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.
Tag: Casting
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.
Munich, Mission, Muties.
In recent casting news, Geoffrey Rush joins Spielberg’s Vengeance (with Eric Bana and Daniel Craig), Laurence Fishburne boards MI:3, and Alan Cumming announces he won’t be back as Nightcrawler for X3. Well, good to hear at least the blue fuzzy elf will miss the Ratneresque carnage Fox is about to perpetrate on the X-Franchise.
Mirror, Mirror, on the wall.
Worlds of wonder abound in the trailer bin today, including our first real look at Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm (looks a bit Munchausen-y…and I hope I can get used to Matt Damon’s accent) and this trippy voyage into Neil Gaiman’s Mirrormask. And, speaking of Gaiman, his and Robert Zemeckis’ forthcoming version of Beowulf has a cast: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson, and Robin Wright Penn.
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.