Just weeks after Robert Pattinson The Playlist reports Keira Knightley has done the same to Marion Cotillard in regards to the role of his wife. The move actually makes a lot of sense given the 10-year age difference between Pattinson and Cotillard.
The film is based on Don DeLillo’s book of the same name, which tracks a day from hell in the life of a newly married billionaire (Pattinson) as he cheats on his wife, evades a stalker, fights off a violent protester, and gradually loses his entire fortune — all in the course of 24 hours. Paul Giamatti was once in talks to to play one of the stalkers, but he appears to have jumped off the ship with the rest of the initial cast members.
My interest in the film is waning — I don’t know about you, but Farrell/Cotillard sounds a hell of a lot better than Pattinson/Knightley. Pattinson did finally have a chance to show some chops in last year’s Remember Me, so hopefully he can build on that here. Cronenberg clearly trusts him, so why shouldn’t we? We’ll likely hear more about the film shortly as it is due to shoot in May.
Moving on to Mark Webb’s currently in-production Untitled Spider-Man Reboot reboot, IGN reports that although recent set photos offer a look at the Daily Bugle delivery van, Bugle chief J. Jonah Jameson (Peter Parker’s boss, previously played by J.K. Simmons) will not make an appearance in the film. Simmons was one of the best things about the previous Spider-Man trilogy, so Webb might consider himself lucky he doesn’t have to worry about recasting such a scene stealer.
Kyle Gallner (Jennifer’s Body, “Veronica Mars”) has joined the cast of Kevin Smith’s hockey picture Hit Somebody. CinemaBlend reports he’ll play a young Wayne Gretzky-like character who is everything the main character (Nicholas Braun), a hockey goon who specializes in fighting, wants to be. Smith’s screenplay for the film is based on the Mitch Albom-written Warren Zevon song of the same name. Both Gallner and Braun also have roles in Smith’s Red State, which premieres Sunday at Sundance.
Robert Downey Jr. has backed out of Oz, the Great and Powerful, the Sam Raimi-directed Wizard of Oz pseudo-sequel, and Heat Vision reports Disney is talking to Johnny Depp about stepping into the role. The film will look at the wizard as a young illusionist who is forced to flee a traveling circus and winds up in Oz after his hot air balloon gets swept away by a tornado. An agreement likely hinges on the availability of the always-busy Depp, who currently has Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and the Bruckheimer-produced Lone Ranger in the pipeline.
Mike Fleming at Deadline broke news that Mike White has relinquished his duties as director of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. A scheduling conflict involving a preexisting commitment at HBO likely forced White out of the gig. Lionsgate will no doubt be shuffling to find a new helmer for their high-priority project.
A new Lethal Weapon film has been talked about for some time now, but Warner Bros and producer Joel Silver look to have taken the buddy cop franchise in a whole different direction. Fleming reports they’ve hired Will Beall, a former LA police officer, to write a reboot that will feature an all new cast.
Apparently the studio was really impressed with Beall’s script for Gangster Squad, which will be directed by Zombieland‘s Ruben Fleischer. It’s not like a Mel Gibson movie is going to make any money these days, but how hard is it to simply write a new concept for a buddy cop film? Pretty by-the-numbers right? What might Kevin Smith say?
Lastly, Paramount Pictures announced today that Sacha Baron Cohen’s new comedy The Dictator will be released on May 11, 2012, with Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno) set to direct. Inspired by Saddam Hussein’s best selling novel “Zabibah and The King,” it tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
