Zeta-Jones And Timberlake May Join Lay The Favorite, Take The Dog
Author: Eric Eisenberg published: 2011-02-11Once one of the hottest actresses around, Catherine Zeta-Jones has all but completely disappeared in the last few years. Ten years ago she was averaging about two films per year, but now has only made three films in the last six. An Oscar winner from her work in 2002's Chicago, she's never lacked in the talent department and is still as beautiful as ever. Lucky for us, she may be making a come back.
Continuing their story about Bruce Willis entering negotiations to star in Stephen Frears' Lay The Favorite, Take The Dog, Vulture is now reporting that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Timberlake are now very close to attaching themselves to the project as well. The film is based on the memoir by Beth Raymer, who becomes linked with a group of middle aged math geeks who try and take down the sportsbook system in Las Vegas. Rebecca Hall is already attached to play Raymer; Bruce Willis will play Dink, an out-of-luck professional gambler; and, should they be cast, Zeta-Jones would play Willis' wife and Timberlake would play a Long Island bookie named Rosie, who runs off-shore sports booking. Zeta-Jones previously starred in Frears' High Fidelity, which was also written by D.V. DeVincentis. Shooting is scheduled to begin in April.
Should it all work out, that would be one hell of a cast. Just last week Stephen Frears did a Q&A in Oxford, via Bleeding Cool, during which he said the project was in jeopardy because the studio wanted to have "more famous people in." Ask and you shall receive, I suppose.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Zeta-Jones-And-Timberlake-May-Join-Lay-The-Favorite-Take-The-Dog-23132.html
Gerard Butler Will Live Like Jay For A Surfing Movie
Author: Josh Tylerpublished: 2011-02-11
Gerard Butler is starring in a surfing movie, which might be a good idea if anyone ever showed up to see surfing movies. Maybe Curtis Hanson can change that with Mavericks.
The film is based on the real life story of Jay Moriarty, a Santa Cruz surfing phenom who made his reputation surfing a treacherous place called Mavericks in California. He became internationally famous at age 16 when his spectacular wipeout at Mavericks was photographed. The movie will focus on his quest to conquer those waves, before he was eventually killed at age 22 in an unrelated diving accident.
Butler is being hired to play Moriarity’s mentor, a surfer named Rick “Frosty” Henson. Surfing movies aren’t particularly relevant anymore, but Moriarty was an inspiration to a lot of other thrill-seekers who still utter the phrase “live like Jay”. Besides, women seem to like seeing Gerard Butler shirtless, and it’s being directed by Curtis Hanson, the man behind L.A. Confidential and 8 Mile.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Gerard-Butler-Will-Live-Like-Jay-For-A-Surfing-Movie-23129.html
Zac Efron Replaces Shia LaBeouf In The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman
Author: Eric Eisenbergpublished: 2011-02-11
It's strange, but it would appear that Zac Efron may actually be one of the few child actors to make a smooth transition into a legitimate acting career. While so many former Disney stars have their 15-minutes of fame before burning out, Efron has successfully lowered his teen heartthrob profile in recent years and taken on more serious projects like Die In A Gunfight and the remake of the Swedish film Snabba Cash. Now he's added another project to his upcoming slate in the same vein.
The Playlist reports that Efron is now attached to The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman, replacing Shia LaBeouf - another former Disney star - who was signed on to the project last year. Efron will play a young man who travels to Europe after the death of his mother. While abroad, he meets a girl and falls in love, but she happens to be involved with a crime boss. Feeling the need to protect her, he decides to fight, both to win her heart and protect her. The project was written by Matt Drake, who also penned the upcoming secret Todd Phillips film Project X, but doesn't currently have a director attached.
Someone out there can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but does this sound a little bit like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World with one major boss battle instead of seven? It's entirely possible that they will go a different approach with it - for example, an R rating and no references to video games - but it does seem eerily similar. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how it works out.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Zac-Efron-Replaces-Shia-LaBeouf-In-The-Necessary-Death-Of-Charlie-Countryman-23127.html
Tommy Lee Jones Doesn't Know What Men In Black 3 Is About
Author: Katey Richpublished: 2011-02-11
For a famous curmudgeon who doesn't seem to like anyone or anything, Tommy Lee Jones is still working a lot, and particularly on two big tentpole projects that everyone wants details on: this summer's Captain America, and the forthcoming Men In Black 3. But if you thought Jones's participation in the two films meant he would have details worth spilling, oh boy were you ever wrong. In a hilariously frank interview with New York Magazine, Jones talked a lot about his HBO movie The Sunset Limited, but then revealed that he knows virtually nothing about the two big projects he's part of.
They started by asking about Men in Black 3, which Jones will still be shooting for another week with director Barry Sonnenfeld and co-star Will Smith; to his credit, he calls the shot "a hell of a lot of fun." But then they ask about plot details, and well, Jones is basically a stone wall:
Can you give me a sense of the plot of this one?
No. I don’t really know what the plotline is. There are vast pieces of the script yet unwritten.
Even though there’s only one week of shooting left?
One week for me.
Does that mean that you die early on?
Well, that’s a strange concept. I don’t want to say too much about the movie because I don’t know a lot and I would like for audiences to anticipate buying a ticket.
Apparently given some license to talk smack about a blockbuster project, the interviewer then went in for the kill when asking about Captain America. And Jones played right along!
Finally, what are you doing in Captain America? I mean, literally: What are you doing in Captain America!?
Yeah, I ask myself that same question every day! The character I play is the one you’ve seen in a thousand movies: the gruff, skeptical officer overseeing a team of talented, slightly sarcastic, specially talented soldiers.
And I’m guessing you’re confounded by the Captain …
Not confounded, exactly. Skeptical. At first. And then convinced.
In short, don't bother asking Tommy Lee Jones about his career choices, because if he's in a movie he didn't direct or that cost more than $100 million, he's probably as annoyed with it as you are. I know that probably qualifies as being a poor sport, but I admit, I kind of love him for this.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Tommy-Lee-Jones-Doesn-t-Know-What-Men-In-Black-3-Is-About-23123.html
