1.) As if director Jose Padilha wasn’t already Deadline]
2.) While Alan Rickman is set to play President Ronald Reagan as one of several presidential portrayals in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Michael Douglas has signed on to play the 40th U.S. President in another, more Reagan-centric, picture. The film is Reykjavic, which tracks the 1986 summit between Reagan and USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland. As with seemingly every other project these days, the film was once another potential Ridley Scott directing vehicle, so he’ll once again stick around to produce the $10 million indie through Scott Free for new director Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco). [THR]
3.) Ryan Gosling will make his directorial debut with his Drive co-star Christina Hendricks set to play the lead role. The film is a modern day fairy tale called How to Catch a Monster. Hendricks will play a single mother of two, swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. I have to say, I was expecting something closer to Half Nelson or Blue Valentine when I read “Ryan Gosling directorial debut,” but I’m quite excited for this. [/Film]
4.) In typical Terrence Malick fashion, several big-name actors saw their work completely excised from the final cut of his new film To The Wonder. Rachel Weisz, Barry Pepper, Michael Sheen and Amanda Peet all filmed supporting roles for the film, but none of them will appear on the big screen when it premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday. I suppose it says a lot about the community’s respect for Malick that quality actors still line up to work with him, even knowing these risks exist as Malick continues to rewrite and reshape his films in the editing room. You might remember Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Sheen, Gary Oldman, Viggo Mortenson and Mickey Rourke were just a few of the actors who delivered performances that were left off the final cut of The Thin Red Line. [Deadline]
5.) I’ll leave you with this cool new Bob Dylan music video. It’s noteworthy because it features a cameo from Joel Edgerton (Warrior, Zero Dark Thirty) and was directed by his brother Nash Edgerton, who directed the excellent Australian neo noir a few years ago. It also borrows a lot from Chaplin’s City Lights. [The Guardian]
