Batman Casts Two Stars, New Michael Keaton Action Film, Another Scream Movie, More
Andy Serkis, the director behind Mowgli and star of the likes of The Lord of the Rings, is in advanced talks to play Bruce Wayne’s famous butler Alfred Pennyworth in the upcoming Matt Reeves Dark Knight movie The Batman. He will join Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz and Paul Dano on the film.
The Wrap – 5th Nov 2019
Warner Bros. are in talks to sign up In Bruges, The Lobster and Dumbo actor Colin Farrell to play iconic Batman villain The Penguin in their upcoming Matt Reeves directed feature The Batman.
Deadline – 5th Nov 2019
Former Batman Ben Affleck has joined new Robert Rodriguez directed action-thriller Hypnotic as the star, signing on to play a detective searching for his missing daughter and discovering a secret government program.
Variety – 6th Nov 2019
Michael Keaton (Birdman; Spider-Man: Homecoming), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction; Spider-Man: Far from Home) and Maggie Q (Divergent) are set to star in a new A-List action-thriller from 007: Casino Royale director Martin Campbell titled The Asset. Millennium Films, the production company behind The Expendables, are reportedly in charge of the project.
THR – 5th Nov 2019
Iconic actor James Dean is to be resurrected via CGI to star in an upcoming war film from directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh titled Finding Jack. The production will use old footage and photography to create a full body render of the famed star of Rebel Without A Cause who died in a car accident in 1955.
Empire – 6th Nov 2019
Ken Watanabe (Inception; Godzilla) is set to star in a new film from Philomena producer Gabrielle Tana and debut feature screenwriter-director Patrick Dickinson. Wild Rose star Jessie Buckley has been lined up to support Watanabe in what is being described as “a universal portrait of love, acceptance and family loss”.
THR – 6th Nov 2019
The Scream franchise is being resurrected by Spyglass Entertainment. According to sources at Bloody Disgusting, Gary Barber’s Spyglass Media Group is developing a new film without Scream 1, 2 & 4 screenwriter Kevin Williamson, the rumoured screenwriter for the new project being Blade, Batman Begins and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice screenwriter David S. Goyer. It is unknown whether the new film will be a reboot or a new entry into the pre-existing film canon (of which every entry has thus far been directed by the since deceased Wes Craven).
Bloody Disgusting – 6th Nov 2019
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has signed on to direct Newsflash, a biographical drama about legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite that is set to star Star Trek and Wonder Woman actor Chris Pine. The film is to be set on the day Cronkite must report the assassination of President Kennedy.
THR – 7th Nov 2019
Anchorman, The Big Short and Vice director Adam McKay has signed a first-look film deal with Paramount Pictures. The screenwriter-director-producer and his production company Hyperobject Industries will, at least for the foreseeable future, give Paramount first-refusal rights to any feature project they put together. McKay has a similar deal for TV, streaming and podcasts with Warner Bros. owned HBO.
THR – 8th Nov 2019
Jon Spaihts, the showrunner for the upcoming HBO ‘Dune’ series, has exited his role with the TV show to focus on writing the sequel for Denis Villeneuve’s 2020 Dune movie.
THR – 5th Nov 2019
Yesterday screenwriter and Love Actually director Richard Curtis is set to adapt his own children’s book “The Empty Stocking” for an animated feature from London-based animation house Locksmith Animation. The film will reportedly be made for streaming platforms.
THR – 6th Nov 2019
The third Fantastic Beasts movie will begin filming in Spring 2020, with Brazil the apparent destination for the cast and crew including Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston and Jude Law.
Deadline – 4th Nov 2019
Carrie Fisher’s brother Todd Fisher has revealed in an interview with Yahoo! that the original plan for upcoming release Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was to see Fisher’s Princess Leia character become a powerful force-wielding jedi, developing the building blocks put in place in The Last Jedi (2017).
Yahoo! – 6th Nov 2019
The 2019 European Film Awards nominees list was revealed this weekend – here.
The Film Magazine – 10th Nov 2019
And finally… (CW: Sexual Abuse)
Jurassic Park and Thor: Ragnarok star Jeff Goldblum this week moved to defend Woody Allen against decades old allegations of sexual assault against a minor, stating in an interview with i that there “is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty” and that he “would consider working with” the director again following a minor role in Allen’s 1977 film Annie Hall.
i – 6th Nov 2019
French director Christophe Ruggia, who was recently accused of the sexual assault of Portrait of a Lady on Fire star Adele Haenel when she was just a minor, has released a statement to the same publication the actress first went on record with her experience, stating: “The adulation and hope that I placed in her may have seemed, given her young age, troublesome at certain moments. If that is the case and if she is willing, then I ask her to accept my apology.” He also affirmed to have “never engaged in the physical gestures and sexual harassment”.
Mediapart via THR – 6th Nov 2019
French-Polish director Roman Polanski has been accused of rape by French actress Valentine Monnier, who claims the filmmaker behind Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist assaulted her in a ski chalet in Switzerland in 1975 when she was 18 years old. The director won’t be charged as France has a 20-year statute of limitations, but this latest accusation fuels the backlash the filmmaker continues to face for his suspected rape of a 13 year old girl in 1975; the trial for which his refusal to attend still makes him a wanted criminal in the United States.
Le Parisien via Variety – 8th Nov 2019
