How Fletch Began
Bill Lawrence, the creator of TV’s Scrubs, is writing and directing a prequel to the ’80s film franchise Fletch, and really wants the show’s star Zach Braff to take over the Chevy Chase role. The Weinstein Co. has signed to adapt Gregory Mcdonald’s 1985 comic-mystery novel Fletch Won, which follows the irreverent detective from his early days as a ne’er-do-well junior newspaper reporter to his partnership with a crime reporter to solve a murder. “Zach is perfect for the role,” Lawrence said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, from his Los Angeles office, where Braff sat laughing in the background. “I’m going to use all my pull trying to make him do it. Zach knows I can recite the original Fletch movie line for line.” But the director knows he’s got some big shoes to fill. “My closest friends from high school don’t care about my career,” he said. “This is the only job I’ve ever gotten where every one of them said, ‘Congratulations,’ and then said, ‘Don’t f**k it up.’” Lawrence plans to make his Fletch with a bit more edge. “Like Batman Begins, I (also) think people will enjoy seeing how Irwin Fletcher became Fletch.” While I might not go as far as all that, I think reviving the franchise could be a good thing–especially if Braff decides to do it. I’d like to see if Garden State wasn’t just a fluke, or if he really has the potential to go from small to big screen.
Russell Joins Tarantino’s Team
You realize Kurt Russell has been around forever. He was a Disney kid, doing their live-action films in the early ‘70s, like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and then sort burst on the scene as an adult in 1981, playing Snake Plissken in John Carpenter’s Escape from New York . He’s since become one of those actors you can put in any mediocre movie and generally get a decent performance. But every once in awhile, he gets to shine, such as his turn as the hockey coach in the sports flick Miracle. Now, he will star as Stunt Man Mike, a serial killer, in Quentin Tarantino‘s upcoming slasher film Death Proof, Tarantino‘s half of the Grindhouse double feature he is shooting with Robert Rodriguez. “I’ve always wanted to work with Kurt Russell,” Tarantino told a press conference at the annual Comic-Con International convention in San Diego. “One of the things that was so great about his John Carpenter movies is the fact that there are a lot of serious actors who wouldn’t do them. There’s a playfulness about him going that way. Snake Plissken is one of the most iconic characters in the last 20 years. I think Stunt Man Mike is one of the best characters I’ve ever written.” Mickey Rourke was originally tagged for the role, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Wonder how that fell apart.
Klein, Prinze Jr. Serenade Each Other
Chris Klein and Freddie Prinze Jr. will star in New York City Serenade, an indie comedy loosely inspired by a bittersweet period in the life of actor Frank Whaley (Swimming with Sharks), who wrote and is directing. Sopranos’ Jamie-Lynn Sigler is in final negotiations to co-star. According to the Reporter, the Manhattan-based comedy is set in the mid-1990s and revolves around two close friends who realize that sometimes to keep a friend you have to grow up and grow apart. Prinze plays Owen, an aspiring filmmaker suffering in a job at the neighborhood photomat. The one good thing he has going in his life is his relationship with his fiancée, Lynn (Sigler). Owen’s childhood friend Ray (Klein) is a drummer, ex-husband and father who plays the dive bar circuit, often for drunken crowds prone to violence. The best friends’ relationship is unexpectedly strained when Owen is accepted to a film festival, and the two meet actor Wallace Shawn–who plays himself in the movie–at the airport. Shawn invites the friends to join him at the Four Seasons, quite a step up from their reservations at the Motor Lodge, when Owen finds out that Ray has begun posing as Shawn‘s son. The two get into a fight and part ways indefinitely until an unexpected reunion 18 months later. Good lord, after that lengthy description, I don’t need to go see the movie. Oh well, doesn’t sound like I’ll be missing much.
Two Veteran Actress Get Gigs
Oscar winner Sissy Spacek is set to join Saturday Night Live stars Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone in the comedy Hot Rod. Spacek will play the slightly off-center voice of reason to Samberg‘s character Rod, a clumsy daredevil who re-creates his hero Evel Knievel’s unsuccessful jump over Snake River Canyon on a moped. Deadwood star Ian McShane plays the stepfather Rod is trying to impress. Good for Sissy, trying her hand at broad comedy. Meanwhile, four-time Oscar nominee Jane Alexander is reuniting with her Kramer vs. Kramer director Robert Benton in the ensemble drama The Feast of Love, whose cast already includes Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Radha Mitchell. Based on the adaptation of Charles Baxter’s acclaimed novel, the story centers on Chloe, a sensual free spirit (newcomer Alexa Davalos), who comes into the lives of a group of friends in suburban Oregon and changes them in unexpected ways. Alexander, who has been out of the movie biz for quite awhile, will play Esther, the wife of Freeman‘s character. Hmmm, that’s an interesting pairing. Maybe this’ll be Alexander’s next shot at Oscar gold.
Murphy Eats Ramen; Bentley Stalks
Brittany Murphy is set to star in the romantic comedy drama The Ramen Girl, playing an American stranded in Tokyo after a breakup who tries to survive by training as a ramen noodle chef. Tammy Blanchard, best known for her Emmy-winning turn in the ABC miniseries Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows as the young Garland, would play a drug-addicted American escort for Japanese businessmen who befriends Murphy‘s character. See, I already have a problem with this. Drug-addiction and romantic comedy–the combination doesn’t really mix. Also coming up, Wes Bentley (American Beauty) and Rachel Nichols (TV’s Alias) have signed on to star in the stalker thriller P2, for the creative team behind horror flicks High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes. Nichols plays a corporate climber who gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard (Bentley). With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive. Lovely.
Ritchie Tries Again
Poor Guy Ritchie. The British filmmaker started out with major potential, turning in tense little gems such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. But then he gets married to Madonna and his career just falls apart. Their ill-fated vehicle Swept Away did just that and Ritchie’s Las Vegas-set crime caper Revolver tanked last year. But he’s not ready to give up just yet. He has signed on to direct the gangster odyssey Static. The story centers on a wrongly imprisoned gangster who, with the help of his loyal posse, must make his way across town through crooked cops and rival gangs in order to testify against the dirty cops who put him away. Wait, didn’t we just see that with Bruce Willis‘ 16 Blocks? Ah well, so long as you stay your kooky self, Guy, it should work out.
Little Freddie Stays in the Fantasy Realm
Sweet-faced youngster Freddie Highmore, so cute as Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has been cast in the fantasy film The Spiderwick Chronicles, along with Sarah Bolger (In America). They’ll play the Grace children in the feature based on the best-selling series of children’s books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. In the movie, the children move to the ancient Spiderwick mansion, where they discover Brownie, an enchanted creature who introduces them to a world of goblins, fairies and sprites. Highmore will play the dual role of the troubled Jared and his bookish twin Simon. Bolger will play their sister Mallory. Are we getting tired of these fantasy films revolving around lonely children, mansions, magic, mythical creatures and the like? I’m not quite sure.
Until next week…
