***Giovanni Ribisi Joins Sean Penn in GANGSTER SQUAD ***Alexandra Daddario Signs Up for THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D ***Mikael Hafstrom to Direct Thriller WAKE ***First Set Photos from VAMPS Starring Sigourney Weaver

Giovanni Ribisi Joins Sean Penn in GANGSTER SQUAD

by Jason Barr    Posted: July 6th, 2011

Giovanni Ribisi has landed a co-starring role in director Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) 1940s crime pic The Gangster Squad. Ribisi joins a cast that already includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, and possibly Bryan Cranston. Adapted by Will Beall (Castle) from a series of LA Times articles by Paul Lieberman, The Gangster Squad centers on Mickey Cohen (Penn) and the elite squad of cops that chased him through Los Angeles.

According to Deadline, Ribisi will play the role of Conway Keeler, a member of the elite squad who is a connoisseur of electronics and wiring. Warner Bros. is currently eyeing a 2013 release for The Gangster Squad. In addition to this latest role, Ribisi will also appear alongside Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg in the Seth MacFarlane comedy Ted and opposite Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, and Aaron Eckhart in The Rum Diary due out later this year on October 28th. http://collider.com/giovanni-ribisi-gangster-squad/100781/

Alexandra Daddario Signs Up for THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D

by Jason Barr   Posted: July 6th, 2011

Alexandra Daddario (Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief) is in final talks to snag the female lead in director John Luessenhop’s (Takers) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D. Per Variety, Lionsgate’s pic will take place following the events of director/co-writer Tobe Hooper’s 1974 original with production set to begin later this month in Louisiana. Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan co-wrote Chainsaw 3D with Luessonhop and Kirsten Elms later performing rewrite duties. The film is currently scheduled to hit theaters on October 5th, 2012. In addition to Percy Jackson, Daddario recently appeared alongside Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis in the Farrelly Bros. comedy Hall Pass and in the USA series White Collar. http://collider.com/alexandra-daddario-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-3d/100768/

Mikael Hafstrom to Direct Thriller WAKE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: July 6th, 2011

The Rite director Mikael Hafstrom has lined up his next project. It looks like he’ll soon be helming the thriller Wake for Hammer Films. The screenplay, by Christopher Borelli (Whisper) and Matt Sand (Ninja Assassin) focuses on a sociopath who is incapable of feeling fear. Hammer Films is producing and financing the project. The studio recently produced Let Me In, and was also behind the ghost thriller The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe. Hafstrom also directed 1408 starring John Cusack and the Clive Owen-Jennifer Aniston thriller Derailed. http://collider.com/mikael-hafstrom-wake/100751/

First Set Photos from VAMPS Starring Sigourney Weaver

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: July 6th, 2011

The first set photos from director Amy Heckerling’s (Clueless) vampire-themed romantic comedy (apparently this is a genre now) Vamps have hit the web. The film stars Alicia Silverstone, Sigourney Weaver, Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad), Malcolm McDowell, Marilu Henner and Justin Kirk (Weeds). The story centers on ““two young beautiful female vampires (Silverstone & Ritter) living the good nightlife in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize her immortality.”

If you’re wavering on whether or not this sounds remotely interesting to you, I’ll end with this: McDowell plays a geriatric Vlad the Impaler. Hit the jump to check out the set photos featuring Sigourney Weaver vamping it up. http://collider.com/vamps-set-photos-sigourney-weaver/100687/

***First Set Photos from CONTRABAND Starring Mark Wahlberg ***Super Bowl TV Spot for LIMITLESS Starring Bradley Cooper

First Set Photos from CONTRABAND Starring Mark Wahlberg

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 4th, 2011

The first set photos from the crime thriller Contraband have gone online.  The film is a remake of the acclaimed Icelandic picture Reykjavik-Rotterdam.  Mark Wahlberg stars as a struggling security guard who must return to his life as a drug smuggler for one last job.  So what exciting photos have onlookers snapped?  A gun fight?  A main character dying on the street?  Even better!  Mark Wahlberg and costar Lukas Haas sitting and standing in the back of a truck.  These are set photos that will blow your mind (provided your mind is easily impressed).

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  Contraband is currently filming in New Orleans and also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Diego Luna, and Giovanni Ribisi.  The film is currently set for release on March 16, 2012.

Click over to Just Jared for more images of Contraband truck-standing/sitting.

http://collider.com/contraband-set-photos-mark-wahlberg/74651/

Super Bowl TV Spot for LIMITLESS Starring Bradley Cooper

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 4th, 2011

Just one of many films that will have their trailer featured during the Super Bowl on Sunday is Limitless starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish, and now you can check out the TV spot a couple days early. Limitless centers on a struggling writer (Cooper) who takes a special drug that allows him to utilize his entire mental capacity. Regardless of the fact that the premise doesn’t make sense (that’s not how brains work, fyi), the film looks like it could have the potential to be a fairly engaging thriller. Hit the jump to check out the TV spot.

