***Matthew Modine and Tom Conti Join THE DARK KNIGHT RISES [UPDATED] ***Darren Aronofsky Wanted for MALEFICENT and MOSES? ***Tom Cruise Confirmed for Joseph Kosinski’s OBLIVION ***Ethan Hawke Reveals His TOTAL RECALL Cameo Involves 5-Page Monologue ***SEINFELD Writer David Mandel to Write FLETCH Reboot

Matthew Modine and Tom Conti Join THE DARK KNIGHT RISES [UPDATED]
by Adam Chitwood Posted: May 20th, 2011
Just yesterday production began on what will be director Christopher Nolan’s final film in his Batman trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises. Today, the viral campaign for the film kicked off, giving us our first look at Tom Hardy as Bane, and now two more actors have been added to the cast. Variety reports that Matthew Modine and Tom Conti have signed on to the film. With the plot under lock and key, there’s no word on who the two actors will be playing. However, since this is Batman and every piece of news is greeted with fanfare, I wouldn’t be surprised if the two play fairly minor roles. Nolan similarly cast known actors in smaller parts for the last two Batman flicks (Anthony Michael Hall, Rutger Hauer, etc.).


The Dark Knight Rises also stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine. It opens July 20, 2012.


[Update: Variety's story has been updated to say that 11-year-old Joey King (Ramona and Beezus) has joined the cast as well]
http://collider.com/matthew-modine-tom-conti-dark-knight-rises/91975/




Darren Aronofsky Wanted for MALEFICENT and MOSES?
by Adam Chitwood Posted: May 20th, 2011 at 2:53 pm


Since dropping out of Fox’s The Wolverine, director Darren Aronofsky has been linked to a number of projects. Everyone wants to know what he’ll choose as his follow up to the smashing success that was Black Swan. Earlier this month, it was reported that he was eyeing the sci-fi flick Human Nature with George Clooney attached to star. Now, Badass Digest reports that the director is being courted for two other high-profile projects: Disney wants him to helm Maleficent and Warner Bros. is courting the director for Moses.


Maleficent just recently lost its director, as Tim Burton bowed out a few days ago, but David Yates has been mentioned as a possible replacement. The film is set to start Angelina Jolie as the notorious Sleeping Beauty villain. Moses is one of two dueling projects centered on the biblical figure. Warner Bros’ version focuses on the Exodus, while the Fox version is said to be more in the vein of 300 (because violence and sex is exactly what the Old Testament is lacking). While neither of these sounds particularly up Aronofsky’s alley, neither did a sequel to Wolverine. Personally, I’d much rather see him take on that other biblical project: his long-talked-about Noah.
http://collider.com/darren-aronofsky-maleficent-moses/91971/






Tom Cruise Confirmed for Joseph Kosinski’s OBLIVION
by Adam Chitwood Posted: May 20th, 2011 at 2:20 pm


Tom Cruise has committed to star in Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi flick Oblivion (also referred to as Horizons). Kosinski was originally going to make the film at Disney, until the Mouse House decided the PG-13 material didn’t fit with their model and dropped the film. They allowed the director to shop the project around, and it landed at Universal with a budget of $100 million. The script, originally written by William Monahan then rewritten by Karl Gajdusek, is based on an idea hatched by Kosinski himself.


The story takes place in an apocalyptic future where humans have been forced to live in clouds above the uninhabitable Earth below. Deadline reports that Cruise will play a soldier stuck on the planet, working on drones that patrol the surface searching out and destroying a “savage” alien life form. Naturally, he meets a woman who crash-lands and gets him thinking about his larger role in life. Production begins this October. The report also states that Cruise has also been mentioned in connection with Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. More after the jump.
http://collider.com/tom-cruise-oblivion/91961/








Ethan Hawke Reveals His TOTAL RECALL Cameo Involves 5-Page Monologue
by Adam Chitwood Posted: May 20th, 2011 at 1:26 pm


While not much is known about the nature of Ethan Hawke’s cameo in director Len Wiseman’s (Live Free or Die Hard) remake of Total Recall, the actor recently revealed that this won’t be your quick-scene cameo. In speaking with Vulture, Hawke said that he’s shooting his scene next week and he’s doing a 5-page monologue, so it’s safe to assume that his character plays a bit of a crucial role in the flick.


Colin Farrell is set to star in the remake, which will apparently be closer to Phillip K. Dick’s source material than the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger flick. Farrell plays a factory worker who begins to believe he’s a spy for either the nation stat Euromerica or New Shanghai, but he doesn’t know which. Hit the jump for a recap of what we know about the film so far.
http://collider.com/ethan-hawke-total-recall-cameo-monologue/91957/






SEINFELD Writer David Mandel to Write FLETCH Reboot
by Matt Goldberg Posted: May 20th, 2011 at 10:59 am


Warner Bros. has hired screenwriter David Mandel to write the reboot of Fletch. As we reported back in February, Warner Bros. picked up the rights to Gregory Mcdonald’s mystery novels for what they’re calling not a remake but a “re-imagining”, which is studio-speak for remake. However, since two of the Fletch novels were previously adapted (1985’s Fletch and 1989’s Fletch Lives, both starring Chevy Chase as the eponymous reporter), I’ll call it a reboot. But whatever you want to call it, Warner Bros. says that this new version “will be a smart action comedy that plays out on a bigger canvas than the previous movies.”


Per THR, “The 11 mystery books, the first of which was published in 1974, center on a reporter named I.M. Fletcher who juggles writing exposes while avoiding headaches caused by his two ex-wives.” Since I’ve never read any of the Fletch novels, I don’t know if Mandel’s the right guy for the job, but his credits include Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming comedy The Dictator, and the underrated EuroTrip (that’s right: I’ll go to bat for EuroTrip), so I think Warners at least has a talented writer on board. The project is a high-priority for the studio and they’re looking at it as a vehicle for an A-list comedy star. Hit the jump for a synopsis of the first novel.
http://collider.com/fletch-remake-david-mandel/91920/