Variety is reporting that Christian Bale is in negotiations to join Johnny Depp in Michael Mann’s upcoming Public Enemies. According to the trade, Bale will play Melvin Purvis, the legendary FBI agent who led the manhunt for John Dillinger. Depp is starring as Dillinger in the film, which is set up at Universal and is slated to begin production in March.
Variety says that Edward Norton is exiting State of Play, and talks are under way for Ben Affleck to replace him in the Kevin Macdonald-directed drama for Universal Pictures and Working Title. The film is expected to begin production in the first week of January. Norton becomes the second high profile cast member to disembark, following the exit of his Fight Club co-star Brad Pitt just before Thanksgiving. Pitt’s exit, and the courtship of Russell Crowe to replace him, moved the State of Play start date from mid-November into January. That created a clash, and the studio, working with Norton’s and Affleck’s reps at Endeavor, worked out an exit plan. Now it will be Affleck who plays a fast-rising politician who is caught up in a murder conspiracy. Crowe will play a journalist who leads a newspaper’s investigation into the killing. He’s conflicted in that he once ran the pol’s campaigns, and he is now romancing his estranged wife. Still in the cast are Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman.
Russell Crowe is in final negotiations to replace Brad Pitt in State of Play, saving Universal and Working Title’s delayed political thriller from shutting down. Pitt pulled out of the movie last week, citing script concerns that made him uneasy about toplining the picture. That brought him to loggerheads with the studio, which was adamant about going ahead with the script they had. Even meetings with the movie’s director, Kevin Macdonald, proved fruitless. Macdonald spent the weekend in Australia talking with Crowe, who had to see if Play could fit into his schedule; Crowe is scheduled to shoot Universal’s Nottingham, the Ridley Scott-directed reimagining of the Robin Hood story.
Variety reports that Brad Pitt has pulled out of a pay or play deal on State of Play, putting the Universal Pictures drama in a state of flux. Pitt dropped out of the film early Wednesday, following two weeks of struggle and meetings with director Kevin Macdonald that prevented the film from making its original November 15 production start date. The trade says the studio will try to find a star to replace Pitt. If Universal doesn’t recast and get the picture going by November 29, it will begin losing the other actors in the film. Pitt was set to star with Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn in the Matthew Michael Carnahan-scripted adaptation of the British mini-series. Pitt was playing a politician-turned-journalist who spearheads a newspaper’s investigation of a murder, a trail that leads to the fast-rising pol whose campaigns were once masterminded by Pitt’s character. Universal said: “Brad Pitt has left the Universal Pictures production of ‘State of Play.’ We remain committed to this project and to the filmmakers, cast members, crew and others who are also involved in making the movie. We reserve all rights in this matter.”
Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn will join Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Jason Bateman in State of Play, the Universal Pictures/Working Title adaptation of the British miniseries. Kevin Macdonald is directing; Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote the script. McAdams will play a reporter in the middle of a career-making story, as her newspaper investigates the death of the mistress of a fast-rising congressman. Mirren will play the newspaper’s steely editor, a role undertaken by Bill Nighy in the original.
Wright Penn will play the congressman’s estranged wife. She becomes romantically involved with his former campaign manager (Pitt), who leads the newspaper’s investigative team. Norton plays the congressman and Bateman plays the other lead reporter. Andrew Hauptman is producing with Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
Fight Club stars Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are reuniting to star in State of Play, Universal Pictures’ adaptation of the British miniseries. Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) is directing the Matthew Michael Carnahan script. Norton will play a congressman whose speedy political rise is threatened by an investigation into the death of his mistress. Pitt plays a politician-turned-journalist who oversees his newspaper’s investigation into the murder and develops a relationship with the politician’s estranged wife. Variety says the project has been a high priority for Universal since the studio won an auction for rights to the six-hour mini written by Paul Abbott. Tony Gilroy worked on a rewrite of the film, which is on track for a November start. Andrew Hauptman will produce with Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Abbott is executive producer.
Edmunds Inside Line is reporting that Universal is currently devloping the Fast and the Furious 4 with plans to bring together the first three movies in this new sequel. The project is currently classified merely as “in development” at Universal, with no clear production start date and no announced director.
It’s rumored that the next film will reunite many characters and actors from the first three including Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson and Lucas Black. Obviously the story will once again center around automotive mayhem of the most intense sort, but the rumor is that this time most of the action will be set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As to the cars, look for a resurrected version of the 1970 Dodge Charger from the original film – will mix it up with such contemporary machinery as the new Dodge Challenger and classic South American muscle like the Chevrolet Opala. Also don’t be surprised if Vin Diesel’s character finds his way behind the wheel of a classic 1987 Buick GNX.
Continue reading Furious Sequel Looking For Diesel, Walker, Gibson, Black
Ian McShane has joined the previously-announced Jason Statham, Joan Allen and Tyrese Gibson in Paul W.S. Anderson’s remake of the Roger Corman cult classic Death Race at Universal. The film sees a future America in which prison inmates are forced to brutally compete in an enclosed arena. Statham will play a prisoner who, with only weeks to go before his release, is coerced into being a driver and becomes the crowd favorite called Frankenstein. Allen will play the warden of the prison who runs the race and ruthlessly forces Statham to enter the arena. McShane will play a coach, while Gibson is a sociopathic racer named Machine Gun Joe who seeks to escape from prison. Production will start this year with an aim for a September 26, 2008 release.
Tim Blake Nelson has joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ The Incredible Hulk, says The Hollywood Reporter. The movie, which Louis Leterrier is directing, sees Bruce Banner/Hulk on the run, trying to avoid capture long enough to cure the condition that turns him into a monster. Nelson will play a scientist named Samuel Sterns. In Hulk lore, Sterns, aka “The Leader,” is one of the Hulk’s major antagonists, a menial worker in a chemical research plant who is bombarded with gamma radiation. He emerges from his accident not only green-skinned but also superintelligent, with an oversized brain.
Nelson joins a strong comic book movie cast that includes two-time Oscar nominee Edward Norton (Banner), Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), Tim Roth (villain Emil Blonsky/the Abomination) and William Hurt (General Ross, Betty’s father). Zak Penn wrote the latest big-screen adventure of the green goliath, which Universal Pictures is distributing domestically June 13, 2008.
Seth Green has joined the cast of Old Dogs, the Walt Becker-directed comedy at Walt Disney Pictures. He joins Robin Williams, John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Matt Dillon. Dogs is a buddy comedy revolving around two best friends and business partners whose lives are turned upside down when they find themselves taking care of 7-year-old twins. Green will play an executive with the global marketing firm run by Travolta and Williams’ characters as they are closing a big deal with a Japanese conglomerate. He is eager to prepare for his move to Tokyo and show off his Harvard MBA and Japanese cultural skills. David Diamond and David Weissman wrote the script.
