Also in this Thursday edition of The Broadsheet: James Franco pops for Cherry... Topher Grace goes Gently Down the Stream... more casting news for The Hobbit... and more ahead.
When Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon barrels into theaters this summer in 3-D -- the first 3-D outing for the film series and for Bay himself -- you'll have one man to thank for it: James Cameron. Fittingly, Bay took the stage at a Transformers 3 footage screening Wednesday night on the Paramount Studios lot to compare notes on the format, its future, and its frustrating limitations with none other than Cameron himself.
It's about time! Ian McKellen, Judi Dench and Gillian Anderson are the latest actors to attach themselves to a zombie project. The film is The Curse of the Buxom Strumpet, Matthew Butler's adaptation of his own short E'gad Zombies, which also starred McKellen. About "a small British seaside town where the residents are struck down with a deadly illness," the UK indie will begin shooting in Scotland later this year. [CinemaBlend]
Exciting news for any lady who ever wanted to disrobe onscreen for millions of horny American Pie viewers: Now you can! American Reunion, the fourth installment in the franchise to get a theatrical release, is currently looking for a Shannon Elizabeth 4.0. Click through for the casting notice.
Director-star Tom Hanks is trying to tell us something in the new poster for his summer star vehicle. Just take a look at the visual messaging within the new poster for Larry Crowne, which follows a Navy veteran (Hanks) who goes back to community college and falls for a professor (Julia Roberts). Powder blue Vespas! Slightly off-center title placement! This is the summer cure for the middle aged blahs!
While speaking to MTV about this weekend's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Johnny Depp explained there is really only one scenario in which his swashbuckling Disney character would ever fall in love. "It would most likely be a silent film," Depp said. "I think he would go completely catatonic and be unable to speak. He would probably sit there and quiver for an hour and a half." Think of it as the blockbuster version of The Artist. [MTV]
Today in publicity stunt news, two protesters suited up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse were arrested after chaining themselves to the gates outside of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Surprisingly they weren't protesting the monstrous Cars 2 merchandising campaign that will terrorize next year's holiday shopping season, but the company's use of paper containing a fiber component from endangered Indonesian rain forests for its children's books. Take a look at the saddest protest site you've ever seen and Disney's official response to the spectacle ahead.
"Unapologetic" was the word most frequently used by director Todd Phillips and his Wolf Pack cast and writers to describe the outrageous shenanigans that go down in The Hangover Part II, which finds the heroes of The Hangover once again dealing with a bad case of morning-after confusion. This time, they awake disoriented in Bangkok, a place that takes monkeyshines to a whole new level. "Sometimes to make a movie about mayhem," Phillips admitted at Wednesday's press conference, "you have to go to mayhem."
Forbes's list of the "100 Most Powerful Celebrities" is mesmerizing, and not just because Movieline is obsessed with every list known to man; plenty of weird, wild, and unbelievably rich people -- hello Bon Jovi! -- make the cut, but not a single bona fide movie star shows up until No. 11. Can you guess who it is?
"Either you like the movie or I'm very sick." And thus the actor, writer, director and comedy legend Elaine May greeted her warmly welcoming audience Tuesday night at New York's 92nd Street Y. The occasion: An ultra-rare screening of her infamous 1987 comedy Ishtar -- made all the rarer by exhibiting, for the first time ever, May's own director's cut of the film.
It's officially Plot Synopsis Day here at Movieline HQ. Following in the footsteps of Paramount and word about the Jason Reitman-Diablo Cody collaboration Young Adult, Warner Bros. has released a three paragraph screed describing the plot for the Tim Burton adaptation of Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp. What can fans expect from Burton's take on the campy '60s television series? Probably cobwebs. Also, vampires. Click through for a read.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, who ranks as one of my favorite 94-year-olds -- you're still my main girl, Olivia de Havilland! -- is reportedly in a coma. The socialite and veteran of the original Moulin Rouge, who has suffered major health setbacks in the past year, was "rushed to the hospital yesterday where doctors performed emergency surgery to repair a 'major infection in her stomach' caused by a feeding tube." Heartbreaking! Daaaah-ling, we're rooting for you! [TMZ]
Now that most of the major speaking roles in The Hunger Games have been cast (correction: slowly cast), all that's left are the pictures, clips and spoilers bound to flow out between now and the release of the 'tween-lit adaptation next spring. With that in mind, EW debuted a first look at star Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, a role which J.Law says she unknowingly prepared for during Oscar season.
Bridesmaids -- arguably the best all-female ensemble comedy since E!'s original Kourtney and Khloe Take Level-One Second City Courses -- was a smash over the weekend. And no one knows that better than director Paul Feig and co-star Melissa McCarthy, who stood outside a theater this weekend waiting for a seat. And waiting.
Stars: they're just like us! They have awkward airplane encounters with other stars, and they don't know how to get out of them! "Sat next to 50 Cent on the plane," Twitter master Jonah Hill wrote earlier. "Great guy. Had that awkward 'when do we put in the iPod headphones and end the convo moment' about 4 times." Wonder if they discussed The Setup. [@JonahHill]
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