***Casting Call: Chuck Hittinger Joins AMERICAN REUNION; Alison Brie, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, and Geoffrey Arend Star in SAVE THE DATE ***Ryan Gosling Pulls Out of Directing and Starring in THE IDOLMAKER Remake ***Olivia Wilde, J.K. Simmons and Ben Barnes Join Bradley Cooper in THE WORDS ***Mary Harron to Direct WICKED LOVELY

Casting Call: Chuck Hittinger Joins AMERICAN REUNION; Alison Brie, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, and Geoffrey Arend Star in SAVE THE DATE

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 2nd, 2011

American Pie stars Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, and Shannon Elizabeth all promptly signed on to return for American Reunion, the third Pie sequel.  Makes sense: those kids came off the surprise hit with serious heat in 1999, but none has achieved the true stardom that seemed within reach.  Writer/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) added a few new faces to the mix, including Dania Ramirez and Katrina Bowden.  According to Variety, Chuck Hittinger (Pretty Little Liars) will represent the new male blood at the East Great Falls High School class reunion.  Hittinger plays Marco, “a jock and a bully who takes his girlfriend for granted.”  Production is currently underway in Atlanta for an April 6, 2012 release.
Hit the jump for details on Save the Date, an indie romantic comedy that just signed Alison Brie, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, and Geoffrey Arend. http://collider.com/chuck-hittinger-american-reunion-alison-brie-save-the-date/94478/

Ryan Gosling Pulls Out of Directing and Starring in THE IDOLMAKER Remake

by Adam Chitwood   Posted: June 2nd, 2011

Just last month, it was reported that Ryan Gosling would be starring in and making his directorial debut on a remake of the 1980 musical drama The Idolmaker. Well, now it looks like he won’t be involved in the project after all. At least for now. Deadline reports that the actor has informed MGM that he’s currently too busy to take the film on at the moment. He just wrapped the George Clooney-directed political drama The Ides of March and is currently on pre-production on Beyond the Pines, a drama co-starring Bradley Cooper that will reteam Gosling with Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance.
After Beyond the Pines, Gosling is set to start filming Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) 1940s crime-drama Gangster Squad alongside Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Anthony Mackie. Needless to say, he’s a busy guy at the moment. While MGM is set on developing The Idolmaker, if the film is still in the early stages when Gosling’s schedule clears up, he could feasibly return to the project. The actor has two other high-profile projects currently in the can besides The Ides of March: Drive starring Carey Mulligan debuted to high praise at Cannes and will be released on September 16^th, and the dramedy Crazy, Stupid, Love starring Steve Carell and Emma Stone is getting some serious positive buzz. That film hits theaters July 29^th. http://collider.com/ryan-gosling-the-idolmaker-2/94435/

Olivia Wilde, J.K. Simmons and Ben Barnes Join Bradley Cooper in THE WORDS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 2nd, 2011

The cast for Tron: Legacy scribes Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s directorial debut The Words continues to grow. Olivia Wilde, J.K. Simmons and Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian) have joined a cast that also includes Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Zoe Saldana and Dennis Quaid. The drama centers on a writer at the peak of his success (Cooper) who must pay the price for stealing the work of another author (Irons). Not much else is known about the project at this time, but the cast is looking pretty impressive. Filming is set to get underway this month. Wilde will be dominating theaters this year, as she’s starring in Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens, the Jason Bateman/Ryan Reynolds body-swap comedy The Change-Up and Andrew Niccol’s sci-fi thriller In Time. Hit the jump to read the full press release.  http://collider.com/olivia-wilde-j-k-simmons-ben-barnes-the-words/94418/

Mary Harron to Direct WICKED LOVELY

by Adam Chitwood   Posted: June 2nd, 2011

Yet another teen fantasy/adventure series is set to become a possible film franchise. Universal is in talks with director Mary Harron (American Psycho) to direct an adaptation of Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely. The book is the first in a series of novels and centers on a teenage girl who discovers a faery world, only to become torn between a Faery king and a mortal boy, both vying for her love, as is known to happen when teenagers get involved with faery worlds. THR reports that Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) wrote the screenplay and Vince Vaughn is producing through his Wild West Picture Show Productions banner. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the novel. http://collider.com/director-mary-harron-to-direct-wicked-lovely/94403/

Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana And More Join Bradley Cooper In The Words

published: 2011-06-02 20:50:29 Author: Katey Rich
Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons have been set since early February to star in The Words, a drama in which Cooper plays an author accused of plagiarism; along with his role in The Place Beyond the Pines, it seems to be another effort from Cooper to prove he's not just that loutish dude from The Hangover. Now he's got a lot more castrates to help him in that quest; Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Ben Barnes, J.K. Simmons and Dennis Quaid have all been confirmed for roles in the film as well.

The press release doesn't specify what roles they'll all play, but there's something else to be interested in here-- the movie will be the directorial debut of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, two of the many writers who participated in the mess that was the Tron: Legacy screenplay. They brought the script for The Words through the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, which pretty much guarantees it will be in better shape than the giant Disney project; presumably the number of talented actors who have signed on know that too. It's also nice to see them bringing in Tron: Legacy's Olivia Wilde; even bad blockbusters can make for relationships that pay off down the line. http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Olivia-Wilde-Zoe-Saldana-And-More-Join-Bradley-Cooper-In-The-Words-25033.html