Leonardo DiCaprio Is Closer to Quentin Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED Than Will Smith; Idris Elba, Chris Tucker, Jamie Foxx Rumored for Django
by Brendan Bettinger Posted: June 7th, 2011
No actor is officially confirmed for Django Unchained, the latest from Quentin Tarantino, but the cast is starting to take shape. According to Deadline, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson are expected to sign on. Leonardo DiCaprio is about to enter negotiations to play the villain, . That doesn’t give us the titular character, though. Will Smith was the first major contender for the role of Django, “a slave who is liberated and taught the tricks of the trade by a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter (Waltz).” Negotiations are stuck in first gear, and we’re probably kidding ourselves to expect the super image-conscious Smith to sign on for such a gleefully controversial role.Deadline hears Smith likely won’t sign on; possible replacements include Idris Elba, Chris Tucker, and Jamie Foxx. That’s an eclectic list, somewhere between intriguing and Name Three Black Actors Who Aren’t Will Smith That Headlined Box Office Hits in the Past Decade. More after the jump: http://collider.com/leonardo-dicaprio-chris-tucker-django-unchained/95282/
Reese Witherspoon to Produce and Possibly Star in DreamWorks’ WHO INVITED HER?
by Jason Barr Posted: June 7th, 2011
DreamWorks has emerged victorious from a bidding war for novelist Sascha Rothchild’s comedy pitch Who Invited Her? with Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon set to produce and potentially star. Variety reports that the project centers on a woman who invites herself to a male bachelor party weekend and will purportedly follow the shenanigans that inevitably ensue. If Witherspoon does indeed end up in Who Invited Her?, it will not be the first starring/producing double-duty pulled by the actress as she is also filling both shoes on the upcoming action/comedy This Means War also starring Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. In addition to her work on Who Invited Her?, Rothchild is also writing and executive producing an adaptation of her book How to Get Divorced by 30 over at Universal. http://collider.com/reese-witherspoon-who-invited-her/95248/Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Charlyne Yi and Wyatt Russell Join Judd Apatow’s KNOCKED UP Spin-Off
by Adam Chitwood Posted: June 7th, 2011
Judd Apatow is filling out the cast for his next directorial effort, with Bridesmaids star Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham (director of Tiny Furniture), Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up) and Wyatt Russell currently in negotiations to join the untitled ensemble comedy. Written by Apatow, the film is a spinoff of sorts from his 2007 comedy Knocked Up, focusing on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s characters. Variety reports that O’Dowd and Dunham will play employees of Rudd’s indie record company, Russell will portray a hockey player, and Yi will reprise her role as Jodi from Knocked Up.The cast for the untitled comedy currently includes Rudd, Mann, Megan Fox and Albert Brooks. O’Dowd is just coming off the massive success of the Apatow-produced Bridesmaids. His turn as Wiig’s love interest in the film has him fielding a flood of offers, and deservedly so. No other plot details on Apatow’s flick are known at the moment, but it’s set to be released in December 2012.
http://collider.com/chris-o-dowd-lena-dunham-charlyne-yi-judd-apatow/95244/
