Whole Lot of Hollywood
There’s nothing like reading a butt ton of Hollywood news in the morning. Nothing, that is, save for the smell of napalm. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter had their workshop elves up late last night as a whole slew of news pours in today. Because we love you, we’ve summed up the bigger points to make it easier on you fine folks. Feel free to send us baked goods in return.
- Steven Soderbergh will direct Cleo, a rock ‘n’ roll musical about the life of Cleopatra. Catherine Zeta Jones and Hugh Jackman are being courted to star as Cleopatra and Marc Antony respectively. Soderbergh and Zeta Jones have teamed up previously on Traffic, but this will be the director’s first pairing with Jackman who will appear in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming musical epic Australia.
- An adaptation of Electronic Arts’ videogame Army of Two is setting up at Universal Pictures with Bourne Ultimatum co-writer Scott Z. Burns scripting. Variety mentions in its sub-headline that Peter Berg may direct, though there is no further mention of it in the article. Army of Two would add to his already busy film slate that includes Dune and Radical Studios’ Hercules. Universal, which has already acquired BioShock with Gore Verbinski, is looking at Army as a "buddy film."
- Believe it or not, Ripley’s Believe It or Not breathes new life this morning. Variety reports that Chris Columbus is in talks to direct the Jim Carrey film about columnist-explorer Robert Ripley. News comes in after Tim Burton’s China-based botched attempt in 2007. That storyline has been dropped in favor of Columbus’ pitch. Once his deal is closed, Paramount will hire a writer for the project with an eye at a 2011 release. It’s hoped that Ripley will spawn a franchise.
- Looks like The A-Team is in for a bumpy ride, as long attached director John Singleton has pulled away from the project. Originally set for a June 2009 release, Twentieth Century Fox now pegs the film for June 2010. No word on how casting will be affected, though Tyrese, oft rumored as B.A. Baracus, has close ties with Singleton, which could prove hopeful for Ice Cube advocates. Fox has also relocated Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy from June 2009 to November 2009, while Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (no, we’re not kidding) is on track for Christmas Day 2009.
- Director McG will direct Dead Spy Running based on the upcoming spy novel by Jon Stock. The novel reportedly "aims to reinvent the spy genre," described as a mix of "The Bourne Identity with the works of John Le Carre." McG would direct at least the first installment in a planned trilogy and produce alongside Jeanne Allgood of Wonderland Sound and Vision. McG is in the midst of post-production work on Terminator Salvation.
- Crispin Glover will play the Knave of Hearts in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland for Disney. The Knave is put on trial for stealing the Queen of Hearts’ tarts and is is defended by Alice. The actor joins Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter on the Lewis Carroll adaptaion. This will be Glover’s second experience with performance-capture technology, the first being Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf.
- In HBO news, Gary Cole joins the cast of Entourage as Hollywood agent Andrew Klein, Ari Gold’s (Jeremy Piven) oldest friend. Cole will first appear in a three-episode arc in the currently airing fifth season, then return as a series regular for next summer’s sixth season. Klein could step in as Vinnie Chase’s new agent, as the foul-mouthed Gold was offered a studio executive position in the series’ most recent episode. The news comes one day after Variety announced a seventh season of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, also on HBO. Curb is HBO’s longest running series.
Aaaaaand we’re spent.
