Loose Ends: 9/25/08
I’ve been slacking on the loose ends lately. Some of these are like week-old cheese. Enjoy.
Rachel McAdams will play love interest Irene Adler and Jude Law will play Watson opposite Robert Downey, Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s big screen treatment of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Mark Strong (RocknRolla) will play the villain Blackwood. The cast continues to keep me interested in this one even though the little movie snob inside of me is shouting that it’s going to be awful. Variety, THR
I thought we already knew that Johnny Depp was going to be The Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, but I guess it’s official now. A bigger surprise is that he’s also going to be in The Lone Ranger. I have no yearning to see a Lone Ranger movie, but the Depp casting ups the interest level a tiny bit. Ok, no it doesn’t. I forgot this was a Bruckheimer flick. Reports conflict whether Depp’s the lead or the sidekick Tonto. THR
Anne Hathaway is set to star in an adaptation of Julie Buxbaum’s novel The Opposite of Love about an attorney whose orderly life begins to fall apart when she turns down her boyfriend’s proposal of marriage. Variety
The mystery over Steven Spielberg’s next project continues to get muddier. With DreamWorks breaking off its relationship with Paramount (leaving the status of potential DreamWorks projects in limbo) and with Universal declining to foot part of the bill of the $130 million motion capture adaptation of Tintin, one Spielberg project after another has been put on the back burner. Now comes word that DreamWorks has acquired rights to the science fiction novel Chocky by John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids). Spielberg might want to direct the story of a boy whose imaginary friend may be an alien life form. THR
Bruce Willis is set to make his directorial debut with a film called Three Stories About Joan. It’s a psychological drama about a woman and the tragedies that cause her to go crazy. Camilla Belle (10,000 BC) will play Joan. Variety
Longtime friends Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn (Swingers, Made) are planning to reunite on screen in the comedy Couples Retreat written by Favreau and directed by Peter Billingsley. The story revolves around four couples on a tropical vacation who’re forced to participate in couples therapy. Jason Bateman will also star. Variety
Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi have signed on to star in Middle Men, a drama about a straight laced businessman whose online billing company helps launch the Internet adult entertainment industry. Variety
David Duchovny, Demi Moore and Amber Heard will play a fake family hired by a marketing firm to infiltrate wealthy suburbs and entice neighbors to buy their expensive products in the comedy/drama The Joneses. THR
Nicole Kidman is attached to star in The Eighth Wonder, an archeological adventure movie billed as being to Raiders of the Lost Ark what Jason Bourne is to James Bond. The screenplay is being written by Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith). THR
Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) has joined Seth Rogan in The Green Hornet. In addition to playing Cato, Chow will also direct. Variety
Nick Cassavetes plans to direct a film about the love story between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre. Keira Knightley is in talks to star. THR
Knightley is also set to star in Last Night alongside Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet. Something about a married couple spending a night apart. He’s on a business trip with a woman he’s attracted to and she runs into a past lover. Variety
Filed under: News
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- Loose Ends: 10/28/08
- More Loose Ends: 10/29/08
- Loose Ends: 9/17/08
- Loose Ends: News You Can Lose
Wow, that’s a lot of ends.
I like the idea of Couples Retreat - a lot, actually, since I’m one of the few who enjoyed both Swingers and The Break Up.
The Joneses sounds like not a terrible idea, but The Eighth Wonder does.
Green Hornet. Yawn. More superhero movies. Yawn.
Thank you, Keira Knightley, for finally getting back to 2008! By the way, those who scoff at Eva Mendes probably missed her steal the show in We Own the Night last year.
You forgot to mention POTC 4, Craig. Aren’t you waiting for that one with bated breath too?
I didn’t forget to mention it Alison, I remembered to ignore it :) It’s the equivalent of closing your eyes and playing the “I can’t see you so you can’t see me” game when you’re a kid. POTC 4 does not exist in the LiC-verse.
I’m not to keen on the concept of Couples Retreat, but I’ll watch anyhting with Favreau and Vaughn in it.
Rachel McAdams means I have to see Sherlock Holmes now for sure, for better or for worse.
The rest….not so much (though yeah, 21st Century Keira is a good thing)
:-)
Frankly, POTC 4 shouldn’t exist in any verse. I mean, really. There are a lot of things that the world needs. Is POTC 4 one of those things? I would say no.
POTC4 ranks somewhere below “a punch in the balls” on the list of Things I Need.
lol, you are on fire today, Craig…
Lack of sleep makes me cranky.
Hmm, I saw We Own the Night, but I don’t remember Eva Mendes doing anything in it beyond the opening scene.
Yes, I missed her stealing the show too. All I recall is nudity…sorry to be crass, but it’s true.
Poor Craig. He’s such a cranky little crab.
I’ll have to take you under my wing, my darling.
Ha ha. My poor Danny. As well.
Somehow I don’t think he was thinking of EVA’S undraped ass when he talking about her stealing the show. Or maybe…?
I didn’t see it. So I have no idea.
But apparently she owned the night.
In any case.
If there’s any sign that Spielberg should quit dangling Lincoln in front of our noses and pulling it away, it’s the disintegration of every other project he attempts to direct. If only the same thing could to Scorsese, so we’d get Silence at last.
Ditto the Sherlock Holmes sentiment. It could suck, but it has fairly innovative casting so far.
Regardless of how well Ritchie does with directing, I’m seeing SHERLOCK HOLMES for the cast alone: RDJ, Mark Strong, Rachel McAdams.
Wait a minute, what? I don’t even remember her being nude in We Own the Night! I guess I set myself up with that declaration, but I remember a couple of scenes with Joaquin Phoenix where she left a much bigger impression than he did.
Haha, Miranda, well I just got owned here with a ridiculous statement that I couldn’t back up!
I agree with everything that elessar says about SHERLOCK HOLMES. Actually I’d be fine with RDJ alone, but the additional fine casting just makes it even better.
Not to worry, Danny.
I don’t think having a worthy opinion (and ALL OF YOURS ARE, whether I agree with them or not - AND I generally do) means making “a ridiculous statement”.
You’re a treasure. The sun rises and sets on you, babe..
For the record, I’ve seen EVA in very little. She’s extremely attractive in a wildly provocative way. But I sense something in her that has me feelng that there may be more to her than just the standard hot chick/sexpot rap.
I think she may actually have something rather interesting going on.
So you’re NOT the only one…
Yep, I’m on the same page as ellesar. Ritchie could fail, but I’ll be there to see it.
Apparently Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star as F. Scott Fitzgerald.