February 3, 2o12

Two of the Oscar-nominated stars of The Help are suddenly finding themselves in high demand in Hollywood.

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer may play “the help” in The Help, but the Academy Awards nominations that have come their way are now helping them to scoop up major new roles.

Industry trade magazine Variety reports that Viola Davis, nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Aibileen Clark, has just signed on for two big roles. Davis will join the casts of both the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Ender’s Game and the drama Beautiful Creatures.

Davis will play a psychologist in Game, joining a star-studded line-up that includes Harrison Ford, Hugo’s Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley in the adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s famous novel.

In Creatures, an adaptation of a novel co-written by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia about two teens struggling to understand a curse, Davis will assume a leading role, playing a librarian who helps to uncover the truth.

Meanwhile, Octavia Spencer, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Minny Jackson in The Help, has just signed on to star in the sci-fi flick Snow Piercer.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Spencer will join Captain America’s Chris Evans in the picture, which will be directed by The Host’s Bong Joon-Ho.

Set in a future Ice Age, Snow Piercer tells the tale of the last remaining group of humans, trapped aboard a train that circles the frozen globe. Spencer will play a passenger aboard the train who joins a revolutionary movement to challenge the powers that be.

Spencer will begin shooting Snow Piercer just as soon as she wraps the new, untitled Diablo Cody movie which is scheduled to start shooting in March.

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February 3, 2012

Rumours that Hollywood may be planning a remake of the beloved 1980s comedy Short Circuit appear to be on the mark.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dimension Films is hoping to turn the 1986 Steve Guttenberg comedy about a sentient, wise-cracking robot into an all new series of blockbusters.

“Dimension has had great success with the Spy Kids family series which grossed over $500 million worldwide,” says Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Co., which rules Dimension. “We are looking for Short Circuit to be our next family franchise.”

To reboot the robot, Dimension has hired screenwriter Matt Lieberman to update the script and brought Tim Hill, director of Hop and Alvin and the Chipmunks, on board to oversee the action.

The original Short Circuit, also starring ‘80s icon Ally Sheedy, was a hit with kids who were entranced by the talking robot Johnny 5, created by Blade Runner and Tron designer Syd Mead.

Word is production on the flick is expected to kick into high-gear soon so that Johnny-5 can roll into theatres in time for the summer of 2013.

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February 3, 2012

It appears James Wan, the director behind the Saw movies, now has a new horror franchise on his hands.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wan’s 2011 horror hit Insidious is getting a sequel, after terrifying audiences last summer.

Wan, who directed the original Saw as well as Insidious, is in talks to return for the follow-up, as is Leigh Whannell, screenwriter of the original.

Starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, the first Insidious grossed almost $100 million despite a measly budget of only $1.5 million. With Byrne’s sudden success as one of the stars of both Bridesmaids and X-Men: First Class, it’s unclear just yet whether she’ll return for the follow up or if the new flick will feature an all new cast of characters.

Insidious told the story of a suburban couple whose young child falls into a coma and somehow becomes a spooky conduit for ghosts of all sorts. The film was praised for finding its scares with suspense rather than gore.

Shooting on Insidious 2 is set to begin later this year.

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February 3, 2012

Jean Dujardin, star of the acclaimed and Oscar-nominated film The Artist, has suddenly found himself at the centre of a controversy in his native France.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dujardin is front and centre in a series of sexually provocative posters for his new comedy Les Infidèles (The Players). The posters have provoked complaints and now the ARPP, France’s “advertising watchdog,” has ordered the billboards taken down.

The ads show Dujardin and co-writer, director and star Gilles Lellouche in a series of poses with female body parts that some might argue are degrading to women.

“We already feel that this campaign is against the rules,” says ARPP head Stephane Martin. “Even if it relates to the subject of the film, a comedy about adultery.”

Some members of the French media have already begun speculating that the controversy could affect Dujardin’s Oscar chances. The star has been nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards for his performance in The Artist.

“All that’s missing is Jean Dujardin being deprived of his Oscar because on this side of the Atlantic, he’s trampled the politically correct America,” wrote French newspaper Le Point.

The Players hits French theatres on February 29.

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February 3, 2012

Did the directors of the pulpy B-movie Machete steal the idea for their film?

That’s the charge leveled by writer/actress Yvonne Delarosa, who has filed a suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis stole the concept for the film from her.

Celebrity gossip site TMZ reports that Delarosa claims Maniquis asked for her input when he was first putting together the story for Machete, about a one man Mexican wrecking crew who seeks violent justice while wielding his, well, machete.

Delarosa says she shared all sorts of ideas with Maniquis about characters and situations for the screenplay with the full expectation she would be credited and compensated.

Starring Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro and Michelle Rodriguez, Machete was released in 2010. Delarosa says many of her ideas made it to the big screen – but the compensation she was promised never materialized.

The actress is now seeking unspecified damages, but has yet to identify exactly what elements of the story were hers.

Rodriguez and Maniquis – who has long worked for Rodriguez as a film editor – have so far refused to comment on the case.

Rodriguez’s most recent film, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World was released last year.

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February 2, 2012

Is Kanye West planning to shoot a film in the Middle East?

