Another week of fresh movie stuff!
IN THIS WEEK’S “Venom scribe” story, Sony Pictures is putting the wheels in motion for a sequel to the antihero adventure. The studio has tapped Kelly Marcel, one of the screenwriters from the first movie, to pen the script.
Sources close to the negotiation tell Variety that, although an exact amount couldn’t be unveiled, Marcel’s deal was a significant one. She will also executive produce the follow-up, which will see Tom Hardy return as the eponymous symbiote. Marcel was also a producer on the first pic.
Sony declined to comment.
Venom, hailing from Sony Pictures’ arsenal of Marvel characters, grossed a massive $855 million worldwide. The news comes after the studio recently dated an untitled Marvel sequel for October 2020. Comic-book enthusiasts put the pieces together to assume that slot was for Venom 2, giving it the same release date as its predecessor.
Michelle Williams is expected to rejoin Hardy, as is Woody Harrelson, who will portray Carnage in the sequel. A director has not yet been set, though sources say the studio might look for a new filmmaker as Venom helmer Reuben Fleischer will be busy shooting the sequel to Sony’s Zombieland. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal will return as producers.
IN THIS WEEK’S “Dave and Dune” story, Denis Villeneuve, the brilliant filmmaker behind Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner: 2049, is bringing Frank Herbert’s Dune back to the big screen for Legendary, potentially with a series of at least two movies. Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson are already on board, and Deadline reports that Dave Bautista has just joined the cast as well.
Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) starred in Villeneuve’s Blade Runner: 2049.
“Set in the distant future, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, whose family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, control of Arrakis is highly contested among competing noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control of Arrakis.”
This could be an awesome Dune film. Looking forward to it.
ADDENDUM: Stellan Skarsgård has closed a deal to star in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Legendary’s planned reboot of the 1984 sci-fi epic, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Skarsgård joins the previously announced cast of Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Dave Bautista.
Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Villeneuve wrote the screenplay based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel. Legendary is planning for Dune to be a multi-film series.
IN THIS WEEK’S “Never too late?” story, Hey, there’s going to be an NYPD Blue sequel on TV.
NYPD Blue stars Kim Delaney and Bill Brochtrup have signed on to reprise their roles in the NYPD Blue sequel pilot that is currently in the works at ABC.
Delaney will reprise her role as Det. Diane Russell, which she played on the original run of NYPD Blue beginning in its second season, serving as series regular for Seasons 3 through 8. Brochtrup first joined the show in a recurring capacity as administrative assistant John Irvin in Season 2, before being upped to series regular later in the show’s run.
Written and executive produced by original series writers Matt Olmstead and Nick Wootton, the new drama will center on Andy Sipowicz’s (Dennis Franz) son Theo as he tries to earn his detective shield and work in the 15th squad while investigating his father’s murder.
SEAL Team alum Alona Tal is attached to star in the drama, which was given a pilot production commitment last October, as Detective Nicole Lazarus.
Jesse Bochco, son of NYPD Blue co-creator Steven Bochco, who died in April after a long battle with leukemia, will direct and executive produce. Dayna Bochco, Steven’s widow, will produce the drama, which hails from ABC Studios and 20th Century Fox TV.
The original NYPD Blue ran for 12 seasons on ABC between 1993 and 2005. Praised for pushing the boundaries of serialization in television, the series is widely regarded as one of the most influential dramas in TV history. In total, the show earned 80 Emmy nominations and 20 wins, including a drama series win in 1995.
Wow, ok then. Well, TV loves a solid cop drama, for sure.
IN THIS WEEK’S “DuPont problems” STORY, Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins have joined the cast of the new untitled movie from Todd Haynes, an environmental drama about the chemical company DuPont, Participant Media announced Wednesday.
Mark Ruffalo is starring and producing the film.
Hathaway and Robbins join the feature based on Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare.” Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, and Bill Pullman also joined the cast of the film directed by Haynes from a script written by Matthew Carnahan and Mario Correa.
Production of the film will begin next week in Cincinnati, and it centers around Robert Bilott (Ruffalo), a corporate defense attorney who took on an environmental suit against DuPont. The suit would ultimately expose a decades-long history of chemical pollution.
Sounds like a great cast, for sure.
IN THIS WEEK’S “Ok, definitely not” story, Kevin Hart officially ended discussion about him hosting the 2019 Academy Awards on Wednesday, telling “Good Morning America” that he was “over” the negative attention surrounding his old homophobic tweets and wanted to move on.
“There is no ending to it. If you keep feeding this energy, then it’s going to grow. You’re not getting no more of my energy from it. I’m not giving no more, because it’s endless,” Hart told host Michael Strahan. “I want everybody to know I’m done with it. It’s a choice that I’ve personally made to say I’m not addressing it anymore.”
