From a man of constant sorrow to the Mayor of Macdougal Street? For Joel and Ethan Coen, perhaps. The Oscar-winning siblings are potentially headed downtown for their next big-screen feature, a story about famed musician Dave Van Ronk and the dawn of the '60s folk music scene in New York's Greenwich Village that helped make Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Phil Ochs famous.
What are you doing two years from now? For Universal's sake, hopefully pre-ordering tickets to see Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds in R.I.P.D., from director Robert Schwentke (Schwentke!). The supernatural comic adaptation will arrive in theaters on June 28, 2013. Also slotted for 2013: the sixth film in the Fast & Furious franchise, which will hit theaters over Memorial Day weekend of that year. Shaquille O'Neal, get your "movie agents" back on the phone! [Deadline]
Had he not passed away on April 9, famed director Sidney Lumet would have turned 87 years old on Saturday. The five-time Academy Award-nominee was responsible for some of the most indelible films from the last half-century, including 12 Angry Men, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, The Verdict and Running on Empty, to name just five. Lumet was remembered at the Los Angeles Film Festival this week, and if you didn't get a chance to participate in that event, Movieline is here to provide a sounding board. In honor of what would have been Lumet's birthday, celebrate the director's career ahead.
Earlier this year, your friendly editors at Movieline wondered whether the cast of The Big Bang (with Snoop Dogg, Antonio Banderas, Sam Elliott, James Van Der Beek and Autumn Reeser) was more random than the cast of the animated film Dorothy of Oz (Lea Michele, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Dan Aykroyd, Hugh Dancy, Oliver Platt, Megan Hilty and Martin Short). Well, it looks like the cast of Fire With Fire trumps them both. Put together.
In case you didn't get the memo, Hollywood really wants Liam Hemsworth to be a movie star. Which is why the potential latest acting choice for Hunger Games' Gale is a bit of a curveball: Thor's little brother in talks to star in the indie film AWOL, a Vietnam-era romance about a solider (Austin Stowell) who goes AWOL with his buddy (Hemsworth) to win back the heart of the girl who dumped him in America (Aimee Teegarden). Hemsworth playing the guy who doesn't hook-up with the leading actress? Who does he think he is, John Krasinski? [Variety]
Critics may have only found Cars 2 to be marginally better than Hop (at least judging from the two films' Rotten Tomatoes scores), but that doesn't mean audiences felt the same way. The Pixar sequel rushed to $25.7 million on Friday night -- well ahead of tracking expectations -- and could wind up with the second-biggest opening weekend in the history of the brand, behind only Toy Story 3. In other surprising box office news: Bad Teacher also exceeded expectations -- and how! With a $12 million Friday night, the Cameron Diaz-led comedy could beat the opening weekend of fellow R-rated girl comedy Bridesmaids, quality be damned. Your Friday box office is here.
John Goodman is reportedly negotiating to join Ben Affleck's Argo, the period political drama about a real-life covert operation to rescue six U.S. diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. The kicker, and where Goodman comes in, is in the unusual circumstances of said rescue, in which the Canadian government enlisted Hollywood make-up and effects experts John Chambers and Bob Sidell to help the Americans escape in disguise as crew members of a fake science fiction film.
The casting blitz for Zack Snyder's Superman reboot Man of Steel keeps adding surprising but well-liked members to its cast (see Movieline's growing gallery here), with Deadline reporting that Law & Order: SVU's Emmy-nominated Christopher Meloni is negotiating for an unknown but "major" role in the pic.
Ahh, Friday. It's here before you know it, and now that I think about it, pretty much gone before you know it. But at least we have our memories as collected in Movieline's Week in Review, plus the scintillating promise of box-office updates and other breaking news as it arises. If it arises. Who cares? What are you still doing here? Go forth and have a splendid weekend!
The first official photo from The Raven has surfaced and it features John Cusack looking very serious as Edgar Allen Poe. The film -- which centers on a serial killer who challenges the dark poet to solve a series of murders based on his own stories -- will hit theaters March 3, 2012. Click through to check out the full-sized image.
Oh, how I love this series over at NextMovie so! In the latest installment of "Rappers Review Movies," hip-hop luminary KRS-One watches and critiques the new Cameron Diaz-Justin Timberlake comedy Bad Teacher. Sample analysis: "I thought the movie was dope. Cameron Diaz, I am a new fan!" It's like she's the new Goldie Hawn!
Out in two weeks, Horrible Bosses is poised to be the R-rated comedy of the summer. Or, at least the R-rated comedy of the summer with the most laughs. Directed by Seth Gordon and starring the hilarious trio of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, the film follows what happens when three everymen are pushed to their limits by the titular evil taskmasters (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell). Spoiler: murder plotting happens. Also, some great chemistry.
Are you or a loved one in the market for an elegant, hand-crafted Scarface-themed humidor? One made with untreated Spanish cedar, polished with a "1000 coat brilliant finish," and sold with a never-before-available, limited edition Blu-ray? If so, does Universal have the deal for you!
A browse through this weekend's screen counts reveals a few intriguing upswings (The Tree of Life nearly doubling its theatrical presence; watch out, Avon!), a few frustrating downswings (the underseen drama Beautiful Boy tumbling out of theaters almost entirely), and at least one eye-opening surprise: After two consecutive weeks of poorly performing retreat, The Beaver is making a comeback. Will this be the week the troubled Jodie Foster-Mel Gibson dramedy finally clears the $1 million mark?
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