Hartnett Needs Some Light
Josh Hartnett seems to enjoy making movies with numbers in them. He starred in 40 Days and 40 Nights and most recently in Lucky Number Slevin (OK, not exactly a number, per se, but the word “number” is there). The actor is now in final negotiations to take the lead in 30 Days of Night, based on the comic book of the same name. It is set in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the U.S., where the sun does not appear for more than 30 days during the dead of winter. An evil force emerges from the darkness, striking terror in the town. The local sheriffs–a husband (Hartnett)-and-wife team–are forced to choose between saving themselves and helping the town survive until daylight returns. They are still looking for the female lead. Why not Scarlett Johansson, Hartnett’s real-life squeeze? That could make for some fun chemistry, as they fight off the things that go bump in the night.
Wilson Plays Solider
As one of Hollywood’s go-to comedy guys these days, Owen Wilson has signed on to star in the high-concept comedy Drillbit Taylor for Paramount Pictures. Based on an original idea by John Hughes, who wrote a 70-page treatment a couple of years ago, Drillbit revolves around two high school freshmen who are targeted by the school bully on the first day of the school year. The boys hire who they think is a low-budget soldier of fortune (Wilson) to protect them, but he turns out to be anything but. Wait, back up–John Hughes? THE John Hughes? The creator of seminal ‘80s teen movies such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club? Whatever happened to that guy? This last time he did anything of note was the 1991 Curly Sue. I guess Hughes has still got his head in the same place with Drillbit, although he’s not the one who’s carrying it, according to the Hollywood Reporter. That would be Steven Brill (Without a Paddle), in negotiations to direct, with Chris Brown and Seth Rogen writing the screenplay with input from director Judd Apatow (Rogen and Apatow are the guys behind The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Still, it’s nice to see Hughes’ name again.
Portman and Bana May Get the Girl
Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman and Munich’s Eric Bana are in final talks to take the lead roles the historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl, with TV director Justin Chadwick signed on to make his feature debut. Based on a novel by Philippa Gregory, the story revolves around the ferociously ambitious Boleyn sisters, Mary and Anne (Portman), who are rivals for the bed and heart of 16th-century English King Henry VIII (Bana). Oh, I do like the sound of this one. The Henry VIII history, with all the wives and beheadings and what not, is simply fascinating. And, Anne Boleyn–who was the mother of Elizabeth I–is definitely Henry’s most intriguing and tragically doomed wife. If you ever want to see a really great movie about her, watch the 1969 Oscar-winning Anne of the Thousand Days, starring Genevieve Bujold as Anne and Richard Burton as Henry VIII. Classic.
McConaughey Signs Up for Comedies
New Line Cinema is in talks to sign Matthew McConaughey to a two-picture deal, with one being a resurrected Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and the other a Southern-fried comedic action movie titled The Grackle. Girlfriends Past tells the story of a commitment-phobic guy who is visited by ghosts of girlfriends past, present and future and through that journey discovers he is in love with his childhood sweetheart. Boooring. Grackle follows a good-old boy bar brawler in New Orleans who gets into trouble when his arch enemy gets out of prison and targets him for revenge. That’s a comedy? Honestly, neither of these films sound too promising, but Grackle is an interesting title. Wonder if that’s some kind of Southern slang term for something unpleasant, say, like, “This crap tastes like ‘grackle’!” or “You’ve got a piece of grackle stuck in your teeth.” Guess we’ll have to wait to find out.
Lucas Plays It Smart
Josh Lucas has signed on for Smart, a biopic based on the eccentric life of GQ and Esquire magazine founder David Smart. The film centers on the magazine powerhouse whose life was almost entirely consumed by his germ phobia. He and a circle of colleagues created a long string of classroom instructional films on health and hygiene. Meanwhile, he led an unorthodox personal life and was known for his womanizing and affinity for shirtless photos of himself. Lucas will star as a fictional FBI investigator who infiltrates Smart’s world. The title character has not yet been cast. Oh, let’s do some speculating of our own, shall we? Leonardo DiCaprio sort of set the bar, playing Howard Hughes in The Aviator but how about his best buddy, Tobey Maguire? It’s time for the guy to get out of the Spidey suit and this could be his ticket.
Howard, Grace Are Crusaders
Terrence Howard and Topher Grace are in talks to co-star in the New Line drama The Crusaders, a film about the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case. Penned by TV’s The West Wing scribes Paul Redford and Lawrence O’Donnell, the story is based on Jack Greenberg’s memoir Crusaders in the Courts and recounts the 1954 Supreme Court case in which Greenberg, a recent law school grad, and Thurgood Marshall, as head of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, teamed to help end segregation in schools. Marshall eventually became the first African-American Supreme Court justice. Sounds sufficiently Oscar worthy.
Until next week…
