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- Sony Will Be Rebooting Spider-Man All Over Again in 2012! (135 Comments)
- 2010 Golden Globe Awards Winners - Avatar Wins Best Drama (97 Comments)
- Avatar Finally Passes Titanic as Highest Grossing Movie Ever (96 Comments)
- 82nd Academy Awards Nominees Are Officially Announced (96 Comments)
- Update: Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Whatever a Reboot Can (89 Comments)
- Watch This: First Official Trailer for Jon Foo's Tekken Movie (79 Comments)
RSS - Rumor: Penélope Cruz Cast in Lars von Trier's Melancholia? (Feb 9, 2010)
- Rock Band Phoenix Scoring Sofia Coppola's Film Somewhere (Feb 9, 2010)
- Lionsgate's Saw Series Finally Ending at Saw VII This Year? (Feb 9, 2010)
- Casting Tidbits: Rachel Weisz, Cate Blanchett, Amber Tamblyn (Feb 9, 2010)
- The Cove's Mark Monroe to Make Formula One Documentary (Feb 9, 2010)
- Peter Bogdanovich Will Be Around for the 'Turn of the Century' (Feb 9, 2010)
Rumor: Penélope Cruz Cast in Lars von Trier's Melancholia?
It looks like the lovely Penélope Cruz wants a bit of time in the controversial von Trier spotlight after seeing Charlotte Gainsbourg steal her thunder in Cannes last year (Gainsbourg won the Best Actress award, Cruz did not). I just received a news tip from a Swiss reader who runs the site Cineman.ch. He was informing me that, somewhere in Germany, it was just announced that German director Lars von Trier cast Penélope Cruz is his next upcoming film called Melancholia. On their website, though, I can't find any sourcing details at all. While I do trust them, I need confirmation before I can call this anything other than a rumor.
Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern as Dr. Hammond's Father
The good news just keeps on coming for Martin Campbell's adaptation of DC Comics' Green Lantern. Already infused with the talent of Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard and Blake Lively, THR's Heat Vision reports that Tim Robbins is also joining the cast. Robbins will play Senator Hammond, the disapproving father to Sarsgaard's villainous, psychic powered Dr. Hector Hammond. Robbins has been fairly low key since his appearance in Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, and this marks his first venture into comic books. Always choosing interesting and varying roles, Robbins should some good humanity to the superhero genre.
Hugh Laurie in Discussions to Star in Dark Comedy 'Oranges'
Many fans have been waiting to see "House" actor Hugh Laurie make the jump to the big screen in a lead role, not counting voice roles (like in Monsters vs Aliens) or supporting roles (like in Street Kings or Stuart Little). Potentially some good news for Laurie fans, as the LA Times' 24 Frames blog is reporting that Laurie is "in discussions" to play the lead role in a new project called Oranges (or The Oranges written by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer). You may remember seeing it on the 2008 Black List. It's a dark comedy about a man who has a romantic relationship with the daughter of a family friend, which turns their lives upside down.
Soderbergh Catches 'Contagion' with Damon, Winslet & More
Despite the fact that Steven Soderbergh is currently hard at work on the action thriller Knockout, he's already lining up quite the cast for his next project. Last we heard his next was supposed to be the biopic about pianist Liberace with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Now Deadline Hollywood (& The Playlist) are reporting that he's keeping Damon around, adding Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law, and trading in the biopic for the action thriller Contagion, focused on the worst-case scenario involving a deadly virus. Shooting will start later this year for a 2011 debut, though they don't have a distributor yet.
Joel Edgerton & Mary Elizabeth Winstead Cast in The Thing
Last month we got word that the new take on The Thing (previously remade in 1982 by John Carpenter and Howard Hawks) would begin shooting sometime in March. Now we've got word from Heat Vision that Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Death Proof, Live Free or Die Hard) and Joel Edgerton (Smokin' Aces, Animal Kingdom) have joined the cast of the sci-fi thriller. Last we heard, the story was supposed to show the story of the Norwegian camps in the Antarctic that were ravaged by "The Thing" before the Americans (in the original) discovered the decimated camps, but Heat Vision doesn't allude to this being a prequel.
Sam Worthington Confirmed for Murder Mystery 'The Fields'
Last November, we heard a rumor regarding the casting of Bradley Cooper and Sam Worthington in The Texas Killing Fields, a film being directed by Ami Canaan Mann (Michael Mann's daughter). Well, two out of three ain't bad as THR confirms that Ms. Mann will indeed be directing the thriller now simply titled The Fields, with Worthington playing a Texas homicide detective who joins with a New York detective to investigate unsolved murders in the Texas bayous. No word on who will play the other detective, so there's a chance that Cooper could still be in the cards, but at this point, Worthington is the only one officially cast.
Amber Heard and William Fichtner to Drive Angry with Cage
The super intense high-speed action flick Drive Angry 3-D already has Nicolas Cage behind the wheel of Patrick Lussier's next directing gig, but now Collider and Bloody Disgusting have confirmed that William Fichtner (The Dark Knight, Blades of Glory) and Amber Heard (Zombieland, Pineapple Express) have joined the cast as well. The story centers on a man driven by rage who is chasing the people who killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. The vendetta spins out of control as the chase gets bloodier by the mile, leaving bodies strewn along the highway. Now that's what I call a revenge flick - this sounds so awesome!
