Kit Bowen's Weekly Role Call, July 23
By Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com Staff
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Friday, July 23, 2004
Russell Crowe |
Crowe's going back to Oz
Russell Crowe is getting in touch with his roots, literally and figuratively. The Oscar-winning Aussie is in negotiations to star in the big-screen adaptation Eucalyptus, based on Australian author Murray Bail's award-winning novel. Set in the Australian state of New South Wales, Bail's fairy tale-like story tells of a father who is very protective of his daughter. He plants hundreds of varieties of eucalyptus trees and then decrees that only a man who can name every one of them may have his daughter's hand in marriage. Although a number of suitors appear, the man's daughter falls for a storytelling stranger (Crowe) who shares with her tales of faraway lands. Big Fish anyone?
Aniston jumps tracks with Owen
Jennifer Aniston is joining King Arthur hottie Clive Owen in Miramax's Derailed, a thriller based on James Siegel's best-selling novel. It centers on a married advertising executive (Owen) whose life takes an unpredictable turn when he falls in lust with a sexy younger woman (Aniston) whom he meets on his commuter train. When they finally set up a rendezvous in a hotel, it goes terribly wrong after an armed man bursts in, beats Charles, rapes the woman and then blackmails Charles for a staggering amount of money. Hmmm. Not a very happy film, I take it. Owen really should consider doing a comedy next.
Damon and DeCaprio duke it out
This one definitely got my attention. The Bourne Supremacy's Matt Damon is in talks to star opposite The Aviator's Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed, Martin Scorsese's remake of the Hong Kong crime saga Infernal Affairs ( I think Scorsese has found his new Robert De Niro with DiCaprio). The Warner Bros. project revolves around a gangster (Damon) who infiltrates the police department and a cop (DiCaprio) who infiltrates the gang, at the same time. Imagine that! The two find out there's a mole is in the other's organization and race to find out each other's identity. Oh, I see a bloody, guns blazin', fists flyin' confrontation. Cool.
Ferrell is indeed Stranger Than Fiction
Hot off his hit comedy Anchorman, Will Ferrell is now in negotiations to star in the comedy Stranger Than Fiction, with Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) set to direct. The film revolves around an IRS auditor whose life is interrupted by the sound of a personal narrator who knows his every thought, feeling and action, including when and where he will die. Huh? Let's hope Ferrell can make some sense out of this rather lame-sounding premise and turn it into something hilarious. Before Stranger, though, there's Bewitched, which Ferrell starts shooting in September. In the big-screen version of the popular '60s TV show, the actor is playing the hapless mortal Darren to Nicole Kidman's pretty witch Samantha. This one's gonna work, I can feel it.
Watch out Lindsay--you're about to get overexposed
Raise your hand if you're starting to get a little tired of drama teen queen Lindsay Lohan. Too bad, 'cause you're going to see a lot more of her. The Mean Girls star is set to headline a slew of films, including a Disney Love Bug rehash Herbie: Fully Loaded and Lady Luck about a lucky girl who switches places with a loser. Now, she's also attached to an untitled romantic comedy with Nick Cannon, in which she'll play a young girl trying to make it big in New York's fashion world who gets set up on a date with a guy who is blind. That sounds vaguely familiar to yet another Lohan project, Fashionistas, about an inspiring fashion designer who interns at a New York fashion magazine but whose plan to seek revenge on her demanding female editor backfires, leaving her to juggle being a lowly assistant by day while being the secret "It" designer and toast of New York by night--all while falling in love with New York's hottest bachelor. I'm getting a headache already.
Howard revisits Eden
Director Ron Howard and his Imagine partner Brian Grazer are tackling another big-screen adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, a modern retelling of the Cain and Abel story set in the lush northern California town of Salinas. Most of you will remember the Oscar-winning 1955 film starring James Dean ("You're tearing me apart!"), and few may remember the pretty decent 1981 mini-series, starring Jane Seymour and Timothy Bottoms. But under the guidance of Howard and Grazer, who have tapped Paul Attanasio (Donnie Brasco) to return to the pages of the Steinbeck classic, rather than doing a straight remake, this could reap Oscar gold once again. As far as casting, I think Colin Farrell might make an excellent Cal Trask, Eden's brooding "Cain" in the story of sibling rivalry. The Irishman has the bad boy thing down pat.
The Massacre starts all over again
A prequel to the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has survived a fevered rights battle with Dimension Films and New Line Cinema and is now in the works. Making the industry squabbling story short, New Line wound up spending an extra $3 million to keep the Massacre franchise in its fold, after the original rights holders went shopping for a better deal. Considering how much last year's modern remake made at the box office ($80.1 million), however, New Line was smart to pony up the cash. Now, as far as plot goes, we've heard the horror flick will revolve around a group of sibling soldiers who cross paths with chainsaw-wielding lead character. Prequel? How about seeing what Leatherface was like as a kid? Yikes.
Superheroes are people, too
Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston are set to star as super-parents in Sky High, a teen comedy set in a world where superheroes are an everyday occurrence. They will play Commander Stronghold and Josie Jetstream, respectively, the parents of a boy attending a high school for super-powered teens. Michael Angarano already has been cast as their son, a possible future hero. As corny as this may sound on paper, it does have some potential, especially if Pixar's The Incredibles--about a gang of retired superheroes reunited for one last mission--does as well in November as we all know it will.
Leoni replaces Diaz in Dick and Jane
Cute-as-a-button Tea Leoni is in negotiations to star opposite Jim Carrey in Columbia Pictures' Fun With Dick and Jane, which begins shooting later this summer. She would replace Cameron Diaz, who was originally attached to star. Dean Parisot is directing the remake of the 1977 comedy, which starred George Segal and Jane Fonda as a down-on-their-luck couple who turn to robbery to maintain their lavish lifestyle. Remake has been updated with Carrey playing an Enron-like exec who finds himself an unemployed pariah. Mindless fun to be had by all.
Until next week…
Photo(s) by Ken Kwok- © 2002- Hollywood.com, Inc- All Rights Reserved