Saturday, March 13, 2010

FILM NEWS: Reynolds & Bateman Team Up, Secret "When Harry Met Sally" Remake, and more


Christopher Nolan has been chatting about the third Batman film, and he's describing it as an ending to the saga, perhaps an ending where Bruce Wayne doesn't necessarily continue on in Gotham. Does that mean he'll be passing the torch along...to Robin? He also joked that Mr. Freeze won't be the bad guy. Thank god! Fingers crossed for a Catwoman. However, I can't really think of a badass blonde worthy of slipping into Michelle Pfeiffer's pleather. Perhaps, Christina Ricci or Dakota Fanning (above) can pull off that level of crazy.

• Somehow, some way, soccer has hindered the release of the Wall Street sequel. lol Apparently, the studio is claiming that this June's South African World Cup is going to distract moviegoers all over the world from seeing Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which was supposed to be released April 23rd. Whatever! They want to make a splash at Cannes in May, then let the buzz carry it all the way to a Toronto Film Festival North American premiere before releasing it to the masses Sept. 24th. I think they should actually do the premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, since it is about our economy and takes place in NYC. *eye roll*

• First Guy Ritchie does Sherlock Holmes, and now he's gearing up for Excalibur. What's with the sudden interest in period pieces? Eh, at least Holmes didn't suck. I suppose he can make King Arthur cool again, too. Hmm, I wonder who he'll tap for the role. Please no Jason Statham, Jude Law, Robert Downey, Jr., or, God forbid, Brad Pitt. Branch out man.

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman have been cast in the body-swap comedy Change Up. Their names in the same sentence makes me laugh. I didn't even have to read the plot. But if you must: "Bateman plays a responsible family man who switches bodies with the lazy man-child he calls his best friend (Reynolds)." And it'll probably be doubly funny since The Hangover scribes (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore) have written it.

• You know how romance was all a flutter in the series of vignettes in New York, I Love You and Paris Je T'aime? Well, there's a seemingly top secret film that will involve a buttload of comedians in a series of comedic sketches. Kind of like "SNL," but probably not wacky. Who's signed on so far? Elizabeth Banks, Gerard Butler, Kieran Culkin, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass), Liev Schreiber, Sean William Scott, Tony Shalhoub ("Monk"), Emma Stone (Zombieland), Patrick Warburton ("Rules of Engagement"), Naomi Watts, and Kate Winslet. And just like the love-themed ensemble films, there will be several directors involved too, including Peter Farrelly (There's Something About Mary), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), actress Elizabeth Banks, Bob Odenkirk (The Brothers Solomon), and Griffin Dunne (The Accidental Husband).


• Uhhh, I think Anne Hathaway just signed on for a remake of When Harry Met Sally. In One Day, "two people meet for the first time during their Edinburgh University graduation in 1988 and meet on St. Swithin’s day (July 15th) every year for the next two decades. Over that time the pair lead their lives and have relationships with others until they realise they're meant for each other." You've gotta be kidding me. Playing her Billy Crystal will be Jim Sturgess (21), and directing is Lone Scherfig (An Education). For Scherfig's sake—as her follow-up to an Oscar-nominated film—this better be good.

• Rumor has it Dane Cook "slimmed down and toned up" to audition for Captain America. That's the funniest joke he's ever told. I feel bad for the guy. In his last comedy special, he revealed some extremely depressing family issues and I wish him the best…but there's no way in hell he can be a superhero. I mean, the only reason Seth Rogen can go from comedian to action star (in the upcoming Green Hornet) is because 1) he lost a lot of weight, 2) he wrote it, and 3) he's paying for it. So unless Cook starts rolling in dough and mans-up to write his own schtick, there's no freaking way anyone's going to take him seriously. According to Dark Horizons, the frontrunners for the role are actually Chris Evans, Garrett Hedlund, Mike Vogel, and Wilson Bethel. Despite the fact that the last time Evans was profitable was in 2007's Fantastic Four sequel, you can't count him out completely. He's actually been regrouping, building up a sturdy offering of action films for this year (The Losers and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) that might change Hollywood's perception of him as a leading man. His toughest competition is Hedlund though. While it's true that he has more duds (Eragon, Georgia Rule, and Death Sentence) on his short resume than box office gems, he's currently riding on the high of the Tron reboot, which might be this Christmas's Avatar, making him this year's Sam Worthington.

• Speaking of Evans, it looks like he's going to try something somewhat out of the ordinary: a romantic comedy. He'll co-star with Ana Faris in What's Your Number?, an R-rated comedy about a woman who runs into a romantic dilemma. Apparently, she set herself a limit for the amount of guys she would sleep with before she found Mr. Right: 20. The problem is the 20th guy she sleeps with is her boss and he's NOT the perfect guy. So, instead of nixing the number or becoming celibate, she decides the solution to her problem is to run through the list of men she's slept with and see if any of them are marriage-worthy. Oh Ana, aren't you better than this?

• The holiday-themed sequel A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas will aim to spoof holiday movies. Twenty bucks says they have a marijuana Christmas tree and they light their weed with a menorah.

• What has become of Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) and Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords") when they're actually considering appearing in Men in Black III? God, I hate it when comedians have children. They ruin it for everyone!

• Milo Ventimiglia is set to star in the indie gangster feature Criminal Empire for Dummys. In it, he plays a "charismatic young guy who went from a tragic childhood living in the ghetto to his current position as the head of a large multi-national organized crime syndicate. In flashback throughout the film he relates the do's and don'ts of maintaining a criminal empire." It could mark the first serious adult starring role for the actor, and if he can pull it off, it might lead to more. Also starring are Gary OldmanHarvey Keitel, Malin Akerman, and Michael Clarke Duncan.


• Disney decided to change the title of Rapunzel to Tangled, in order to appeal to boys more after The Princess and the Frog fell flat in that demographic. Why didn't they just rename it The Awesome Prince Saves Defenseless Rapunzel, so douchebags-in-training and their misogynist fathers can rest easy when they purchase a ticket? Fact is, if there isn't a video game that comes along with it, they could care less.

No comments:

Post a Comment