In 2009 Focus Features and LAIKA released Coraline, the great stop-motion animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s kids’ book of the same name. Now the companies are teaming again for two more stop-motion 3D films. The first is ParaNorman, which will be released on August 17, 2012. The second is an unnamed project that will be released in 2014.
The voice cast and plot for ParaNorman were sent out today via press release; check the details below. Read More »
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Last time we heard about the film Blackbird, it was called Kin. That was when Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde were cast as “two desperate sibling fugitives (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) on the run who subsequently collide with the holiday homecoming of a troubled ex-boxer (Charlie Hunnam).” The film’s name has changed, but that cast remains the same.
Now Kate Mara and Treat Williams have taken roles, playing a father and daughter who factor into the story. Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson are also on board as the parents of Charlie Hunnam’s boxer. That’s a pretty cool parent pairing; in general this is shaping up with quite the strong cast. Stefan Ruzowitzky is directing from a script by Zach Dean, and the film shoots in March in Montreal. [Variety]
After the break, a shortlist for actresses that could end up in The Trade, the film about Yankee baseball players and wife-swapping that is being written by Ben and Casey Affleck. Read More »
If you didn’t see Monsters or In Search of a Midnight Kiss (or aren’t a dedicated fan of Bones) your first thought here might be ‘who the hell is Scoot McNairy?’ The male lead from Gareth Edwards’ low-budgets sleeper Monsters has got great people working on his side, because despite not having the most head-turning performance in that film he has become a hot commodity after years of playing sideline roles.
The first evidence of that status is grabbing a big role in Andrew Dominik‘s Cogan’s Trade. He also has a couple other possible big jobs brewing. And, good news for fans of the film Animal Kingdom: Ben Mendelsohn is also in Cogan’s Trade. Read More »
Briefly: Every piece of news on Andrew Dominik’s new project Cogan’s Trade makes the film sound better and better. We’ve got the Assassination of Jesse James reunion of the director, Brad Pitt, Sam Rockwell and reportedly Casey Affleck. Then there are James Gandolfini and Bella Heathcote playing additional roles.
Now Richard Jenkins has been added to the cast, playing a lawyer who has inside info on a high-stakes card game that gets robbed, leading mob enforcer Brad Pitt to track down those responsible. The film is based on a crime novel by George V. Higgins, and the film is said to have some comedy elements as well. The Weinstein Company will distribute the film early next year. [Variety]
Briefly: We just saw a behind the scenes photo from Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist in Page 2 this morning, but here’s a real still, scanned from Entertainment Weekly. You probably don’t need the rundown on the lineup here, but from l-r that’s Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck and, yep, Eddie Murphy. They’re the crew that works in a high-rise building where the penthouse is occupied by an unscrupulous businessman under house arrest. (He’s played by Alan Alda.) The Wall St. crook has taken the crew’s pension, and they aim to steal it back.
Not pictured are Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, and Judd Hirsch. It’s a hell of a cast, and my generally dismissive views of Brett Ratner notwithstanding, I’m hoping for something good here. Would be so good to see Eddie Murphy in a film that was worth a damn. Dreamgirls was a recent positive blip in an otherwise dismal late career. [via The Playlist]
Briefly: Cogan’s Trade keeps sounding better and better. Sam Rockwell has been rumored to be part of film, and he’s now confirmed. That makes the movie look more and more like a big reunion of The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford crew. (Too bad Jeremy Renner will likely be too busy to show up.) Andrew Dominik directs the film with Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck starring. The ensemble film is a ‘comic crime saga,’ and an adaptation of the George V. Higgins novel about a heist that takes place during a mob-run high stakes poker game.
Interesingly, Deadline reports the news but still calls Casey Affleck’s participation a rumor. Also rumored are Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Bill Murray, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana. Cogan’s Trade will reportedly shoot in New Orleans sometime around March. It’s definitely one of the most promising films that is casting right now.
We heard not long ago that director Andrew Dominik might be doing another film with Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt, aka the leads from his last film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. In November Brad Pitt was said to be negotiating for a role in Cogan’s Trade, which will adapt the George V. Higgins novel about Jackie Cogan, “a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that takes place during a high stakes poker game under protection of the mob.” Now a report from Louisiana says that the actor is set for the film, which will film in the bayou state beginning in March. Read More »
And the pieces start to come together. Not long ago, word came down that director Andrew Dominik and his The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford star Casey Affleck were going to shoot a new ‘Boston-based crime story.’ At the time we didn’t know what the story might be.
New info now indicates that the story is Cogan’s Trade, with a script by Mr. Dominik. And it could be even more of a Jesse James reunion than we’d expected, as Brad Pitt, who played Jesse James for Andrew Dominik, looks ready to sign on. Read More »
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