I’m not sure I understand The Hangover Part II‘s strategy of trying to lasso the troubled celebrity of the week for a cameo, but Bad Ass Digest reports they’re now targeting Charlie Sheen. This comes after the Mel Gibson cameo was scrapped due to lack of support from the cast and crew. Liam Neeson replaced Gibson in the tattoo artist role, so where does Sheen fit in? The sequel is done filming (have you seen the teaser trailer?), but I suppose they can always film a last-minute scene like Samuel L. Jackson does in the Marvel movies or Dustin Hoffman did with Little Fockers. But what on Earth would Sheen be doing in Bangkok?
Spoilers abound in this report from Latino Review, as the site claims to know who will be the antagonists in The Avengers. I’m not going to repost the info here, but follow the link if you wish. It will likely only mean something to those familiar with the Marvel universe anyway, though I’m pretty sure it spoils the outcome of Thor as well.
Oscar winner Barry Levinson hasn’t directed a great film in years (I’d have to go all the way back to 1997 for Wag the Dog, although You Don’t Know Jack was a pretty good TV movie), but this next project sounds quite promising. Deadline reports he’ll direct O.K.C., an indie drama about the real circumstances behind the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The script by Clay Wold is based on the true story of his own brother, a young legal clerk on the defense team of bomber Timothy McVeigh who was nearly destroyed by his own determination to expose the truth. I’m a sucker for conspiracy theories, and this is a colossal event that has gone largely untapped in the world of film.
Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), all of which are being considered the the lead role in Lionsgate’s adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games. The film takes place in a dystopian future where a young girl joins a survival contest to save her community, and Lionsgate hopes it will produce a Twilight-like franchise. While Lawrence, who is said to be the top choice, is 20, both Steinfeld and Breslin are 14. Variety notes that the age of the lead is a huge factor because it will impact the audience demographic and the casting of other roles.
UPDATE: Entertainment Weekly adds Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In), Lyndsy Fonseca (Kick-Ass), Emma Roberts (Scream 4), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones), Kaya Scodelario (Clash of the Titans), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) and Shailene Woodley (“The O.C.”) to the mix.
Also at Variety, “Community” and “Mad Men” regular Alison Brie will try out a British accent and play Emily Blunt’s younger sister in the Judd Apatow produced Five-Year Engagement. Jason Segal co-wrote and will star alongside Blunt in the project, which charts the ups and downs of the couple’s relationship. Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will direct, with production set to start at the end of April. Brie will also be seen as one of the stars of April’s Scream 4. Or is it now officially called Scre4m? I give up. However, Brad did just add four new stills from Scream 4 (one of which features Brie), which you can get right here and the first three films are coming to Blu-ray in March, which you can get details on right here.
Disney will reunite Toy Story stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in Jungle Cruise, yet another film inspired by one of their theme park attractions. I’m sure Disney is hoping for more of a result closer to Pirates of the Caribbean than The Haunted Mansion.
Writer/directors Tim and Eric from Funny or Die and Adult Swim have begun shooting their “billion dollar movie,” according to The Wrap. The cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Jeff Goldblum and Will Forte. This is the first I’ve heard of these guys so I have to ask: Are Tim and Eric any good? Could this movie be funny? The film has distribution through Magnolia Pictures and centers on these Tim and Eric characters, who get literally a billion dollars to make a movie but decide to become businessmen in an abandoned mall when things go awry.
Lastly, The One Ring noticed that New Line has registered two film titles that could be a good indication of what the two Hobbit movies are going to be called. They are The Hobbit: There and Back Again and The Hobbit: An/The Unexpected Journey. Good titles? What do you think?
