1.) Vin Diesel is in negotiations to star in The Last Witch Hunter, with Breck Eisner (The Crazies) directing for Lionsgate-Summit. Summit bought the pitch from Cory Goodman (Priest) back in 2010, with Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) attached to direct at one point. Diesel would play the last of a breed charged with keeping the witches and warlocks in check. And they’re about to repopulate in a huge way unless he (or Hansel and Gretel) can stop them. [The Wrap]
2.) Ti West has made a name for himself in the underground horror community with movies like The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, but with Eli Roth producing his new project, the writer/director has a chance to gain exposure to a larger audience. “We want to make this Ti’s first mainstream movie, without sacrificing the quality and unflinching horror of the subject matter,” Roth said of the film. It’s going to be called The Sacrament, but that’s all we really know right now as they’re keeping a lid on the plot summary. Oddly enough, West has also directed an abysmal sequel to Roth’s breakthrough movie, Cabin Fever. [Variety]
3.) Bruce Willis is negotiating to star as a CIA agent in the CBS Films thriller American Assassin for director Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Traitor). Willis’ character would be a veteran operative serving as a mentor to a new operative, who joins the CIA after his girlfriend is killed in a terrorist attack. [Variety]
4.) Renee Zellweger is set to make her directorial debut with 4 1/2 Minutes, a comedy based on the life of standup comic Dov Davidoff. Zellwegger will also co-star alongside Johnny Knoxville, who will play the comedian. I don’t know if Knoxville has ever been called a good actor, but this seems like the type of role he could succeed in. [Variety]
5.) Director Joe Carnahan (The Grey, The A-Team) has built quite an online presence by releasing his Slashfilm has a description of the scene if you’re into that sort of thing), which he said was the first of five reveals. Mark Millar also tweeted high praise, calling it “one of the best scripts I’ve read in years. The opening 15 minutes could be cleverest opening to a movie EVER.” Damn, it must be pretty good.
At this point it’s unclear if Continue will be Carnahan’s next film, or if it will even be made at all. He has also just completed his script for a new adaptation of Death Wish, which Carnahan has described as more of a two-hander that would focus on two brothers. Frank Grillo (Warrior, The Grey) would be one of the stars, and he says it’s closer to the version Sidney Lumet once wanted to make with Jack Lemmon than the Charles Bronson vigilante tale Brad once called a “travesty of a film.”
