Chris Pine Won't Play Jack Ryan Before Captain Kirk, and 6 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today
Also in this Tuesday edition of The Broadsheet: Another Black Swan star speaks out for Natalie Portman... the Candyland movie gets some screenwriters... Peter Bart responds to the response about his Don't Look Now sex story... and more ahead.
· It's a big morning for anyone with a Chris Pine Google Alert. Deadline reports that Paramount has decided to put off the tentative plans for Pine to star in the studio's Jack Ryan reboot until after he leads Star Trek 2. The latest big screen iteration of Tom Clancy's signature character had been given to Clear and Present Danger scripter Steve Zaillian for a rewrite, but Zaillian recently left the project, causing this new delay. As for Star Trek 2, that film is still full-steam ahead for a June 29, 2012 release -- though whether J.J. Abrams returns to direct remains to be seen. [Deadline]
· The Black Swan ballerina controversy just won't go away. Now Mila Kunis has decided to come out to defend Natalie Portman. "Natalie danced her ass off," Kunis told EW. "I think it's unfortunate that this is coming out and taking attention away from [the praise] Natalie deserved and got." Kunis states that Portman's double -- dancer Sarah Lane -- was there as a safety net, and nothing more. [EW]
· Speaking of controversies! Peter Bart has responded to Donald Sutherland's denial about the infamous Don't Look Now sex scene. "We're talking about events of over four decades ago!" Bart wrote in an email to THR. "I hope people will rediscover this fine movie -- it deserves to be remembered as an example of brilliant filmmaking, not for the mythology that grew up around it." Considering Bart is the person who most recently brought up said mythology ("his d*ck is moving in and out of her"), that above quote rings sorta false. [THR]
· "Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, the writers behind the screenplay for Kung Fu Panda and its upcoming sequel, have been tapped to write Candyland for Universal." The Onion or THR? Click through for the answer [??]
· In happier development news, Movieline favorite Teresa Palmer is in discussions to play the female lead opposite Nicholas Hoult in Warm Bodies. Described as "Twilight meets Shaun of the Dead," Bodies focuses on a zombie and the human girl he falls in love with. Compared to Candyland, this one sounds like Citizen Kane. [THR/Heat Vision]
· Low blow: Universal has dropped Kenny Ortega's big screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning In the Heights. [Deadline]
· And finally: Negotiations between Matthew Weiner and AMC/Lionsgate about the fifth season of Mad Men have reportedly hit a snag. The network/studio apparently wants Weiner to add more product placement, shorten the episode length to allow for more commercials, and cut the status of two series regulars to save money. Needless to say, Weiner disagrees with those stipulations. Stay tuned... [Deadline]
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Comments
Really, AMC/Lionsgate? I know _Mad Men_ isn't a cash cow, but it has brought you lots of awards and other recognition/prestige. Why do you have to f*ck with a good thing? Their wanting to shorten the episodes to allow for more commercials is the exact issue that held up negotiations the last time around (or maybe it was before season three?). Can't you just let the show live out its life with some grace and dignity?
Boo-Hoo. That dancer deserves her credit for dancing as much as Portman deserves credit for acting...it's clear in any behind the scenes footage that there was an INCREDIBLE amount of head replacement in those dance scenes. I think Aronifski himself intimated that despite all the training, Portman's own dancing was not much used. I specifically remember this because I thought it a shame she had gone so out of her way to train so many years for the role. Which Portman still deserves to be admired for, but not to the detriment of somebody's hard work.