January 3, 2012

Don Cheadle says his Miles Davis biopic will be a “gangster” story.

The Hotel Rwanda star tells the Wall Street Journal that plans are well underway for the film, which he plans to direct and star in as the legendary jazzman. Cheadle says his plans for the picture include taking an unconventional approach to the traditional biopic structure.

“It’s not a biopic, per se,” Cheadle says. “It’s a gangster pic. It’s a movie that Miles Davis would have wanted to star in. Without throwing history away, we’re trying to shuffle it and make it more cubist. The bulk of it takes place in ‘79, in a period where he actually wasn’t playing. But we traverse a lot of it his life, but it’s not a cradle to grave story.”

The star says his idea for the film would have been more accepted by Hollywood a decade ago.

“This is the kind of movie the business 10 years ago may have leapt at,” he says. “But now, you don’t really see movies like this. We have a studio offer and we’re trying to back into a budget number, like we always have to do, without gutting the piece.”

Perhaps the biggest hurdle Cheadle may be facing is that another movie about Davis’ life is already in the works, with Notorious director George Tillman Jr. attached.

Cheadle, however, says he’s not worried about the prospect.

“Look, if the world is ready to have two Miles Davis movies, fantastic. He should have eight or 10 of them… If there’s another quality movie about this legend, that’s great. I don’t think anyone’s going to be making the kind of movie we’re making.”

Fans of Cheadle can look forward to seeing the star in the upcoming cable television series House of Lies, which debuts on Showtime later this week.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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November 1, 2011

It seems not everyone is thrilled with the news that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will reunite to develop a movie about notorious alleged Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed just last week that the Good Will Hunting boys were reuniting for the flick, which will chronicle the rise and eventual fall of Bulger, who was arrested earlier this year after 16 years on the run.

Damon has said he’ll star as Bulger, while his old friend Affleck will direct the picture set
in Affleck’s hometown.

That news doesn’t sit too well, it seems, with some people connected to the real life Bulger.

Tommy Donahue, the son of a man allegedly killed by Bulger, says he’s not sure what
to make of Hollywood’s plans to tell the story.

“If anyone makes this movie, I’m pleased it’s these two. They’re brilliant,” Donahue tells
the Boston Globe. “But I definitely have mixed emotions about this. Hopefully they can
depict Whitey Bulger for what he is. They’ll need to do their homework, though.”

Expressing similar reservations is Anthony Cardinale, a lawyer for alleged New England crime
boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme. Cardinale says he thinks Damon is making a
big mistake.

“If it’s done honestly, [Damon] will look like an idiot, a treacherous piece of junk,” he
says. “It’ll be a bad career move for him. [If not done accurately], it’s a worse career
move.”

(Photo by PR Photos)

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October 17, 2011

Some of the hottest young men in Hollywood are hoping to join the McClane family and win the role of Bruce Willis’ son in the upcoming A Good Day to Die Hard.

Industry trade magazine Variety reports that plans for the fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise call for the debut of John McClane Jr., heir to the McClane family tradition of having really bad days involving terrorists and explosions.

Word is Good Day to Die Hard will introduce McClane Jr. as a potential candidate to carry the series forward in the future, possibly replacing Willis as the lead.

Sources tell Variety that Willis will spend the next few days reading with actors vying for the role. Candidates are said to include X-Men: The Last Stand’s Ben Foster, Paul Dano of Where the Wild Things Are, Aaron Paul from TV’s Breaking Bad and Milo Ventimiglia from TV’s Heroes.

Deadline reported back in August that Max Payne helmer John Moore is directing and working from a script currently being typed up by X-Men Origins: Wolverine and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra scribe Skip Woods.

Though details about the latest chapter in the Die Hard series are scarce, it’s known the story will involve the two McClanes battling baddies in Russia.

Shooting on A Good Day to Die Hard is set to begin in 2012.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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October 12, 2011

Miami Vice star Don Johnson has been offered the role of a villain in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western Django Unchained.

Deadline reports that Tarantino wants Johnson to play the role of a cold-hearted, but rich plantation owner named Spencer Bennett.

Should he agree to sign on, Johnson will join a cast that already includes such Hollywood big shots as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Kurt Russell. Russell joined the production just last week, stepping in for Kevin Costner, who bowed out.

Django Unchained tells the story of a freed slave (Foxx) who teams up with a German bounty hunter (Waltz) to rescue his wife from a fearsome plantation owner (DiCaprio) who forces his male slaves to fight and his female slaves to prostitute themselves.

Word is that Tarantino has been trying for some time to woo Johnson for the villainous role of a plantation owner encountered by Django and the bounty hunter during the course of their journey.

Johnson most recently appeared on the big screen in the box office bomb Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star.

Shooting on Django Unchained is slated to begin later this year.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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