We’ve got a bunch of actors making, or preparing to make some big moves this week.
Marc Webb is circling some of Hollywood’s hottest up and coming talents for the role of Harry Osborn in his “Amazing Spider-Man” sequel while David Yates has narrowed his focus on just one actor for the lead in “Tarzan,” Alexander Skarsgard. First time director Andrea di Stefano landed Benicio del Toro to play Pablo Escobar in “Paradise Lost” and Ubisoft locked Tom Hardy to lead its “Splinter Cell” adaptation.
Looking for casting news as well as the details on the One Direction movie, Adam McKay’s music plans for “Anchorman 2” and more? It’s all in your weekly Movie News Cheat Sheet below.
1. Dane DeHaan, Brady Corbet or Alden Ehrenreich for Harry Osborn: The hunt for Harry Osborn is underway and, according to THR, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” director, Marc Webb, has honed in on Dane DeHann, Brady Corbet and Alden Ehrenreich, as they fit the part’s “dark and edgy” description. The article points out that there could be other names in the mix, but this trio is certainly a solid start. Ehrenreich is tougher to champion without having seen “Tetro” and with “Beautiful Creatures” still on the horizon, but both Corbet and DeHaan have proved themselves worthy of higher profile roles, and ones that could benefit from having an actor capable of turning a secondary character into one with a major presence, much like James Franco did in the Sam Raimi trilogy.
2. Benicio del Toro is Pablo Escobar: As reported by Variety, Benicio del Toro is near to locking the role of Pablo Escobar in Andrea di Stefano’s feature debut, “Paradise Lost.” The thriller romance puts the focus on Nick, a young surfer who winds up falling in love with a local girl while visiting his brother in Colombia – Escobar’s niece. Producer Dimitri Rassam calls del Toro “one of the rare actors with enough charisma and range to play such a multi-faceted character as Escobar, who could be wonderfully charming yet dangerous and menacing.” Rassam also points out that “Paradise Lost” isn’t an Escobar biopic, rather “a narrative structure in the vein of ‘The Last King of Scotland,’ weaving Nick and Maria’s romance with Nick’s ambivalent and destructive relationship with Escobar.” An 11-week shoot is set to begin in March in Panama.
3. Tom Hardy Takes “Splinter Cell:” Tom Hardy is fantastic as Bane in “The Dark Knight” and in supporting roles in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “Inception” and more, but it’s time for him to be the big hero. According to Variety, Hardy is set to lead the adaptation of the video game “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell.” The film doesn’t have a studio yet, but Ubisoft has been chatting with Warner Bros. and Paramount, and the addition of Hardy will certainly make the project a big draw. He’ll play Sam Fisher, an operative part of the black-ops operation, Echelon. Of Hardy, Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet explains, “Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills.” Could we finally have a quality videogame-to-film adaptation on the way? Between this and “Assassin’s Creed” it’s likely and, therefore, it’s likely to come from Ubisoft.
4. David Yates Wants Alexander Skarsgård for “Tarzan:” Going from vampire to jungle man will involve quite the transition. David Yates is almost ready to pick a leading man for his “Tarzan” movie and, via Variety, his #1 choice is “True Blood’s” Alexander Skarsgard. There’s no offer out just yet and Skarsgard’s rep had no comment, but Warner Bros is expected to green light the project by the end of the year and begin production in the summer of 2013. Yates’ Tarzan is Tarzan going by the name John Clayton III. It’s been years since Tarzan returned to society and reassimilated, and now Queen Victoria is asking him to head to the Congo to investigate a situation involving a warlord with control over a diamond mine. Samuel Jackson is being considered to take on the role of George Washington Williams, an ex-mercenary who joins Tarzan on his mission.
