I’m not a big fan of Katherine Heigl, she hasn’t done anything truly wonderful since Knocked Up, but nevertheless she will be co-starring with big names like Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton, as well as rising star Amanda Seyfried, in Gently Down the Stream which is being written and directed by The Bucket List scribe Justin Zackham.
It is being described as a sort of “heterosexual take on La Cage Aux Folles” as the plot revolves around a dysfunctional divorced couple (De Niro and Keaton) who pretend they are still together during their adopted son’s wedding for the sake of his birth mother.
The film, which is set to begin filming in Connecticut this July, is being produced by Millennium Films in conjunction with Zackham’s company, Two Ton Films, and will be retitled The Big Wedding for its international release.
Lee Daniels, despite being an Oscar-nominated director, hasn’t picked up much notice since his powerful, almost hard to watch film Precious, which got him the nod from the Academy. Reports from the Cannes Film Festival, though, say that Daniels has picked his next project and has attracted quite an excellent cast.
After being picked up by Millennium/Nu Image, Sofia Vergara (who has been attached for some time), Matthew McConaughey, Tobey McGuire and Zac Efron have all come on board for Daniels’ adaptation of the Peter Dexter novel, “The Paperboy”.
The story focuses on the two sons of a Florida newspaper mogul, one who’s a reporter and the other a college dropout, and the investigation of a death row inmate convicted of killing the local sheriff.
Just days after Alec Baldwin reportedly dropped out of Adam Shankman’s film adaptation of Broadway musical Rock of Ages, he is officially back in the production which begins shooting on May 23rd.
Deadline gave us the details on what actually went down with the actor and his alleged departure from the project. Baldwin had spoken to New Line Cinema boss Toby Emmerich revealing that he had a recently discovered medical condition that was expected to be resolved so he could do the film, but later that same day the actor asked if the studio could replace him “if at all possible”.
Due to Baldwin’s commitment to the film, though, and it being nearly impossible to properly recast such a crucial role, one which has a big musical number in the film, this close to shooting, Emmerich’s boss and head movie chief at Warner Bros. Jeff Robinov held onto the actor, demanding that he do the film and refusing to put production on hold which would affect the rest of the actors.
Despite the perception that people, well anyone who isn’t a tween girl, have of Justin Bieber, he is a very talented young man. In this feature length documentary, Never Say Never which is directed by Jon M. Chu, the audience is given an exclusive vantage point of Bieber’s life from his younger days to the present.
It doesn’t get much better than the comedic brilliance of Alec Baldwin. I think the first time I really came to know who he was was when I saw Beetlejuice and I have since followed his career all the way to his weekly stints on 30 Rock. My being a fan of him though, makes it sad to say that he has decided not to be in the film adaptation of Broadway’s Rock of Ages.
While the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the soundtrack made me a little weary of the musical, the cast of Adam Shankman’s film version is really something to marvel at as it includes the likes of A-Listers such as Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Paul Giamatti among others.
Despite Pacific Rim’s relatively unoriginal and pretty ridiculous storyline, having Guillermo del Toro at the helm makes it slightly more appealing. From a script by Travis Beacham, the film is set in a futuristic world where giant creatures are threatening to destroy the Earth, one city at a time. Now, the planet must band together, using highly advanced weapons technology, to eliminate this growing threat.
Brilliant character actor Mark Strong is now attached to the British crime thriller Welcome to the Punch, which also stars James McAvoy. In the vein of Heat, it focuses on the resurfacing of London detective Max Lewinsky’s old nemesis, an armed robber who is known as Red Diesel, after five years. This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg for a massive conspiracy.
I, for one, am pretty against remaking films unless you have good cause to do so, such as the original failing to live up to its full potential but that is rare. Having said that, I am very disappointed that Paramount is allowing a remake of one of my favorite 80s films, Footloose, to be remade.
A story of abuse, neglect, violence, guns, rape, drugs and violence all involving a thirteen-year-old girl. That much you can take away from just reading the description of Andrea Portes novel, Hick, which is now being adapted into a film. The MPAA is going to have a field day with this one!
The Playlist is reporting, via a press release they received, that Lymelife director Derick Martini will be taking on the project that has Alec Baldwin and Rory Culkin attached. The release describes the film as “a stylish, often funny and a heartfelt coming-of-age -story about 13-year-old Luli’s life on the road. Whatever is thrown at young Luli only makes her stronger and more defiant, and yet somehow she is able to remain undefeated and undeterred from her goal for a better life."
It seems like there must be something great about Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses, a spec script currently making its way around Hollywood, because just yesterday five studios were bidding on it. Warner Bros. has come out on top though, now finalizing a deal to acquire the script of which they bid $800,000 for.
Deadline is reporting that Matt Damon will be the first person to jump on this project, not only as an actor but also as a producer and to make his directorial debut, as his was one of the rival bids with money through a private financier.