“I’m over it,” he said repeatedly.
His response came when Strahan asked: “Is there a hope that you would host the Oscars this year?”
“No, I’m not hosting the Oscars this year,” Hart replied without hesitation.
“The Academy, they’re amazing people, the offer was made, it was received, I was excited this happened, it didn’t work out the way it should have. Right now from a time perspective, I don’t really have time.”
Aaaand, moving on.
IN THIS WEEK’S “Wes casts the Fonz” story, Henry Winkler, who many were worried would peak after the breakout success of his iconic character from Happy Days, has become one of the most versatile and interesting actors in TV and film. And now, Anderson has brought the actor aboard his next film, The French Dispatch, according to THR.
Not much is known about the plot of The French Dispatch, outside of some rumors and speculation. However, what we do know is that the film follows an American newspaper outlet in Paris during different periods in the 20th century. Oh, and we also know that the film, like most Wes Anderson productions, is going to feature one hell of a cast.
Winkler joins a cast on The French Dispatch that includes Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Benicio Del Toro, Jeffrey Wright, and Timothée Chalamet.
The French Dispatch is currently in production in France and will be filming throughout the beginning of 2019. It’s suspected that the film will be done in time for a triumphant Cannes Film Festival debut in 2020, but there’s no confirming that as of now.
IN THIS WEEK’S “Director found!” story, There have been rumblings of a Coming to America sequel since 2017. Eddie Murphy was on board to reprise his role as Prince Akeem, a young man from the fictional nation of Zamunda who abandoned his arranged marriage and found a bride that he truly loved in the most royal place in America: Queens, New York. But we haven’t heard anything on the movie since 2017. That changes today.
Hustle & Flow and Footloose remake director Craig Brewer is signing on to direct Coming to America 2. The filmmaker is fresh off working with Eddie Murphy on a new movie called Dolemite is My Name, and the comedian was eager to collaborate with Brewer again.
As for the story, Eddie Murphy learns that he has a long lost son, who just so happens to be in America. So he must head back to the United States to retrieve his son, who will be the rightful and unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda. That plot doesn’t entirely make sense since Prince Akeem’s time in America was not spent fornicating, but legitimately trying to find the love of his life, which he did in the form of Lisa (Shari Headley), a young woman whose family owned a McDonald’s ripoff restaurant called McDowell’s. So, I guess we’ll have to see how they work out that little bit of info.
Hollywood doesn’t care, they just want to cash in!
IN THIS WEEK’S “Minecraft movie?” story, yeah, the Minecraft movie has a director.
Following It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator and star Rob McElhenney‘s departure from the director’s chair after three years, Peter Sollett has been tapped as the new Minecraft movie director and writer. The Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist director steps up to helm the long-anticipated film adaptation of the popular video game of the same name.
For a video game about building, it’s certainly taking a long time for the Minecraft movie to come together. But it’s one step closer to becoming a finished product with writer-director Peter Sollett on board, according to Variety.
Does anyone really care about this?
Aaaaaand, IN THIS WEEK’S “What were you thinking?” story, the award for most poorly conceived idea goes to the upcoming film, The Haunting of Sharon Tate.
Us Weekly premiered the first trailer from the film, which stars former child star Hilary Duff as the titular Tate.
Let’s start with the premise, which, in no uncertain terms, is completely terrible and shameful. The film features the true story of Sharon Tate’s untimely death at the hands of crazy killers, but with a twist. You see, the folks involved in this film decided to ask the question, “What would you say if it wasn’t the Manson Family that murdered Tate, but actually ghosts?”
WHAT.
The people who came up with ‘Haunting’ took their inspiration from a quote that Tate gave in an interview, where she (reportedly) said, “Yes, I have had a psychic experience- at least I guess that’s what it was- and it was a terribly frightening and disturbing thing for me. It happened a year or so ago. Maybe you can explain it.”
She continued, “I saw something or someone tied to the staircase. Whoever it was- and I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman but knew somehow that it was either Jay Sebring or me-he or she was cut open at the throat.”
Wow. So, Hollywood, in all its’ warped logic, thought that this movie would be a good idea. I think they’re wrong. And if all that weren’t bad enough, the acting, writing, and direction of the film look absolutely terrible.
Joining Duff in this tone-deaf horror film is Jonathan Bennett and Lydia Hearst.
There’s no release date set for The Haunting of Sharon Tate. Perhaps fate will spare us all and find a way to make this one go away. But then, the odds are, any bad publicity will make people curious to go see this. Yay, humanity!
Ok, that’s enough for this week. I’m tired. 😉