..... http://collider.com/limitless-super-bowl-tv-spot/74674/

17 december; HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Born Today

 

Eugene Levy (64)

Giovanni Ribisi (36)

Milla Jovovich (35)

Armin Mueller-Stahl (80)

Katheryn Winnick (33)

Bill Pullman is 57

 

***John Singleton to Direct Liam Hemsworth in BROKEN RUN ***Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi Join Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale in CONTRABAND ***Johnny Depp Likes Brad Pitt or George Clooney to Play THE LONE RANGER

John Singleton to Direct Liam Hemsworth in BROKEN RUN

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 1st, 2010

The Hemsworth brothers aren’t stars yet, but Hollywood is intent on making them household names by the end of 2011.  Chris Hemsworth is set to make the biggest splash cinematically possible as the lead in Thor.  The rise of younger brother Liam Hemsworth is a bit more gradual, with roles in Knowing and The Last Song over the last two years.  Next year brings him into stage two as the lead in the period epic Arabian Nights.
According to TheWrap, Hemsworth will follow up Arabian Nights with Broken Run,  a political thriller set in Washington D.C.  Hemsworth is attached to star, and John Singleton (Four Brothers) is attached to direct.  If the project lines up a buyer, Jay Longino and Michael Browning are on tap to write the script.  Singleton recently wrapped production on the Taylor Lautner thriller Abduction.
http://www.collider.com/2010/12/01/broken-run-liam-hemsworth-john-singleton/

Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi Join Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale in CONTRABAND

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 1st, 2010

Ben Foster (The Messenger) and Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar) are in talks to join Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale in Contraband, the American remake of Iceland’s Reykjavic-Rotterdam.  Wahlberg stars as a busted smuggler who becomes a security guard; in the face of financial troubles, he undertakes one last job.
According to Variety, Foster will play Wahlberg’s brother-in-law.  No details yet on who Ribisi might play.  (Any Icelanders have a guess?)  Baltasar Kormákur, who produced, co-wrote, and starred in the 2008 original, will produce and direct the remake.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis of Reykjavic-Rotterdam.

Like a fish on a dry land, Kristofer is stuck in a dull everyday routine, working as a security guard. He got fired from the freight ship he worked on, when he was caught smuggling alcohol. Faced with money problems, he is tempted to accept the help of his friend, Steingrimur, who manages to pull some strings to get his old job back. He decides to take his chances one last time on a tour to Rotterdam

Foster will next be seen opposite Jason Statham in The Mechanic, with Rampart on the horizon.  Ribisi has The Rum Diary in the can, and has been linked to St. Vincent.

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/01/contraband-ben-foster-giovanni-ribisi/

Johnny Depp Likes Brad Pitt or George Clooney to Play THE LONE RANGER

by Jeff Ames    Posted: December 1st, 2010

With Pirates of Caribbean director Gore Verbinksi officially attached to direct the big screen version of The Lone Ranger, it’s no surprise attention is now focused on who will play the titular hero himself. The newest names to hit the pot come from none other than Tonto himself — or star Johnny Depp:

“There’s so many interesting possibilities out there. Brad [Pitt] would be great. [George] Clooney would be great. Don’t know who it’s going to be just yet.”

Depp is currently filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with director Rob Marshall for a May 20, 2011 release. Pitt has a slew of upcoming films including the long-awaited Tree of Life from director Terrence Malick, which opens on May 27, 2011. The Lone Ranger is set for a 2012 release. Hit the jump for more.
The suggestion makes sense as Depp would likely have bumped into Pitt while filming The Tourist with the Inglourious Basterds’ wife Angelina Jolie – he would know better than anyone whether Pitt’s acting sensibilities would play off his own. Still, while Depp may have quite a bit of pull in Hollywood, the decision will likely rest in the hands of Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
I remain cautiously optimistic about The Lone Ranger, especially considering its long-delayed pre-production process. It took nearly three years for Verbinski to officially climb on board, even after the inclusion of box office behemoth Johnny Depp. Personally I wish Verbinski had taken the directing gig on the big screen adaptation of the video game BioShock (though Juan Carlos Fresnadillo remains a solid choice), something that more soundly fits his directing abilities.
Still, this latest rumor suggests a rather unique take on the legendary series, especially in regards to its depictions of Native Americans.  Depp explains to Entertainment Tonight:

“Native Americans in cinema, over the past however many decades, have been treated somewhat shabbily. This one has plans to rectify that.”

Hmmm … the whimsical (even comedic) tone of Pirates meshed with the down-to-earth realism of Dance with Wolves? Starring Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp? I’d pay to watch that.
Here’s a synopsis of the TV show:

The title character is a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West, originally played by George Seaton (radio), but more famously by Clayton Moore (television), who gallops about righting injustices with the aid of his clever, laconic Native American companion, Tonto played by (amongst others) John Todd, Roland Parker, and (in the television series) Jay Silverheels. Tonto usually referred to the Lone Ranger as Kemo Sabe, meaning “trusty scout”.  Departing on his white horse Silver, the Ranger would shout “Hi-yo, Silver, away!” as the horse galloped toward the setting sun, followed by someone asking “Who was that masked man, anyway?” “Why he’s the Lone Ranger.” [Wikipedia]

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/01/the-lone-ranger-brad-pitt-george-clooney/