco on the 'Homefront' with Statham

EXCLUSIVE: Is there nothing this guy won't do? James Franco is set to join Jason Statham in Millennium Films' action-thriller HOMEFRONT, which Gary Fleder will direct from a script by Sylvester Stallone, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.

Story follows Phil Broker (Statham), an ex-DEA agent who moves his family to a quiet town hoping to escape his past. However, he finds the town to be overrun with violence, drug traffickers and an evil meth magnate named Gator (Franco). To save his endangered family, retribution is now the only thing Broker seeks.

 

Read Full Article

Wilson counting up to 'Million'

EXCLUSIVE: Luke Wilson is in final negotiations to star in the upcoming indie sports comedy MILLION DOLLAR MAN, reports Variety's Dave McNary.

He will play a down-on-his-luck route driver for a soda company who's given a second chance in life as a football kicker. 

Scott Marshall (BLOND AMBITION), son of Garry Marshall, is directing from a script by Alex Schrader.

Read Full Article

 

Russel Brand saying 'oui' to 'Pierre Pierre'

EXCLUSIVE: Having established a small screen presence with his FX series BRAND X WITH RUSSELL BRAND, Brit comic Russell Brand is turning his attention back to features, as he’s in early talks to star in Larry Charles’ raunchy comedy PIERRE PIERRE, reports Variety's Jeff Sneider.  

Politically-incorrect laffer follows an obnoxious French nihilist (Brand) who transports a stolen painting from Paris to London. Along the way he crosses paths with a French police inspector, a serial killer named Pigeonshit and his own brothel-owning mother.

Edwin Cannistraci and Frederick Seton wrote the Black List script.

Read Full Article