Stephen Frears' record may not be flawless, but his hit to miss ratio's high enough that I generally look forward to his movies. His newest project, Lay the Favorite, started out looking as promising as any other. The filmmaker collected a likable cast, including Bruce Willis, Rebecca Hall, Joshua Jackson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones for the…
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An up and comer, a recognizable character actor and a seasoned veteran have all signed on to very different projects. The up and comer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, best known for his awesome work in The Road and Let Me In, is reportedly circling the role of Benvolio in Carlo Carlei's new film adaptation of William Shakespeare's…
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I wouldn't generally think of Vince Vaughn as the natural replacement for a role that Justin Timberlake had dropped out of, but then again, I'm not a professional casting director. Deadline reports that Vaughn has just signed on for Stephen Frears' Lay the Favorite in the part of "Rosie, a Long Island bookie that [protagonist…
Read MoreWant to see Larry David play a nun? How about a nun named Mother Mengele? Then you'll need a ticked for the Farrelly Brothers' The Three Stooges. Larry David was rumored to play one of the Stooges for some time, but now he'll be "the unfortunate nun who runs the orphanage where the Stooges grow…
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Chris Klein has become the latest actor to sign on for American Reunion, the upcoming American Pie sequel that sees the gang returning to their hometown for their ten-year high school reunion. Reunion has already signed Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy and Alyson Hannigan; other members of the original cast, including Thomas Ian…
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Paul Weitz is scripting and directing an adaptation of the Nick Flynn memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City and he has a hell of a cast assembled: Paul Dano plays Nick Flynn, who runs into his down and out father (Robert De Niro) while working at a Boston homeless shelter. Olivia Thirlby plays the…
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Update (from editor Peter Sciretta): Deadline has learned that five time DGA nominated commercials director Noam Murro (Smart People) has been hired to direct Die Hard 5. Fox was impressed with the commercials he most recently shot for Microsoft's Halo. Watch them here. We've been following Murro's commercial career for a while now, and it…
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Before poker became a part of my daily life, I'd always been infatuated with gambling movies. The first hour of Casino remains my favorite, I never believed it when Mel Gibson pulled a one outter at the end of Maverick, and The Sting fools me every time. Even newer, lesser movies like 21 or Lucky…
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Director Stephen Frears and writer D.V. DeVincentis are teaming up for another project, which seems to have some similarities to the John Cusack-starring hit, High Fidelity. The two are adapting the upcoming Beth Raymer memoir, Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog, which will be released this spring. The adaptation will simply be titled Lay the…
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