I’ll kick things off today with the news that Universal Pictures has acquired the domestic distribution rights to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, winning a bidding war with The Weinstein Company and Summit Entertainment after buyers viewed several minutes of footage of film and read the script in Berlin. Director Tomas Alfredson’s follow-up to Let the Right One In is an adaptation of John Le Carre’s Cold War novel that features Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong in key roles.
Deadline‘s Mike Fleming reports Universal is eyeing a November or December release, which should position the film nicely for the 2012 Oscars. Word is the film is a tour de force for Oldman, who stars as an espionage vet pulled away from semi-retirement to ferret out a Soviet agent in MI6. Is it too early to start thinking about the film as a vehicle for Oldman’s first (how is that possible?) Oscar nomination?
Now, going in a completely opposite direction, it looks like the Farrelly brothers, in desperate need of a hit after delivering another disappointment with last week’s Hall Pass, are testing the waters for a sequel to Dumb and Dumber. Here’s the quote from Bob Farrelly to Moviehole‘s “Caffeinated” Clint:
“[Dumb and Dumber] has run a bunch of times on TV in the states, and kids will come up and they’ll be able to quote lines from that — lines that I’ve long forgotten. If we could get those two guys back together, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels that might be a worthwhile sequel — and that ball is in motion. We’re starting to think about what those two dimwits will be doing twenty years later in life, and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with something worthy of a sequel.”
It looks like Justin Bieber: Never Say Never helmer Jon Chu will take the reigns of the G.I. Joe franchise, as Deadline has reported that Paramount has summoned him to direct G.I. Joe 2. Paramount has now shifted their attention to working out a deal with star Channing Tatum to return. I’ll be shifting mine elsewhere.
The Soup‘s Joel McHale, who did a far better job hosting the Independent Spirit Awards than a certain combination of A-listers did at the Oscars, has entered final negotiations to join Family Guy creator Seth Macfarline’s directorial debut Ted. McHale would join a cast that already includes Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Giovanni Ribisi and play a sleazy boss who is perpetually putting the moves on his employee (Kunis). Mark Wahlberg stars as Kunis’s boyfriend, dealing with his teddy bear coming to life after a childhood wish finally comes true.
It looks like Wrath of the Titans will again be converted to 3D, despite the backlash that resulted from the lackluster 3D in Clash of the Titans. Director Jonathan Liebesman’s reasoning is that he wants to shoot on film, rather than digital, to give the film a grittier feel — like “Gladiator with fantastical creatures in it.” The film will be shot and edited with 3D in mind, which Liebesman and Warner Brothers hope will give the film a smoother conversion. (Sources are Collider and Cinematical)
Lastly, Mark Ruffalo offered MTV an interesting update on the look of The Avengers‘ Hulk at Saturday’s Independent Spirit Awards. Here’s the quote:
“It’s cool, it’s gonna be great. The script is a nice combination of funny and was very in Joss Whedon’s wheelhouse. And I got to see the maquette of the Hulk yesterday in full scope and it’s awesome. Just like me. We’re going out of our way to… first of all, I’m the first actor to actually do it in motion capture as the Hulk. And so, all the features are mine, they’re just really big.”