5. New Trailers for YA Adaptations “The Host” and “Mortal Instruments:” Now that “The Twilight Saga” has come and gone, are you looking for the next big thing in YA book-to-film adaptations? My bets are still on “Divergent,” but “The Host” and “The Mortal Instruments” are looking pretty good, too, based on their brand new trailers. Stemming from Stephenie Meyer’s book, “The Host” takes place after an alien invasion during which “Souls” took over human bodies. Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) is one of few humans left and when a Soul named Wanderer attempts to occupy her body, Melanie refuses to give way and let Wanderer consume her. “The Mortal Instruments” comes from the pen of Cassandra Clare and focuses on a young girl named Clary (Lily Collins). Desperate to find out what happened to her mother, Clary’s search leads her right into the world of the Shadowhunters, one filled with vampires, demons, warlocks and more, and right in New York City nonetheless.
6. Kit Harington to Lead “Pompeii:” “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D” may have left Kit Harington with a little blemish on his resume, but the “Game of Thrones” star is way too far along for that to stop him now. Harington already has “Thrones” season three, “The Seventh Son” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” on the way, and soon he’ll probably add “Pompeii” to the list, too. According to THR, Harington is in negotiations for the lead in Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest, a film about the epic 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The project is described as a period adventure with a love story, somewhat along the lines of “Titanic.” Looking at Anderson’s recent credits – and really his entire resume for that matter – it’s tough to imagine “Pompeii” being of a certain quality, but who can argue with a volcanic disaster movie starring John Snow?
7. One Direction Coming to the Big Screen: Start swooning ladies; the boys of One Direction are about to get big – big screen big. As announced by Sony Pictures (via Coming Soon), Morgan Spurlock is set to direct a 3D film for the fast-rising group consisting of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. Spurlock explains, “To capture this journey and share it with audiences around the world will be an epic undertaking that I am proud to be a part of,” while Simon Cowell, the man responsible for the group’s formation, notes, “I’m delighted we’re making this film and Morgan is the perfect person to give that access-all-areas, behind-the-scenes look into what it’s like to be One Direction today. What the band have achieved is incredible, they and their fans have made history around the world – this is for them.”
8. “Anchorman 2” to Get Musical: Sticking with the music theme, The Playlist is reporting that the “Anchorman” sequel will have musical numbers. Director Adam McKay tells the outlet there will be music and that “we have some songs already written.” McKay continues, recalling, “We were going to do ‘Anchorman 2’ as a Broadway musical first, for like six months and then go shoot the movie. That was our initial idea.” Apparently the film will have entire sequences done in movie musical format and McKay is interested in filming them “Les Misérables” style, with the actors singing the tunes live on set rather than having them pre-recorded. Of the story, McKay explains, “Even thought it’s going to be a big silly movie, it’s all about the rise of the new media and 24 hour news cycle, and there’s a lot of interesting points to make about that while being silly.” “Anchorman 2,” silly? I just can’t believe it!
9. Trailers: “Now You See Me,” “The Heat,” “Admission:” The first trailer for “Now You See Me” shows off a few solid tricks of the eye as well as a top-notch cast. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Atlas, one of the four members of the magic group, The Four Horsemen, who manage to use their illusions to rob banks and expose white-collar criminals. On the comedic side we find Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in the trailer for “The Heat.” While it’s fun watching the duo in buddy cop mode, it’s still rather tuff to shake “Bridesmaids” and view McCarthy as someone other than Megan in a wig, sans puppies. Paul Rudd and Tina Fey may be cracking jokes per usual in “Admission,” but the trailer also suggests the film’s got a good deal of heart. It doesn’t come close to confirming the mixture works, but it’s still charming and certainly raises intrigue.
10. Box Office: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” may not have had as big an opening as “New Moon,” but it still enabled the franchise to go out with quite the bang. “Breaking Dawn – Part 2” posted a $141.3 million start, just about $1.5 million shy of “New Moon’s” $142.8 million start. As expected, “Skyfall” took a hefty hit, dropping 53%, but that still leaves the film with a solid $41.5 million for its second weekend out. “Lincoln” got a nice boost from its additional 1,764 theaters, jumping 2,123.9% for a $21 million weekend two haul. “Wreck-It Ralph” held on relatively well, dropping 44.5% from weekend two to three while “Flight” saw a similar loss, falling 41.7% for a $8.6 million weekend three intake. (via Box Office Mojo)