That’s the rumour following a report in the New York Observer that the hip-hop superstar has been scouting locations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha, Qatar for a film project he hopes to start shooting in March.

According to the report, West sent team members to the cities to meet with government officials and to check out potential shooting sites.

“In Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha all of the film initiatives are government controlled,” an insider tells the mag. “A bidding war is going on between various government entities and private investors to fund the film. There’s pretty intense rivalry here between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar. They all want to claim the film as their own and take credit for generating the publicity.”

Another insider confirms the account to The Hollywood Reporter, adding “They did a full round of meetings, speaking with various government agencies, institutions and private investors. They toured each area and met with all the major players.”

Word is the film is based on one of Kanye’s ideas and will be “approximately 30 minutes long, in between a long form music video and short film.”

“He conceived the story, which is set in the Gulf,” the source added. “It’s supposed to showcase the beauty of the region, a piece that’s culturally sensitive and embraces the customs and traditions of the region.”

THR reports that West most recently performed in the UAE in December when he and buddy Jay-Z played at a private party for the family of the ruling sheikh. The rappers were reportedly paid $6 million for the show.

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February 2, 2012

Madonna has revealed that she cut a scene from her new movie W.E. even though it was the one scene that featured her daughter Lourdes.

The star tells MTV that she cast Lourdes as Wallis Simpson in a flashback which showed Simpson as a teen.

“There was a scene where she played Wally as a young girl,” Madonna says. “And I just kind of dragged her in at the last minute. It was quite unfair of me what I did and what I asked her to do.”

Madonna says her 15-year-old daughter did a great job, but in the end, her scene was cut from the finished film.

“She was really great and then I ended up cutting her out of the film. Ruthless, I know,” she says. “I said, ‘Sorry babe, you’re on the cutting room floor.’ She took it like a champ.”

The story of Simpson’s love affair with King Edward VIII has divided critics, but Madonna says the experience of shooting the film has only increased her desire to direct more films.

“I’m not a blockbuster kind of a girl, I don’t think. But I do love the idea of making a sweeping epic romance. And now that I know how to make a film in three different countries, with several different time periods and lots of different accents; I think I’m qualified.”

W.E. is in theatres now.

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February 2, 2012

Fans of The Hunger Games don’t have to wait for the upcoming big screen adaptation of the hugely popular sci-fi young adult series to get their fix – they can now play The Games online.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate studios have teamed with game maker Funtactix to create The Hunger Games Adventures. The game, which is played on Facebook, allows users to wander the dystopian world of Panem, playing missions which take them to familiar locations from the books and the upcoming film.

As players travel through the world of The Games they’ll also encounter characters from the futuristic story. For the very first time, the game will allow players to see a complete layout of Panem.

“What makes fans of The Hunger Games so amazing is the level of personal investment they have in the characters and the story,” says Lionsgate’s Joe Drake.  “We chose Funtactix to create this game because they bring the level of authenticity and quality to their movie-based social games that is crucial to fans of The Hunger Games.”

Based on a trio of books by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson in the story of a futuristic world where teenagers are forced to battle to the death.

The Hunger Games lands in theatres everywhere March 23.

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February 2, 2012

Will Russell Crowe be charting a big boat for forty days and forty nights?

He will if director Darren Aronofsky has his way.

Deadline reports the Black Swan and The Wrestler director is hoping to cast the Gladiator star as Noah in his upcoming big screen adaptation of the famous biblical story.

Nothing is signed just yet, but discussions are said to be ongoing. Aronofsky also apparently wants The Grey star Liam Neeson to come aboard for another role in the epic, but is most concerned with lining-up his lead.

Gladiator scribe John Logan has already put a polish on the screenplay by Aronofsky and Ari Handel. Collider reports that shooting on the picture is expected to begin in July in both Iceland and New York for a planned Fall 2013 release.

Crowe is just the latest star to be linked to the role of the man who built the ark. Christian Bale had been Aronofsky’s first choice for the part, but the Dark Knight star was forced to drop out due to his commitment to star in Terrence Malick’s next two pictures.

Shame star Michael Fassbender is also said to have been in the mix before Aronofsky settled on Crowe.

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February 2, 2012

A prequel to the Quentin Tarantino hit Jackie Brown will feature younger versions of Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson’s characters.

Industry trade magazine Variety reports that Winter’s Bone star John Hawkes and hip-hop superstar Mos Def will play the younger versions of Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie, De Niro and Jackson’s characters from the 1997 hit.

Writer-director Dan Schechter will helm Switch, an adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel set some 15 years before Rum Punch, the basis for Jackie Brown.

The picture will tell the story of Gara and Ordell’s efforts to extort money from a shady real estate developer by kidnapping his wife. Things don’t go according to plan when the developer refuses to pay the ransom and the wife joins her kidnapper’s side to get revenge on her unhelpful hubby.

Schechter wrote his script based on Leonard’s book without the author’s permission. Once he was done, he sent it to the writer and now Leonard has agreed to be a producer on the project.

Hawkes is having a big month. His star turn as a paralyzed poet in The Surrogate won rave reviews at last month’s Sundance Film Festival, with critics suggesting the performance could warrant another Oscar nom for the actor, who was previously nominated for his work on Winter’s Bone.

Shooting on Switch is set to begin in May.

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