Taylor Lautner Cast in Universal's Stretch Armstrong Movie
Oh no. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Taylor Lautner has been cast as Stretch Armstrong in the Brian Grazer-produced adaptation of the Hasbro toy in development at Universal. When it was first reported that this movie was even being made, that was when we started writing about how Hollywood had finally crossed the line with all of these damn toy adaptations. I mean, I thought a Stretch Armstrong movie was a bad idea to begin with, but now with Lautner starring in? I have zero excitement for this project and will be lamenting its eventual release in March 2012. Oh and, as you probably guessed, it's coming in 3D as well.
Eric Bana Cast in Joe Wright's Upcoming Action Film 'Hanna'
After watching Eric Bana kick ass in Star Trek, I would love to see him get back into more action roles. Heat Vision is reporting that Bana has joined Joe Wright's new project Hanna starring Saoirse Ronan as a "teenage assassin." Bana will play her father in the story of a 14-year-old Eastern European girl saved from a CIA breeding camp and raised by her dad to be a cold-blooded killing machine. After finding peace with a French family, the girl is dragged back to her father's world, and she must fight her way to a free life. The script was written by newcomers Seth Lochhead & David Farr and has similarities to La Femme Nikita.
Danny McBride & Jody Hill Join Together Again for L.A.P.I.
After Will Ferrell and Adam McKay laid eyes upon The Foot Fist Way, writer/director Jody Hill and actor Danny McBride had gotten their breakthrough. Years and years of patience paid off after Hill, McBride and friend David Gordon Green moved out to Hollywood after film school in North Carolina, and now the three are in the thick of it. After the success of their HBO series "Eastbound and Down," I was wondering when Hill and McBride would get back together, and now Variety reports the two will reunite for L.A.P.I. a story (no details are known yet) that has McBride playing a hard-boiled, downtrodden private investigator.
McG Might Send Bradley Cooper & Reese Witherspoon to War
Fortunately these two won't be joining the resistance against the machines, but McG is set to get his hands dirty in another drama as THR says the Terminator Salvation director has signed on to helm the romantic comedy This Means War, starring Bradley Cooper and Reese Witherspoon. The story follows two best friends, inseparable since childhood, who fall in love with the same woman (Witherspoon). But their friendship crumbles and the ensuing battle escalates to mammoth proportions, with New York demolished in their wake. So does that mean these men have superpowers or did THR have a hyperbolic orgasm?
Vin Diesel & Paul Waker Hitting the Gas Again for 'Fast Five'
After missing what was one of the greatest opportunities for a pun-titled sequel (why the hell wasn't it just called Fast & Four-ious?), the franchise which can't seem to stop putting the pedal to the metal is officially moving forward with another thrilling installment as Variety reports the cleverly titled Fast Five will bring back Vin Diesel and Paul Walker for even more high speed car racing. This confirms at least part of what Diesel told us himself via his Facebook page last month. He mentioned two more scripts from writer Chris Morgan, but I'm sure Universal will wait to make sure this one will be as lucrative as Fast & Furious first.
AnnaSophia Robb to Play One-Armed Surfer Bethany Hamilton
With the exception of Point Break and Surf Ninjas (that's right, I admit it) most of the truly great surfing films come in the form of documentaries like The Endless Summer and Step Into Liquid. And while Surf's Up is certainly a fine tribute to the sport, the fact that it's animated knocks it down from being a real surfing flick in the rules that I just made up. But now we're going to be riding some serious waves as Variety reports AnnaSophia Robb (Race to Witch Mountain) will star in Soul Surfer, a biopic about Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, who has prevailed in competitions despite losing an arm in a shark attack at age 13.
Terrence Malick Casts Bale, Bardem & McAdams in Romance
Though the legendary filmmaker has only directed a handful of feature films, Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) has quite a respectful following. With his most recent film, The Tree of Life starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt, in post-production, Malick is already gearing up for his next project as Deadline Hollywood reports he has grabbed Christian Bale, Javier Bardem(No Country for Old Men), Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) to star in an untitled romance that he has written and will direct later this year. Literally no story details have surfaced anywhere on the internet yet.
Hugh Jackman Joins 'Snow Flower', Zhang Ziyi Backs Out
Back in November we got word of Zhang Ziyi's next project, the Wayne Wang directed English language film Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. However, word comes from THR that Ziyi (citing scheduling conflicts with her other project The Grand Master) has been replaced with Li Bingbing (The Forbidden Kingdom), plus Hugh Jackman will have an unbilled cameo in this adaptation of the Lisa See novel of the same name which tells the story of the lifelong friendship of Lily and Snow Flower and their imprisonment by rigid cultural codes of conduct for women. Jeon Ji-Hyun (Blood: The Last Vampire) has also joined the cast.