There can be only one! And for now, that’s all there’s going to be. Ryan Reynolds has decided that the reboot of 1986’s Highlander is just not for him and has dropped out of the film.
Add Matt Damon’s name to the list of actors that are having a bang-up year. First was Behind The Candelabra, which garnered pretty positive reviews and made yet another argument for TV beginning to outstrip movies. Next up is Elysium, which I think mostly everyone is excited about. Now, we have the first image of Damon from Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem.
Aside from having the greatest name ever, Benedict Cumberbatch has been doing pretty well for himself. He’s got a hit TV show and is making big strides into Hollywood, what with his role as the baddie in Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit films, The Fifth Estate, August: Osage County, and 12 Years A Slave. Everybody wants a piece of this guy, including his Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy co-star Gary Oldman, who we recently reported is interested in casting Cumberbatch in his biopic of film pioneer Eadweard Muybridge, entitled Flying Horse. Now it appears that Cumberbatch might very well be interested in that part.
Vin Diesel is having a very good 2013. First the return of the Fast and Furious franchise with Fast & Furious 6 – I was barely able to handle the awesome. Then, in September we have the upcoming sequel to Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, handily entitled just Riddick. You know, to avoid confusion. If the title wasn’t enough, the new international trailer for Riddick leaves no room for doubt as to just who this movie is about.
Matt Damon likes bringing major social issues to the big screen. He did it most recently with hydrofracking in Promised Land, he tried to do it in Green Zone, and now he’s interested in handling the Catholic Church sex scandal in Tom McCarthy’s new film
Guardians Of The Galaxy – that upcoming film that has inspired cries of joy from comic book fans and cries of ‘Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy?’ from everyone else – has added yet another big name to its already impressive cast list. John C. Reilly has signed on for Marvel’s Phase Two anchor film.
Eddie Redmayne has gone from a little known British character actor to a real Hollywood up and comer. While he’s yet to take on absolutely central roles, he’s certainly become a recognizable face and name thanks to My Week With Marilyn and most recently Les Miserables. Now we may get to see what Redmayne can really do as an actor, when he takes on the challenge of playing Stephen Hawking in the upcoming Theory Of Everything.
There’s an awful lot of ‘star-studded casts’ nowadays. If one major celebrity signs on to a film, every other major celebrity seems to try to get in on the action. Case in point: the ever-increasing cast list attached to Disney’s version of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into The Woods, to be directed by Rob Marshall. Now Tracey Ullman is in talks to join up.
If you were into Cloud Atlas, maybe you’ll be into this bit of news. Tom Hanks and Tom Twyker are getting back together for an adaptation of the Dave Eggers novel A Hologram For The King.
With all the new superhero movies coming out, I had almost lost The Wolverine in the shuffle. But Hugh Jackman’s metal claws and spectacular pectorals cannot be ignored, and my interest is re-awakened with the new international trailer for the James Mangold-directed action-thriller.
