Variety is reporting Jackass star Johnny Knoxville is close to a deal to star as Moe for Peter and Bobby Farrelly in their The Three Stooges feature at Fox. Benicio Del Toro was previously set to play Moe opposite Sean Penn and Jim Carrey. The shift in casting is being perceived as a move to attract a younger audience, you know, the group that didn’t grow up with the Stooges, but are apparently clamoring for a feature film. The plan is to divide the PG-rated film into three, 27-minute segments driven by physical comedy. The Playlist says Andy Samberg and Will Sasso (“$#*! My Dad Says”) are vying for the role of Curly while Shane Jacobsen, Justin Timberlake, Woody Harrelson and Larry David are all said to have been approached as prospective Larrys. Production is apparently eying an April start.
Next is a correction on a previous piece as Trent Reznor has now posted on his Nine Inch Nails message board that he is no longer attached to star in or score Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
Next, Deadline reports MGM has hired Josh Zetumer to pen the screenplay for their anticipated RoboCop remake for recently named director Jose Padilha. While Zetumer’s work is unknown to audiences he has been part of a few high profile projects including writing a 175-page draft of the Dune remake which was to be directed by Pierre Morel (Taken) before it fell apart. He also took a stab at the fourth Bourne film before it changed directions and Tony Gilroy took over.
Deadline reports Benicio Del Toro will make his directing debut in 7 Days in Havana. He’s one of seven directors for the picture, each taking on a different day of the week with recurring characters acting as connective tissue between them. Among them are Laurent Cantet (The Class), Gaspar Noe (Irreversible) and Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia). Del Toro’s segment, “Monday,” is being shot as a documentary that follows Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) as he explores the island for the first time.
Matthew McConaughey seems to have his heart set on becoming an interesting actor again and has continued down that path with the L.A. Times reporting he will head The Dallas Buyer’s Club. The 1980s-set drama tells the story of Ron Woodroof, a Dallas electrician diagnosed with AIDS. Doctors gave him just a few months to live, but he managed to survive for six more years and prolong the lives of countless others by creating a smuggling operation for alternative treatments. The film was once a Universal project with Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling attached to star at different stages, but the film will now go the independent route with director Jean-Marc Valle (The Young Victoria).
Elysium, director Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to District 9, has found its villain in the form of Wagner Moura, who’s best known for starring in the Brazilian crime thrillers Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2. He joins Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley and Jodie Foster in the sci-fi film set 100 years in the future on another planet. Latino Review was the first to report the news. The film is set to shoot this summer with a targeted March 8, 2013 release date.
According to Deadline, CBS Films has acquired the rights to Gambit, a remake of the 1966 Michael Caine-Shirley MacLaine British caper film. The script was written by Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Colin Firth as an art curator and Cameron Diaz as the rodeo queen he enlists in a scam to con England’s richest man. Michael Hoffman (The Last Station) will direct. Could this be first hit for the studio responsible for the likes of Beastly and The Back-Up Plan?
Would you go see a film called The Hand Job? Could you order a ticket for it without blushing? I guess we’ll find out soon enough as The Wrap reports comedienne Maggie Carey will write and direct the project, which centers on a studious girl who graduates high school and hasn’t done anything with a guy. So naturally, she makes a check list of everything she wants to do before entering college. Sounds like a feminist spin on the familiar sex comedy formula. The film will star Audrey Plaza (Funny People) and will also feature Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development”), Mae Whitman (“Parenthood”), Johnny Simmons (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), Donald Glover (“Community”), Andy Samberg, Bill Hader and McLovin Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Variety has news that the heist film Brilliant will be directed by Robert Luketic (21, Killers). The plot revolves around a small-time criminal who joins accomplished thieves in a diamond heist. Look for casting to begin shortly.
And finally, Heat Vision delivers a story so ridiculous I couldn’t resist reporting. Producers Scott Glassgold and Raymond Brothers of IAM Entertainment have closed a deal to begin development on a film centering on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “We’re aiming to make a four-quadrant, family-friendly film somewhere in that Night at the Museum, Elf sweet spot,” Glassgold explains. One concept involves the floats coming to life. Oh boy.
