1.) James Wan (Saw, Insidious) is in negotiations to direct the MacGyver movie for New Line. The film is obviously based on the resourceful ’80s TV detective played by Richard Dean Anderson, from a script by Jason Richman (Bangkok Dangerous). Not much else is known about the project right now, but I’ll bet you anything it’s going to be “dark” and “gritty.” [THR]
2.) Sean Penn is looking to start his own Bourne-esque franchise with an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette‘s novel “[amazon asin=”0872864022″ text=”Prone Gunman”]”. The Oscar-winner would star in the action thriller as an international operative who is betrayed by the organization he works for, resulting in a relentless game of cat-and-mouse across Europe. See, I told you it was very Bourne-ish. [THR]
3.) John Hawkes, a likely Oscar nominee for his role in The Sessions, will play legendary jazz pianist Joe Albany in Low Down. Based on a memoir by Albany’s daughter Amy, the film will look at the relationship between the talented but strung-out musician and his 11-year-old daughter. Mark Ruffalo was originally attached to star, but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts. Commercial director Jeff Preiss will make his feature debut. [Variety]
4.) Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, usually a swashbuckling specialist, is trying to get in on some of those dollars generated by the recent surge in paranormal scares. He’ll produce Sinister helmer Scott Derrickson‘s paranormal police thriller Beware the Night. Eric Bana is in talks to star as a New York cop who investigates demonic possessions, exorcisms and other supernatural occurrences. [Variety]
5.) According to director Adam McKay, there will be some full-fledged musical numbers in Anchorman: The Legend Continues. “Whole song sequences, absolutely,” he told The Playlist‘s Kevin Jagernauth. Oh, and the cast of Les Miserables has nothing on the Anchorman crew. “The music sequences we have done — we did “Afternoon Delight” [in Anchorman], Adam Scott and his family singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” [in Step Brothers]… we always do it live on the set,” McKay said.
As for plot details, McKay says “it’s all about the rise of the new media and the 24 hour news cycle, and there’s a lot of interesting points to make about that while being silly.” For now, let’s have a look at “Boats ‘n’ Hoes” shall we?
