Now we don’t know how George Clooney will stack up against the hep-cat cool of Frank Sinatra, but one thing seems to be certain: That planned “Ocean’s 11” remake is shaping up to be quite an affair. Or is it?
If the casting reports in the Hollywood trades (and other sources) are to believed, the Steven Soderbergh-helmed remake — based on the 1960 Rat Pack-packed caper flick about a group of 11 old war buddies bent on knocking over a bunch of Vegas casinos on New Year’s Eve — has done nothing short of locking up an A list dream cast. The much-ignored fact remains that only Clooney — who’s signed on to star as ringleader Danny Ocean (a role previously played by Sinatra) — is committed to the project.
Bruce Willis What about the other meganames — Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis and Michael Douglas included — who have been linked to the heist flick in the past weeks? Well, while some of the aforementioned stars are indeed in talks to costar, others say they haven’t even been approached by Warner Bros., the studio behind the remake.
And how do we know? Simple. We called their people and we asked. Here’s our findings:
If they’re in the film, they don’t seem to know about it:
Bruce Willis: Last week, reports materialized stating that the actor was being courted by Warner Bros. to do a cameo as a casino owner. But when we called Wednesday to ask about if said courting was really going on, Willis‘ camp said: “To our knowledge, no.”
Michael Douglas: Many unsubstantiated reports pegged the actor for the Peter Lawford role in the remake — and the operative term here is “unsubstantiated.” Per Douglas’ publicist, “Michael has not been approached for ‘Ocean’s 11.’ He hasn’t seen the script, and no one has called him about it.”
Don Rickles: The addition of the old-timer comic would’ve been a nice touch. But alas, it ain’t so. “It’s a great idea, but Don has not been approached to star in the pic,” Rickles‘ rep told us. They’re not in the film (yet), but they are in negotiations:
Julia Roberts: The “Erin Brockovich” star might indeed reteam with director Soderbergh for the project. According to her rep, Roberts is in negotiations to play Clooney‘s estranged wife (the old Angie Dickinson part).
Brad Pitt: Word has it that Pitt will likely fill the Dean Martin slot. While his people couldn’t testify to the veracity of that info, they did confirm that the actor is in talks to costar in the flick. “No comment. I don’t know!”:
Johnny Depp: The “The Ninth Gate” star is among the many whose names have been tossed around randomly. Without dismissing or confirming the reports, the actor’s rep simply declined to comment when we called. Too busy to talk:
Deciding not to take mere minutes out of their presumably busy lives, our calls were shunned by publicists for the following reputed “Ocean’s 11” wannabes:
Mike Myers‘ rep Mark Wahlberg‘s rep Luke Wilson‘s rep Owen Wilson’s rep
