Posted on Friday, December 16th, 2011 by Angie Han
Months after we first heard of Atom Egoyan‘s planned feature about the West Memphis Three, the project has found its first star. Reese Witherspoon has boarded The Devil’s Knot, based on reporter Mara Leveritt‘s 2003 nonfiction book which chronicled the 1994 trials that put two teenagers in prison for life and another on death row for the murder of three eight-year-old boys, despite a lack of physical evidence. After years of appeals, the three men were finally freed this summer. More details after the jump.
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Posted on Thursday, October 27th, 2011 by Angie Han
Frequent collaborators Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller may have toned down their raunchy humor for The Muppets script, but they could be diving back into adult-themed material with Sex Tape. Stoller is in talks to direct the raunchy comedy, written by Kate Angelo, while Segel has been offered the male lead. Though neither has officially signed on just yet, given the material and their proclivity for working together, it seems reasonably likely they’ll ultimately board the project together.
Less certain is who’ll play Segel’s co-star, should he sign on. Though Reese Witherspoon is Sony’s top choice, the A-list actress is apparently a long shot. Happily, the studio already has a shortlist of other strong candidates, which include some of the usual suspects. More details after the jump.
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Do the stereotypical tough guy friends who are total bros until a blonde gets between them really exist? I’ve never seen that particular personality in the wild, but I imagine that McG has. Maybe he sees that guy every time he looks in the mirror. His new film This Means War, in which Chris Pine and Tom Hardy are best friends until they realize they’re both dating Reese Witherspoon, feels like it might be a document of McG’s own friendships and dating experiences. I don’t mean to make any personal assumptions, but I don’t know how else to explain the fact that this film exists. See the trailer below. Read More »
Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols is prepping his third film, Mud, and he’s just added quite a few actors to the cast. Take Shelter star Michael Shannon is on board for a small role, and Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson, Ray McKinnon, Joe Don Baker and Paul Sparks are all set to appear alongside leads Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Tye Sheridan in the film that started shooting yesterday in Arkansas.
And if you’re afraid this sounds like just another low-key indie, read on for the director’s description, as he likens the film to Peckinpah directing a story by Mark Twain.
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One of the bigger festival hits of this past year was Jeff Nichols‘ second film Take Shelter, starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. (Check the trailer for Take Shelter here.) The director has been planning to follow up that film with Mud, a story about a fugitive aided by a 14 year-old boy in a plan to reunite with the woman he loves. Earlier this year Chris Pine was said to be set for the title role. He seems to have dropped out, and now Matthew McConaughey will play the part instead, with Reese Witherspoon playing the object of his affection. Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 by Angie Han
Way back in late 2010, we reported on the potential casting of Bradley Cooper in the lead role for David O. Russell‘s The Silver Linings Playbook. At some point, however, Mark Wahlberg emerged as the star of the film, and Cooper was no longer associated with the project. Now, it’s looking like we’re back to square one, with Wahlberg out and Cooper back in. Wahlberg has dropped out of the film due to a scheduling conflict with a different project (possibly Broken City with Allen Huges), and Cooper is currently in talks to replace him.
Also in talks for the movie is Robert De Niro, who met with Russell earlier this summer regarding an unnamed part. Jennifer Lawrence is still set to co-star as the main character’s love interest. Based on a novel by Matthew Quick, the film follows a former high school teacher (that’d be Coopers part) who’s just been released from a four-year stint at a mental institution into the care of his mother. [Deadline]
After the jump: Reese Witherspoon teams up with Disney, Alden Ehrenreich joins Stoker, and Doctor Who star Karen Gillan nabs an indie romance.
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Posted on Wednesday, June 8th, 2011 by Angie Han
Not too long ago, it seemed like every new movie in the works was some spin on the doomed paranormal romance a la Twilight. Now, Hollywood’s new obsession seems to be wedding-themed comedies. Thanks to the recent successes of Bridesmaids and The Hangover Part II, Hollywood is apparently intent on producing any wedding-based comedy it can get its hands on. The latest project in this vein is Who Invited Her?, based on a pitch by Sascha Rothchild about a woman who tags along on a bachelor party getaway.
Reese Witherspoon is attached to star, as well as produce through her company Type A Films. Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff are also signed on to produce. Rothchild will be writing the script, which is said to be — of course — “in the spirit of Bridesmaids.” [The Hollywood Reporter and Variety]
After the jump, Bob Balaban joins Wes Anderson’s latest.
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One of my favorite films of the 1990′s is Alexander Payne‘s brilliant dark comedy Election starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon.
For those of you who haven’t seen the film, Broderick stars as a high school civics teacher named Jim McAllister who will not let the school’s annoying overachieving honor student Tracy Flick (Witherspoon) run unopposed for student body president. He convinces popular varsity football player Paul Metzler (a breakout performance from Chris Klein) to run for president as well, and anything and everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. While the film did well critically (Witherspoon’s performance was voted the 45th Greatest Movie Performances of All Time by Premiere Magazine, and the film was ranked at #9 on Entertainment Weekly’s 50 Best High School Movies) and was even nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, I run into a lot of film fanatics who have never seen this film (if you’re a member of this group, I strongly encourage you to rent or buy it).
I’ve watched the film countless times, and have even seen the movie three times on the big screen. I was surprised to learn that the film’s ending was not what was originally intended/written/filmed. The DVD release of the movie contains no deleted ending, and in doing research for this post, I couldn’t even find a reference to an alternate ending for this movie anywhere on the web. But it exists — /Film reader John G sent me a link to the six-minute original ending sequence, which had been recently uploaded to YouTube. This footage was reportedly discovered on an unlabeled VHS tape containing an early work print of the film, sold at a local flea market. Watch the sequence embedded after the jump.
Note: If it isn’t already obvious, its probably not worth watching unless you’ve seen the movie (and yes, spoilers).
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