***Clint Eastwood Wants Leonard DiCaprio to Join Beyoncé in A STAR IS BORN ***David Strathairn Cast as William Seward in Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN ***Casting Call: Nicole Kidman in Talks for THE PAPERBOY as Tobey Maguire Drops Out, John Goodman Joins Ben Affleck’s ARGO

Clint Eastwood Wants Leonard DiCaprio to Join Beyoncé in A STAR IS BORN

by Jason Barr    Posted: June 27th, 2011

I’m sure plenty of filmmakers want Leonardo DiCaprio to star in their film. That said, there aren’t many working directors who have the type of clout that Clint Eastwood carries around. So, although it is anything but a done deal, when we hear that Eastwood is courting DiCaprio for his take on the musical A Star Is Born, it becomes news. Deadline reports that the director is using his time with DiCaprio on their J. Edgar Hoover biopic to discuss the possibility of him joining the pic which is set up at Warner Bros.

There has long been talk that Will Smith would join Beyoncé in the film as the aging alcoholic star who sparks a relationship with the up-and-coming beauty. While those rumors are free to continue circulating, Eastwood’s apparent interest in DiCaprio may very well steal some of its thunder for the time being. There have been several theatrical versions of A Star Is Born to grace the silver screen with the 1976 version pairing Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand and 1954′s starring James Mason and Judy Garland. Will Fetters (Remember Me) wrote the script for the upcoming remake. http://collider.com/leonardo-dicaprio-a-star-is-born-clint-eastwood/99087/

David Strathairn Cast as William Seward in Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN

by Jason Barr    Posted: June 27th, 2011

Oscar-nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck.) has been cast in the Steven Spielberg-directed Abraham Lincoln biopic, Lincoln. Straithairn will make a turn as Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, in the film which is scheduled to begin filming this fall in Virginia in time for a fourth quarter 2012 (a.k.a. “Oscar season”) theatrical release. The actor joins a cast that already includes Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. Spielberg had this to say of Strathairn’s casting:

“Throughout his career, David Strathairn has consistently delivered  performances of strength and character. That’s why I am so pleased that he will portray the Secretary of State, who became such a dominant figure in Lincoln’s ‘team of rivals’ cabinet.”

For those unaware, Lincoln is written by Oscar-nominee Tony Kushner (Munich) and is based on the Doris Kearns Goodwin book, Team of Rivals. Last month, we reported that Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon Levitt, James Spader, John Hawkes and several others were in serious talks to join the pic as well. As for Strathairn, he can next be seen alongside Rachel Weisz in the drama The Whistleblower which hits U.S. theaters on August 5th. Hit the jump to check out a synopsis of Goodwin’s book.  http://collider.com/david-strathairn-lincoln/99090/

Casting Call: Nicole Kidman in Talks for THE PAPERBOY as Tobey Maguire Drops Out, John Goodman Joins Ben Affleck’s ARGO

by Adam Chitwood   Posted: June 27th, 2011

We’ve got a couple more casting stories for you today. First up, Nicole Kidman is now in talks to join the cast of Lee Daniels’ (Precious) adaptation of Pete Dexter’s novel The Paperboy. THR reports that Kidman would replace Sofia Vergara, who was forced to drop out after Tobey Maguire’s exit from the project shifted the schedule, imposing on her Modern Family shoot. Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron are apparently still attached to star in the film, which centers on the slacker son of a newspaper editor in Florida, who gets wrapped up in investigating a murder case. Filming is set to begin later this summer.
Hit the jump for the news of John Goodman joining Ben Affleck’s directorial vehicle Argo, as well as a synopsis for the novel The Paperboy. http://collider.com/nicole-kidman-the-paperboy-john-goodman-argo/99041/

***First Image from Rian Johnson’s LOOPER ***Mark Wahlberg to Star in David O. Russell’s Adaptation of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK ***Lars Von Trier to Remake THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS with Martin Scorsese ***McConaughey, Maguire, Vergara, and Efron to Star in Lee Daniels’ THE PAPERBOY

First Image from Rian Johnson’s LOOPER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 7:40 am

