We’ll start off by updating a few previous reports:
Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog) has withdrawn as director of Gotti: Three Generations due to schedule conflicts with his indie drama Yellow. Producers have begun searching for a new helmer so they can still start production in the fall. Currently attached are John Travolta, Joe Pesci and Travolta’s daughter Ella Blue, with Lindsay Lohan apparently in negotiations for the role of Victoria Gotti.
Bringing rumors to rest, a rep for Ryan Gosling confirmed he will NOT be taking the lead in Disney’s The Lone Ranger. Director Gore Verbinski (Rango, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) will now have to find a new Lone Ranger to star alongside Johnny Depp’s Tonto.
Lionsgate has made official their hiring of Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, the upcoming Fright Night remake) as director of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Moving along, Variety reports Joshua Jackson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “Fringe”) is negotiating to join Rebecca Hall and Bruce Willis in Lay the Favorite. The Stephen Frears-directed film is based on the life of Beth Raymer (Hall), a cocktail waitress who becomes one of the world’s best gamblers.
We recently speculated that a (relatively) young actor would soon join Headshot as the cop working alongside Sylvester Stallone’s hitman to hunt down a common enemy. It turns out the cop will be played by Thomas Jane (solid casting if you as me), as confirmed by Arrow in the Head. The film will begin shooting this year in New Orleans. Director Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hours) recently joined the project. Here’s Jane’s description of the relationship between the two main characters:
“He’s a hitman, I’m a cop, and we’re just opposite in every f*cking way, and we need each other to get this job done. And of course I’m like, ‘As soon as this job’s over, I’m going to take you to jail, you know, you’re a killer.'”
It’s been a while since we’ve given an update on Children of Men helmer Alfonso Cauron’s Gravity, so here we go. Producer David Heyman spoke with Steve Weintraub of Collider, confirming that the film will be shooting on soundstages in the United Kingdom at the end of May. And although the film will be released in 3D, they’re not shooting in 3D.
Deadline reports Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief) will star in the indie drama The Only Living Boy in New York for director Seth Gordon (Four Christmases). The film is described as a “twisted coming-of-age” tale about a boy who tries to stop his overbearing father from having an affair, only to find himself involved with the woman as well.
Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) will direct an adaptation of the Justin Cronin novel The Passage, which tells of an experiment gone wrong that creates a swarm of bloodthirsty vampires and brings the world to the brink of extinction. Apparently Reeves failed to learn from Let Me In that this whole vampire craze has gone south. That said, I’m not sure where this puts Reeves’ other pre-production film, the just-announced adaptation of 8 O’Clock in the Morning, which also provided the source material for John Carpenter’s They Live.
James Franco and Winona Ryder will star in The Stare, the first film from the new producing/financing company Waterstone Entertainment. Ryder will play a playwright who finds her mind beginning to warp as she struggles to launch her next production. Franco, who plays one of the performers in her production, will also produce the film.
And finally, Variety reports Jason Statham is in talks to star in the Taylor Hackford (Ray, The Devil’s Advocate) thriller Parker. The film is based on the book series by Donald Westlake about a thief who lives by the code of honor of never stealing money from people who need it. Black Swan co-writer John J. McLaughlin is penning the adaptation. It has a solid pedigree, but the film’s potential (as always) is dependent on an advertising campaign can somehow differentiate it from every other Statham film.
