Posted on Friday, December 2nd, 2011 by Angie Han
Things are indeed shaping up quickly for David Dobkin‘s Arthur & Lancelot, which Warner Bros. fast-tracked over the summer at the cost of Bryan Singer’s Excalibur remake and Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur film. Last month saw the casting of Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington and The Killing star Joel Kinnaman in the two title roles, and now WB favorite Marion Cotillard has been offered the part of Morgana, a powerful sorceress and Arthur’s half-sister.
The Arthur retelling, which was written by Dobkin, follows the rise of the legendary leader from his humble beginnings as an illegitimate son being raised by a poor knight, while Lancelot starts out as “a rebellious noble who distrusts the established government.” Arthur & Lancelot will likely begin shooting in March. [Vulture]
After the jump, Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler lands another high-profile movie role, while several more actors join Michael Chiklis and Forest Whitaker in Pawn — though sadly, none of the new folks are from The Shield.
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I’ve written about the film a couple times and yet I keep forgetting that Warner Bros. is making Arthur & Lancelot, a new take on the oft-filmed Arthurian legend. David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, The Change-Up) wrote the script, which Warner Bros. bought and chose to film over several other competing takes on the Arthurian story.
(Casulaties of the Camelot Crush from early 2011 included Bryan Singer’s Excalibur remake and Guy Ritchie’s Arthur movie, which had script input from Warren Ellis and John Hodge.)
David Dobkin will direct in addition to writing, and just as early reports suggested, the lead roles have gone to Game of Thrones‘ own Jon Snow, Kit Harington, and Joel Kinnaman from The Killing. They’ll play Arthur and Lancelot, respectively, in what has been called a contemporary retelling of the tale. But read on to see why that early description of the script seems to be at least slightly off. Read More »
Posted on Friday, November 4th, 2011 by Angie Han
As Garrett Hedlund continues his negotiations over the lead role of Kaneda in Warner Bros.’ Akira remake, the studio and director Jaume Collet-Serra are wasting no time filling in the other roles as well. Buried in one report about Hedlund starring in the film was a tidbit about Keira Knightley being approached for the project. Though her possible role has not been revealed, I’m guessing she’s up for the part of Kaneda’s love interest Kei, member of an underground rebel group.
Knightley’s involvement is far from a done deal at this point, as she’s yet to enter talks. Helena Bonham Carter and Gary Oldman, who were also given offers last month, apparently aren’t any farther along in the process either. Still, the fact that they’ve been approached at all suggests the filmmakers are hoping for a certain caliber of talent for the movie. (Not to mention a certain level of British-ness.) Knightley and Bonham Carter have both been nominated for Oscars in the past, and while Oldman has somehow escaped that honor, it’s not for lack of deserving. [The Hollywood Reporter via The Playlist]
After the jump, another potential project for Gary Oldman, while Jane Campion gets Holly Hunter, Elisabeth Moss, Peter Mullan, and David Wenham to sign on for her latest.
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Posted on Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 by Angie Han
Catherine Zeta-Jones has had a slow couple of years, but the Chicago actress stepping it up again. She recently wrapped three films — Lay the Favorite, Playing the Field, and Rock of Ages, all of which are due out next year — and has now landed one more. Zeta-Jones recently finalized a deal to star opposite Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe in Broken City, a noirish tale directed by Allen Hughes. The script, by Brian Tucker, revolves around a Brooklyn detective (Wahlberg) who’s hired by the mayor (Crowe) to find out if his wife (Zeta-Jones) is cheating on him. Then things take a turn for the Chinatown-esque as the wife’s lover ends up dead and a major conspiracy begins to unravel.
Zeta-Jones’ last high-profile project was 2007′s No Reservations, so it’s great to see her coming back to the big screen in full force. Broken City is scheduled to begin shooting next month in New York City. [Deadline]
After the jump, Warner Bros. turns to two rising TV stars for David Dobkin’s Arthur & Lancelot.
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Oh, look what Bridesmaids has done for Ellie Kemper: it scored her a gig in 21 Jump Street in her time off from The Office. The feature version of the ’80s TV show is shooting now with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as cops undercover in a high school to root out drugs and trouble. Late addition Ellie Kemper will be a love interest: Ms. Griggs, “an annoyingly sincere chemistry teacher who’s attracted to Tatum’s character and surprised when she discovers he’s not a real student.” (Sometimes casting like this is actually set for some time before it hits the trades, so it is possible Ellie Kemper isn’t as late an addition as she appears to be.)
The key point of interest here (for me, at least) continues to be that the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller wrote and are directing. [Variety]
After the break, Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford is looking like the co-star with Pierce Brosnan in The House Gun, and rapidly rising talent Joel Kinnaman is cast in the Fox Searchlight film Lola Versus, where he’ll dump Greta Gerwig. Read More »
AMC’s new series The Killing premiered not too long ago to rave reviews from critics, and already its stars are benefiting from the exposure. Either that, or this is simply proving to be a very fortunate time in their careers.
First up in casting news is Mireille Enos, who centers The Killing as its know-it-all detective Sarah Linden. She’s in talks to star alongside Brad Pitt in World War Z, the adaptation of Max Brooks‘ zombie bestseller that only recently was recently fast-tracked by Paramount after countless delays and financial troubles. She would play Karin Lane, the wife of Gerard Lane (played by Pitt) and mother of his two children. This marks her first major studio starring role, having otherwise had only a three-season stint on Big Love and a number of bit TV roles. [Deadline] Read More »
AMC Television has officially announced that they have made a full series order for the ilot that was formerly known as The Killing, from writer and executive producer Veena Sud (Cold Case). They have also passed along the first production photo from the yet-to-be-officially titled crime thriller series. Read the full press release after the jump.
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Nikkie Finke has been on a roll regarding news from the world of Marvel, which makes me think she has a good inside source. Today she posted a bunch of casting tidbits for Kenneth Branagh‘s Thor. First up is Thor himself. Finke gives a list of actors who have tested for the role, including Josh Hartnett, Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy), Tom Hiddleston (The Gathering Storm), Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables), Joel Kinnaman and the previously rumored Alexandar Skarsgard.
But the big shocker is that Natalie Portman will be playing the lead female role. Possibilities after the jump.
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