If you asked me to name my top ten most-anticipated films of 2012, Rian Johnson’s Looper would easily be near the top of the list.  The sci-fi flick is about “Loopers”, hitmen who travel back in time to kill their targets in the past so as to erase their existence in the future.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays, Joe, a looper who eventually has to face his future self (played by Bruce Willis).  While the image looks like it could be from any Bruce Willis action movie of the last ten years, Johnson has already proved with Brick and The Brothers Bloom that he’ll bring you something recognizable and yet unlike anything you’ve seen before.  There will certainly be sci-fi action, but I wouldn’t be expecting Surrogates 2.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Garrett Dillahunt, and Jeff Daniels.  Looper is expected to hit theaters in the first hal of 2012, but I wouldn’t complain if it came out this year instead. http://collider.com/looper-movie-image/90680/

Mark Wahlberg to Star in David O. Russell’s Adaptation of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 8:11 am

Filmmaker David O. Russell has had a wealth of projects to choose from since the success of The Fighter.  Now it looks like he’s finally zeroing on his next film as Vulture reports that Mark Wahlberg is set to reunite with O. Russell for The Silver Linings Playbook.  In December, we reported that O. Russell was circling the adaptation of Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel with possibly Bradley Cooper and Anne Hathaway to star presumably because Cooper and Hathaway are getting offered every role in Hollywood.  There’s no word on Hathaway’s current status in regards to the project, but Wahlberg will play “a delusional former high school history teacher who’s just been released into the custody of his mom. Believing that he’s only been away for a few months instead of the four years he just spent in a mental institution, the teacher sets about wooing back his ex-wife.”

So where does this leave O. Russell’s adaptation of the popular video game Uncharted?  Most likely on the backburner as Vulture reports that Playbook will probably be O. Russell’s next film.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.

http://collider.com/mark-wahlberg-silver-linings-playbook-david-o-russell/90690/

Lars Von Trier to Remake THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS with Martin Scorsese

by Phil Brown    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 8:28 am

The best part about the Cannes Film Festival for those of us sadly unable to walk to Croisette are the upcoming movie announcements that slip out from that magical land. There’s only one place where Werner Herzog could announce a Bad Lieutenant remake with Nicholas Cage and today the first of what is sure to be many odd movie announcements has crossed the pond from Cannes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lars Von Trier will be remaking his 2003 movie The Five Obstructions in which he challenged filmmaker Jorgen Leth to remake his short film five times, each with some sort of insane filmmaking restriction that could only spring from the mind of a certain torturous Danish director. However, this time it’s Martin Scorsese who will be struggling to create under Von Trier’s malicious supervision. The idea of hearing Scorsese’s machine gun delivery trying to out talk Von Trier’s laconic mischievous tone has the makings of a hilarious documentary custom-made for movie geeks. Hit the jump for further details on this deeply bizarre, but exciting project.

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http://collider.com/lars-von-trier-martin-scorsese-the-five-obstructions/90696/

McConaughey, Maguire, Vergara, and Efron to Star in Lee Daniels’ THE PAPERBOY

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 10:10 am

Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Sofia Vergara, and Zac Efron will star in the adaptation of the 1995 Pete Dexter novel The Paperboy for Precious director Lee Daniels.  The story is about the slacker son of a newspaper editor and publisher who gets caught up in a murder investigation with his older brother and (and this is from the official book description) Ward’s partner, “evil dandy Yardley Acheman.  I never thought four words could go together so perfectly.
THR reports that filmmaker “Pedro Almodovar (Talk to Her) developed the project for over a decade with Dexter before Daniels came on board.  As we reported in February, Daniels wanted Bradley Cooper, Alex Pettyfer, and Vergara so 1 out of 3 ain’t bad especially when you consider that the one you got is terrific and the other two are kind of bland.  McConaughey did some great work earlier this year with The Lincoln Lawyer, Maguire is always reliable, and I’m willing to give Efron a shot at weightier material.  Hit the jump for the synopsis of the book (which has nothing to do with the classic arcade game pictured above).


http://collider.com/mcconaughey-maguire-vergara-efron-paperboy/90712/