Posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 by Angie Han
The first trailer has dropped for New Year’s Eve, Garry Marshall‘s not-quite-sequel to his 2010 hit Valentine’s Day. If you’ve ever seen Valentine’s Day, you probably know what to expect: big-name celebrities, a bunch of disparate storylines, and people crowing about how goddamn magical the holiday in question is.
This time around, many mini-plotlines converge in New York City on the titular holiday, and the cast consists of Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Hector Elizondo, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Til Schweiger, Lea Michele, Zac Efron, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vergara, Alyssa Milano, Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Abigail Breslin, Ice Cube, Seth Meyers, John Stamos, Jon Bon Jovi, John Lithgow, Ludacris, and Ryan Seacrest. (Just in case you didn’t notice that that’s a lot of famous people, the trailer includes a shot of Heigl’s character exclaiming, “There’s going to be more celebrities here than rehab!”) Watch the trailer after the jump.
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Posted on Monday, July 25th, 2011 by Angie Han
Zac Efron and Seth Rogen are set to team up for an untitled R-rated comedy based on a pitch by Judd Apatow associates Andrew Cohen and Brendan O’Brien. The pairing itself seems unlikely enough, but perhaps even more surprising is which role each actor will play — in this film, it’ll be funnyman Rogen who plays the straight man, while the clean-cut Efron tackles the part of a hard-partying frat boy.
The story revolves around Rogen’s character, a normal guy with the bad fortune to live next door to Efron’s loud, obnoxious frat house. Rogen is also set to produce the film along with his partner Evan Goldberg. [Deadline]
After the jump, Hilary Swank picks up a graphic novel adaptation, while Ruben Fleischer’s star-studded Gangster Squad loses a cast member.
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Posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 by Angie Han
Last month, Nicole Kidman came in as a replacement for Sofia Vergara on The Paperboy, after Vergara and Tobey Maguire dropped out of the project due to scheduling issues. Now, a new actor has stepped up to fill Maguire’s role: John Cusack. Based on a 1955 novel by Pete Doctor, The Paperboy follows a reporter and his brother as they investigate a murder that put the suspect on death row. Cusack will play the part of the prisoner. Kidman, as previously reported, will be a woman who writes letters to inmates on death row.
The Paperboy marks Lee Daniels‘ follow-up to 2009′s Precious, which was nominated for six Academy Awards. The film will also star Zac Efron; Matthew McConaughey is currently in advanced negotiations. [Variety]
After the jump, Antonio Banderas, Steve Coogan, Elliot Gould, Chris Messina, and Deborah Ann Woll sign up for the Little Miss Sunshine team’s new project.
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Posted on Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 by Angie Han
Normally, when a star drops out of a project just before it’s set to begin shooting, it’s a big setback. In Lee Daniels‘ case, Tobey Maguire‘s exit from The Paperboy could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Maguire recently dropped out of the film, which was originally scheduled to begin this summer. His exit pushed back the timetable for the project, forcing would-be co-star Sofia Vergara to quit due to conflicts with her Modern Family shooting schedule. Now producers are in talks with Nicole Kidman to replace Vergara — a pretty impressive upgrade, at least in terms of star wattage.
Based on a 1955 novel by Pete Dexter, The Paperboy revolves around a reporter who works with his brother to investigate a murder that put the suspect on death row. Kidman would play “a woman with a dark side” who first draws the reporter’s attention to the case, and eventually strikes up a relationship with him. Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron are still on board to co-star; there’s no word yet on who might be replacing Maguire. [The Hollywood Reporter]
After the jump, Rosario Dawson joins Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, and Curtis Jackson a.k.a. 50 Cent in Fire with Fire, Jeremy Irons signs on for Night Train to Lisbon, and I continue to avoid all the obvious puns, for once.
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Making a decision about his follow-up to Precious hasn’t been a speedy process for Lee Daniels. He was developing Selma for some time, before lack of funding and complications with the Martin Luther King estate pushed that away. There is the Black List script The Butler, which was looking like his next project (and may still be). There were other possibilities, too: the musical The Scottsboro Boys, a remake of Nights of Cabiria (please: no) and Anna in the Tropics.
Then in February, we heard that he might direct The Paperboy, based on Pete Dexter‘s 1955 novel by the same name. Now he is confirmed to make that last movie, and a cast is in place: Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Sofia Vergara, and Zac Efron. Read More »
Fantastic Four and Barbershop director Tim Story is going back to work after not having a film on big screens since the 2009 picture Hurricane Season. He’ll direct Kevin Hart in Think Like a Man, which is based on Steve Harvey‘s book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy and Commitment. Mr. Hart will be “a self-professed relationship expert who is quick to give advice to his crew of friends, even as his own marriage heads toward divorce.” The book has sold well, but I expect this will draw a different crowd from either Tim Story’s Fantastic Four films or Hurricane Season. [Deadline]
After the break, a man has been hired to make Zac Efron Die in a Gunfight. Who will rejoice? Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 by Angie Han
The first time we heard about The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, it was set to star Shia LaBeouf with commercial director Dante Ariola helming. Since then, fellow Disney alum Zac Efron has taken over LaBeouf’s role, and a different commercial director, Fredrik Bond, has stepped in for Ariola. Also, it’s not called The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman anymore. A lot can change in a year. Read more after the jump.
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We’ll keep this one quick because, well, it’s another casting report about New Year’s Eve, the sorta-spinoff romcom from Valentine’s Day director Garry Marshall. The film already has Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Sofia Vergara, Halle Berry, Zac Efron, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Abigail Breslin, Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jon Bon Jovi, Seth Meyers, Til Schweiger and Sienna Miller set to appear.
Now The Wrap says that Josh Duhamel has signed on, but doesn’t specify his role. I know you’re on pins and needles. But wait! THR comes to the rescue, verifying that report and adding that he’ll be one of the leads, “a hopeless romantic who spends the day trying to get to New York in the hope of getting to a party in order to re-meet a mystery girl from the previous year.” Meanwhile Ice ‘Fuck tha Police’ Cube is in talks to play a NYPD cop who is working in some capacity with Hilary Swank’s character, the director of the Times Square celebration. And Ryan Seacrest has the best role of all: himself.
