"I'm sitting here in this wonderful room with an amazing view, in the sunlight -- so I'm happy." English actress Naomie Harris, co-star of this week's indie biopic The First Grader, sounded genuinely contented when she rang Movieline to discuss the socially conscious, tear-jerking drama in which she plays a rural Kenyan teacher trying to help an 84-year-old man seize his right to a free education. After the film's unusually demanding and tricky shoot -- Harris taught actual elementary school for weeks to the local non-actor children in the cast and never broke character with her young co-stars -- it's easy to see why.
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Lost in all the James Franco-ness of James Franco is the fact that he's actually a budding director. Franco has hired newcomer Val Lauren to play Sal Mineo in his feature directorial debut Sal, which is set to begin filming this summer. The erstwhile Oscar host also hopes to direct The Broken Tower with Michael Shannon, which is currently in development as well. [THR]
Also in this Wednesday edition of The Broadsheet: Alec Baldwin may not appear in Rock of Ages... Naomi Watts and Liev Schrieber find a project together... Kiefer Sutherland shows some Sleight of Hand... and more ahead.
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Rachel Weisz may be filling up her dance card with a role opposite Jeremy Renner in the Bourne spin-off The Bourne Legacy, which films this September. But she's also set to play Mila Kunis's mean older sister witch in Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful. Here's to hoping it works out with her busy slate, which has her set to open at least six other films in the next two years. (That's a whole lotta Weisz, but who's complaining?) [Deadline]
Men in Black 3 will feature time-traveling throwback sequences, which helps explain why Andy Warhol turns up looking like his 1969 incarnation in new set photos. But who's the famous man under the white wig and black turtleneck? We reveal all after the jump.
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For the first time since 2004's Sideways, an Alexander Payne film will hit theaters this December. The Descendants features George Clooney (as a land baron who tries to reconnect with his daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident) as well as Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard and a juicy plot line involving schizophrenia. And five months ahead of the release, Fox Searchlight has released the first clip. Click ahead to watch George run.
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Well, well, looks like we finally have our Haymitch for Gary Ross's 2012 The Hunger Games! Woody Harrelson nabbed the sought-after role of alcoholic former Games winner Haymitch Abernathy, who mentors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) through the televised battle royale against 22 other skilled and lethal young killers. Approve/disapprove after the jump!
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Fairytales are kind of the new comic books, in that they're pre-existing, primarily kid-oriented texts ripe for re-imagining as more grown-up fare. And it may not get any darker than in Pan, an action-thriller adaptation of Peter Pan to star Aaron Eckhart, AnnaSophia Robb, and Sean Bean that turns J.M. Barrie's Neverland fantasy into an even more sinister, present day-set manhunt pic. Island of lost boys, indeed.
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Despite reports to the contrary, Alec Baldwin has not left Rock of Ages. Deadline reports that Baldwin has a "personal issue" to deal with, which he'll hopefully clear up before shooting on the Adam Shankman-directed film begins in two weeks. Looks like those vocal lessons weren't for naught after all! [Deadline]
While Vin Diesel is out campaigning for an Oscar nomination, Fast Five is rapidly approaching the $150 million mark at the box office, less than two weeks after its release. It makes sense, then, that Universal is already working on a sixth installment of the franchise -- though curiously, not everyone involved with the franchise is anxious to get back behind the wheel.
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Though he doesn't appear in Dax Shepard's filmmaking mockumentary Brother's Justice -- which follows Shepard (as himself) and producing partner Nate Tuck on a years-long quest to make a martial arts action movie entitled, yes, Brother's Justice -- Chuck Norris figured prominently in the genesis of the project. "Originally I envisioned fighting Chuck Norris in the third act," Shepard explained to Movieline via telephone. "That was our full goal, that I would fight him at the end of the movie."
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On the set of last month's Water for Elephants, star Reese Witherspoon grew so attached to her pachyderm co-star Tai, that she described to the Los Angeles Times how she wept on her last day on set with the animal. Unfortunately for Tai, a 42-year-old elephant who has also appeared in Operation Dumbo Drop and Larger Than Life, others have not always been so kind.
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The newswires say that Thomas Ian Nicholas, who was great in Nicole Holofcener's Please Give last year, is returning to the American Pie franchise for its umpteenth installment, American Reunion. The prospect is a little depressing, but it really shouldn't be: The original cast is what made the first film great in '99, and since the majority of that ensemble is returning for the reunion, perhaps the chutzpah will return as well. Just in case it doesn't, though, here are five ideas that could help reinvent the series and make it relevant (or at least funny) in time for its April 2012 release date.
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Surprise! Ethan Hawke has signed on to make a cameo appearance in Len Wiseman's Total Recall, joining Colin Farrell and Bryan Cranston in the cast. No word on what role Hawke will play, though -- judging from the original -- perhaps he'll have something to do with Kuato. Of course, since this Total Recall dispenses Mars for Euromerica and New Shanghai, who knows what direction the latest adaptation of Phillip K. Dick's We Can Remember It for You Wholesale will take? [THR/Heat Vision]
The tagline for Marcus Nispel's blood-splattered 3-D reboot of Conan the Barbarian is "Born on the Battlefield." Judging from the new poster, however, something along the lines of "Fresh Meat!" would also apply. Geez! If you ever run into Jason Momoa, make sure you aren't a faceless member of some marauding horde; you will likely get disemboweled. Click ahead for your first look at the non-moving poster for Conan.
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