The Farrelly brothers are handing out hall passes left and right these days. In the past week, the duo’s Hall Pass has added “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” J.B. Smoove, Ricky Gervais’ partner Stephen Merchant, Christina Applegate, Alyssa Milano, Larry Campbell and Vanessa Angel. Those folks join previously the announced cast of Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer (who stars in NBC’s “The Office,” which Merchant and Gervais originally created for the BBC), Amanda Bynes, Nicky Whelan and Derek Waters.The comedy began shooting this week in Atlanta and centers on what happens when two husbands get permission to stray from their marriages for a week of guilt-free romantic liaisons.
Last week, we talked about Matt Damon possibly starring in a Yankees sex-scandal pic with his best buddy Ben Affleck. This week, Deadline.com reported that Damon could also star as Robert F. Kennedy in a biopic that Gary Ross is directing. The project is at New Regency and is based on the Evan Thomas biography, “His Life.” It would focus on RFK’s emergence from the shadow of his brother to becoming an important national leader before he was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968. Damon will wait for Steven Knight’s script before committing to the film. Meanwhile, in related Damon news, it was revealed this week that both he and Jake Gyllenhaal were approached about playing Jake Sully in James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Cameron told the LA Times that offering the actors the role, however, was more to placate the studio chiefs.“Honestly, did I go out and try to woo them? No. I had my heart set on Sam (Worthington). Maybe they sensed my lack of 100% commitment from me. Maybe it was the subject matter. This was a big ‘Star Wars’-type movie. They’re both serious actors,” Cameron told the LAT.
It was a good week for a “Hangover.” Pajiba reported that Anna Faris and Jennifer Garner will star in The Bachelorette Party, which sees a high-school teacher recently left at the altar who must now throw a huge hen night for her uptight cousin – who’s marrying the teacher’s best male friend. During the drunken soiree, the uptight cousin betrays her fiance with an indiscretion, leaving the teacher to decide where her loyalties lie. Pajiba adds that the script is written by Karen Lutz, who also wrote the novel the movie will be adapted from and wrote the Faris comedy The House Bunny, along with the Katherine Heigl-starrer The Ugly Truth.
Speaking of drunken pre-wedding nights, Hangover star Bradley Cooper this week pulled out of spy comedy project “This Means War,” in which he was set to star opposite Reese Witherspoon. McG is in negotiations to direct that film which was set to begin filming in July.Fox, the studio behind “War,” told Entertainment Weekly that Cooper had dropped out because of scheduling conflicts with “The Hangover 2.” The mag’s Hollywood Insider blog, however, notes that Todd Philips isn’t planning on shooting the sequel until fall…
