August 31, 2011

A stuntman injured during the shooting of The Hangover 2 is suing Warner Bros., the studio that produced the blockbuster sequel.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scott McLean alleges he was working as Ed Helms’ stunt double, filming a sequence last December in Bangkok, Thailand, when an accident left him with “significant brain injuries.”

A production source told THR at the time that McLean was a passenger in one of two fast moving vehicles that collided as the stuntman was leaning out the window.

McLean reportedly claims that stunt coordinator (and co-defendant in the suit) Russell Solberg made last minute changes to the stunt that resulted in the accident. According to McLean, “Solberg commanded to the driver of the automobile in which plaintiff Scott McLean was a passenger, that the speed of his vehicle be increased significantly to a speed unsafe for the stunt, thus resulting in a major collision.”

Following the accident, McLean was airlifted to Australia where he is said to have been in a hospital or a rehabilitation clinic ever since. His reps say he is likely to have  “permanent brain and physical injuries,” such as ongoing seizures, speech impediments, physical impediments, and brain trauma.

THR says the suit, filed Tuesday in California federal court, includes McLean’s domestic partner Raelene Chapman as a plaintiff, as she has been unable to work since the accident, due to her need to care for McLean. The pair is reportedly suing for unspecified damages.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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August 31, 2011

Kung Fu Panda 2 has become the highest grossing film of all time by a female director.

The animated sequel was helmed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, making her directorial debut. Despite being a box office disappointment in North America, the movie has been a blockbuster overseas.

Kung Fu Panda 2 grossed only $164.3 million in North American theatres (compared to $215.4 million for the original.) But global ticket sales have been another matter entirely, with the picture grossing $637.6 million and counting.

A large part of Panda’s success has been its breakthrough in China, where $91.5 million in tickets have been sold – compared to only $26 million for the first film. EW reports that the change shows how important the Chinese market has become for Hollywood.

Panda’s gross overtakes the $609.8 million made by Mamma Mia! which was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and previously held the record for female directors.

Born in South Korea before emigrating to America at four years of age, Nelson had previously worked on the first Kung Fu Panda as head of story and as director of that picture’s opening dream sequence.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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August 31, 2011

Add another Aussie to the cast of The Great Gatsby.

Though the beloved F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is regarded as one of the pinnacles of American literature and is set in New York during the country’s jazz age, ever since Australian director Baz Luhrmann took over the book’s big screen adaptation, the movie has become an Aussie affair.

In addition to shooting Down Under, Luhrmann has already cast Australian actors Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher in lead roles. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones star Edgerton will play Tom Buchanan, while Wedding Crasher Fisher will play Buchanan’s mistress Myrtle.

Now EW reports that Australian model/actress Gemma Ward, 22, has also joined the cast in an undisclosed role.

Ward, who reportedly quit modelling at age 21, is best known her role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as the mermaid queen.

Shooting on The Great Gatsby, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey McGuire and Carey Mulligan, has already begun in Sydney, with the film scheduled for a 2012 release.

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August 31, 2011

Cameron Crowe says he didn’t intend to start the rumour that a sequel to Say Anything was on the radar.

The director of the beloved 1980s teen rom-com started the rumour mill spinning last month when he suggested as a press event that of all the movies he’s made, Say Anything is the only one for which he’d even consider making a sequel.

Now Crowe is backing away from the suggestion, telling IFC.com that thoughts of a sequel are nothing more than “a pipe dream.”

“It’s a personal thing for me, that movie,” Crowe says. “It’s probably my favorite thing I’ve ever done. And the last thing I would ever dream of doing is touching something that I feel so proud about in any way. I just love the characters and I was sort of musing out loud.”

Crowe acknowledges, however, that he sometimes wonders about how things turned out for lead lovebirds Lloyd and Diane.

“I do from time to time, just talking with friends,” he says. “But there’s no script, nobody’s out there trying to pitch a Say Anything sequel.”

The director adds that even if he did ever make a sequel, it might look more like a spin-off than a proper follow-up.

“I remember those characters and I keep thinking that there’s more that I could write about some of them, and not just Lloyd,” Crowe says. “If anything, it would be a side character or some story where there was some kind of linkage… Maybe it’s a miniature kind of thing that I write some day.”

Crowe has two movies coming down the pike, the rock documentary Pearl Jam Twenty, which will play at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the upcoming romantic comedy We Bought a Zoo.

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August 31, 2011

Is The Rock getting set to ‘Bring It’ in a Biblical way?

The Hollywood muscle man, also known as Dwayne Johnson, is reportedly in talks to star as the colossal Goliath in a big screen version of the Bible’s story of David’s battle with the giant.

TwitchFilm reports that Scott Derrickson, director of The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and The Day The Earth Stood Still signed on earlier this year to direct the David and Goliath story, to be titled, simply, Goliath.

Producers at Relativity Media and Temple Hill Entertainment are apparently keen to cast the former world champion pro-wrestler as the villain in the Old Testament story about the battle between the future king of Israel and the humongous Philistine warrior.

As Twilight producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are involved in the mix, it probably won’t be too surprising to learn that for the role of David, hunky werewolf Taylor ‘Jacob’ Lautner is considered the frontrunner.

Though offers are said to have been made to both Johnson and Lautner, neither has officially signed on just yet.

Johnson is currently busy shooting G.I. Joe 2 and training for his upcoming WrestleMania match against perennial WWE Champion John Cena, while Lautner stars in the upcoming action-thriller Abduction.

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