Wayans Gets Hit with Ugly Stick
Marlon Wayans is set to develop, produce and star in Pretty Ugly, a comedy about a handsome lifestyle mogul who wakes up looking hideous because of a curse. As a result he must discover his inner beauty to save his company and win over the woman he loves. I guess the guy just likes to look completely different in all of his really bad comedies. Along with his brother Shawn Wayans, Marlon just starred in Little Man, in which he plays a little person disguising himself as baby so he can hide out from some bad guys. And before that the bros donned extreme character makeup in 2004’s White Chicks, playing white, rich heiresses. But you know what? As offensive as these movies are, they make money. So studios are going to keep throwing money at the Wayans brothers, no matter what they come up with. In addition, Marlon and his brother Shawn wrote, directed and voiced Nickelodeon’s Thugaboo, a series of animated specials about the trials and tribulations of nine inner city kids. Now, that might be fun.
Reilly’s WalkAbout
Hot off his hilarious performance in Talladega Nights, John C. Reilly may be teaming with The 40 Year-Old Virgin’s Judd Apatow and Orange County director Jake Kasdan for the comedy Walk Hard. The story is about fictional music legend Dewey Cox, whose life becomes as messy as the protagonists in Ray and Walk the Line, films that inspired the biopic spoof. Reilly, who has sung and played harmonica in blues bands, last sang onscreen in Prairie Home Companion, as well as his Oscar-nominated turn in Chicago. “It’s an idea Jake had after seeing one too many musical biopics and feeling it was time to have some fun with that,” Reilly told Variety. “My character is an amalgamation of a number of classic musician stories, tales of excess, highs and lows and bad behavior.” Sounds like a winner to me.
Oh, Those South Park Guys…
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are at it again. The duo, who have no qualms making fun of just about everyone and everything, have set their sights on two live-action films at Paramount. They’ll first make the high school comedy My All-American and then follow up with Giant Monsters Attack Japan!, a film that will combine live-action with the “rubber suit” techniques made popular in Asian imports like Godzilla. That’s right up their ally. Parker will direct each film and Stone produce; both will work on the scripts with the writers. “Neither of these movies feel like vehicles for big stars, but this will be our opportunity to find out if there are any actors left who want to work with us,” Stone told Variety. Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty.
Nolan Takes No Prisoners
Looks like Christopher Nolan will direct a feature version of British TV series classic The Prisoner. The series lasted only 17 episodes in 1967 and starred Patrick McGoohan as a government agent who resigns, is kidnapped and placed on an isolated island known as the Village. He’s given a new identity — Number Six — and interacts with an island staff trying to get him to reveal why he resigned. A cross between Lost and Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island perhaps? Who knows, but in the hands of auteur Nolan, I’m sure it will be quite intriguing.
Fraser Goes Kiddie Flick, While Narnia’s McAvoy Goes Sci-Fi
Brendan Fraser is set to star in Inkheart, an adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s best-selling children’s novel. The book centers on a girl whose father, a bookbinder, has the power to bring characters from books to life by reading aloud. When a villainous ruler and his band of rogues from a children’s fable kidnap the man, his daughter and her friends–both real and imaginary–must set things right. Fraser will play the father, Mortimer “Mo” Folchart, who also is known as Silvertongue. Cool. Meanwhile, James McAvoy, who played Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, in last year’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, has landed the starring role in sci-fi actioner Wanted. Based on a comic-book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, the story follows a put-upon young man who discovers that his long-lost father is an assassin. After his dad is murdered, the son is recruited into a covert organization of killers and trained to follow in his father’s footsteps. These comic-book-turned-movies are all starting to blend together, I swear. Need to give it a break.
Rappers Join Scott’s Gangster
Rappers playing gangsters? Get out! Believe it or not, RZA, T.I. and Common have joined the cast of American Gangster, a 1970s crime drama from director Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Also cast are Chiwetel Ejiofor (Inside Man) and John Ortiz (Miami Vice). The movie is based on the life of drug kingpin-turned-informant Frank Lucas (Washington), who shipped heroin to the United States in the coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam. Very nice. Lucas was then brought to justice by lawman Richie Roberts (Crowe) and ended up working with Roberts to expose the crooked cops and foreign nationals. RZA, a member of rap collective the Wu-Tang Clan, will be one of Crowe‘s partners, who is an expert in surveillance. T.I. and Common will play members of Washington’s drug empire. All nit and grit, I suppose.
King’s Cell Gets Big Screen Treatment
I’m actually really excited about this one since I just read the book and have always been a huge Stephen King fan. Dimension Films has acquired rights to King‘s latest novel Cell and has set Hostel helmer Eli Roth to direct it. No cast has been selected as yet. King‘s novel is a throwback to his early apocalyptic horror novels, such as The Stand, one of the most gripping novels ever. In Cell, in a single moment, a pulse sent out through cell phones around the world turns every phone user into a crazed, murderous zombie. Roth told Variety King is his favorite writer and accepted right after reading the book. “I couldn’t put it down. It was such a balls-out horror movie with a smart take on the zombie genre,” he said. It’s true, it really is. Let’s just hope somewhere down the line it doesn’t get screwed up, like so many King stories-turned-movies do. I have faith in Mr. Roth.
Until next week…
