Lots of casting news today on the horror remake front…first, Leelee Sobieski and Ellen Burstyn have joined Neil La Bute’s Wicker Man, in what sounds like the Britt Ekland and Christopher Lee roles respectively. And, likely appearing as Gregory Peck and Lee Remick in a new version of The Omen are Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. (For their part, the AICN guys think they’ve found the new Damien.)
Category: Casting
Crabgrass (and Martian) Frontiers.
Some trailers for movies I doubt I’ll see: Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni keep up with the Joneses via armed robbery in Fun with Dick and Jane, Eomer and The Rock wield BFGs in the totally unnecessary film version of Doom, and suburban housewife Julianne Moore pens her way to big bucks (much to the chagrin of man-of-the-house Woody Harrelson) in The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio. Ho-hum. Also in film news, Ellen Page is Kitty Pryde in X3, which sits better with me than the idea of Eli of Freaks & Geeks as Angel.
Munich, Marie, and the Middle Kingdom.
Some director news in brief: Spielberg’s Vengeance is now Munich, Sofia Coppola takes historical liberties with Marie Antoinette, and John Woo may be plotting a comeback with The War of the Red Cliff, a Crouching Tiger-esque tale rumored to star Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Ken Watanabe, and Chow Yun-Fat. Now, that’s a cast, and no mistake.
Two Finches, One Fury.
In fanboy cinema news, Alien 3, Fight Club and Se7en director David Fincher picks up two new projects: Zodiac, yet another serial-killer flick starring Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr., and Anthony Edwards, and Benjamin Button, which concerns Brad Pitt aging backward from the age of fifty (while romancing Cate Blanchett.) Elsewhere, Bruce Willis as Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D? Beats Hasselhoff, I suppose. Update: Gary Oldman joins Zodiac.
Method Clowning.
Sean Penn as The Joker? I’ve been hoping for Adrien Brody as the Clown Prince of Crime myself, but it’s definitely outside-the-box thinking.
In the Company of Spiders.
That ’70s Show and In Good Company star Topher Grace joins the cast of Spiderman 3, likely as a villain. It seems pretty clear Thomas Haden Church is The Sandman, but I can’t think offhand of who Grace might be playing. Electro, perhaps? Or will he be Venom?
Frasier goes mental.
Some strange fanboy news afoot on this day of Sith: Avi Arad announces Kelsey Grammer will play Beast in X3. Also, Angel and Kitty Pryde have yet to be cast, although Maggie Grace of Lost is apparently in the running for the latter. (On the villain side, we already knew Vinnie Jones is Juggernaut.) That’s…weird. But y’know, I could actually see it working.
E for Elrond.
From agent to revolutionary…Word is Hugo Weaving has replaced James Purefoy as the lead in V for Vendetta. I must say, that casting switch makes this project considerably more exciting.
Van Kenting.
Word is Hugh Jackman plays Pa Kent in the new Superman. Well, ok, then, although I’m pretty sure even Wolvie would find Glenn Ford a tough nut to crack.
Never Say Never Again.
Clive Owen, Daniel Craig, Julian McMahon…according to Dame Judi Dench (a.k.a. M), it’s all hoopla, and Pierce Brosnan will return as James Bond in the forthcoming Casino Royale.