She’s Baaaaaack!
Winona Ryder has joined the cast of Sex and Death 101, reuniting her with Heathers‘ writer/director Daniel Waters. Remember, that’s the film that started the actress’ career, making her the Gen X It girl. But with a few flops (Lost Souls, Autumn in New York) and a shoplifting conviction under her belt, Ryder has been laying low. This year, however, she’s got a couple of films coming out, including Richard Linklater’s weirdly animated A Scanner Darkly. And now Sex and Death 101. The flick tells the story of a man (Simon Baker) whose life is upended by a mysterious e-mail containing the 101 names of every woman he has had sex with and, eerily, every woman he will have sex with in the future. He is stopped in his tracks when he meets Ryder, a feminist vigilante who targets men guilty of sex crimes against women and becomes an urban folk hero. Julie Bowen (TV’s Boston Legal) also has joined the cast and will play No. 29 on the long list of Baker‘s libidinous conquests. The movie will be “hard R” for nudity, sex scenes and frequent references to sex, producer Cary Brokaw told The Hollywood Reporter. Excellent.
Baz and His Saga
Baz Luhrmann‘s WWII Australian epic is in a bit of trouble. Russell Crowe, who said yes long ago to starring with Nicole Kidman in the yet untitled drama, departed last week after disagreements with the studio–but then changed his mind and said he was interested again. A report in the New York Post, however, said Luhrmann had already found a replacement, fellow Aussie Heath Ledger, and that Crowe’s services were no longer needed. The latest now is the Brokeback Mountain star has passed due to other interests. Oops. Now Luhrmann is without a leading man. Of course, Kidman is still attached to the project, and pre-production is apparently going forward, Variety reports, but it just goes to show you how fragile these things are, no matter who’s involved. Luhrmann hasn’t had much luck of late. Coming off his Oscar-nominated Moulin Rouge, the director has been looking to follow up with something grand. He was poised to direct an epic about Alexander the Great with producer Dino De Laurentiis but was beaten to the punch by director Oliver Stone, robbing Luhrmann of several years’ worth of momentum. Damn you, Oliver! Luhrmann’s may have been a LOT better. And now this. Must be very discouraging for the director. Of course, Crowe himself is not immune to experiencing canceled projects. He and Kidman last year were set to star in another all-Aussie effort, the Jocelyn Moorhouse-directed Fox drama Eucalyptus. But that film fell apart over creative differences. Imagine that.
Foster Puts on a Brave Face
Naveen Andrews and Mary Steenburgen are joining Jodie Foster in The Brave One, a revenge thriller being directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game). Foster is set as the title character, a woman who recovers from a brutal attack and sets out on a dark psychological and physical journey for revenge and justice. Wait, doesn’t this sounds suspiciously like Foster’s The Accused? In that film, the actress won one of her Academy Awards playing a girl gang-raped in a bar who then successfully gets the other guys who cheered the attackers on prosecuted as well. Guess Jodie likes this kind of stuff. Andrews, who just so good as Sayid on TV’s Lost, will play Foster‘s fiancé in Brave, while Steenburgen will play her boss at the newspaper for which she writes.
Oops, Thurman Is Already Married
Uma Thurman is set to star in romantic comedy The Accidental Husband for the Yari Film Group, which is eyeing Griffin Dunne to direct. The story revolves around a psychologist who gets engaged but then learns she is already married. Tracking down the rogue husband, she finds she’s conflicted about which man to remain with. I see, so its just another, maybe not-so-cuter version of Sweet Home Alabama. My question is this: How can you not know you’re married? At least Reese Witherspoon knew she was still married in Alabama. And although the choice between Patrick Dempsey and Josh Lucas may have been difficult, Josh always had the upper hand. But I digress. Suffice to say, the premise seems silly–at least to me.
It’s Hard to Kill This Franchise
A fourth Die Hard installment is slowly coming together, with Len Wiseman (the Underworld films and Kate Beckinsale’s husband) in talks to direct Bruce Willis in the action franchise. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Die Hard 4 will revolve around Willis‘ John McClane character, who comes out of retirement to battle an Internet terrorist organization. The three Die Hard films, which came out in 1988, 1990 and 1995, have earned $740 worldwide and influenced a generation of action filmmaking. The franchise also made then-TV actor Willis into a bona fide film star. So why not a fourth one? Willis can still pull the action hero thing off. He’s not in Harrison Ford territory–yet.
Myers Gives Love Advice; The Hitcher Gets Remade
Mike Myers is in final negotiations to write, produce and star in an untitled self-help comedy, which centers on a self-help guru named Pitka, called upon to solve a couple’s romantic problems. Like Myers‘ groovy Austin Powers incarnation, Pitka was created and work-shopped by Myers at several theaters in Manhattan. Let’s just hope he’s not too obnoxious. Meanwhile, those knuckleheads in Hollywood have decided to remake the little 1986 horror gem The Hitcher, with Sean Bean attached to star as the serial killer. The original movie, which starred Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell, follows a guy (Howell) on a cross-country trip who escapes the clutches of a psychotic hitchhiker/serial killer (Hauer) but is then framed for all killer’s murders. In the updated version, it’s a hapless young couple stuck in the hellish nightmare. Just don’t think its necessary to remake this one, guys.
Until next week…
