Lots going on…
New Line has picked up a pitch from Darren Lemke, the writer behind the studio’s Bryan Singer project “Jack the Giant Killer,” that reimagines the classic tale of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” as an action-adventure movie.
I’m thinking Steven Seagall for the lead, with Jet Li as Kato, though I’m not sure how either of them are at dancing to the music of Tchaikovsky. Okay, actually, this version won’t be a ballet (obviously) and they’re going for more of a “Chronicles of Narnia” vibe.
* Brad Pitt will be producing, but not playing the lead, in an action-oriented flick about the young Vlad Dracul (his buddies call him “the Impaler”). I’d prefer if they would be honest and call this “Dracula Begins,” but the actual title is “Vlad.” The studio will be the “Twilight” driven Summit. How much you wanna bet this vampire-to-be has a tortured love-life?
* Hand drawn animation appears to be coming back to Disney in a big way. Yay. Film-maker Brendon Connolly has some interesting hints.
* And one more item from THR/Heat Vision that I can’t really ignore. Cowriter-producer Peter Jackson has announced that auditions for “The Hobbit” have begun and the only role that’s precast is Ian McKellan as Gandalf. So, actors, if you’ve got a snub nose, a pasty complexion, are never chosen first for basketball, and have hairy feet, I suggest you get into gear. They are denying rumors that James McAvoy could be in the running for Bilbo, though he does have an overall Baggins thing going on, I think. Another actor who screams “hobbit!” to me is writer Peter Morgan’s favorite star, Michael Sheen of “Frost/Nixon,” “The Queen,” and “The Damned United.” Of course, whoever it is, I guess it will have to believable that he’ll look like Ian Holm when he gets on in years.
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Posted in: Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Movie Dramas, Movies, News
Tags: 2012, Amy Adams, Bilbo Baggins, Brad Pitt, Brendon Connolly, Bryan Singer, Casino Royale, Chronicles of Narnia, Chuck Braverman, Citizen Kane, Darren Lemke, Disney, Dollhouse, Dracula, Edward Norton, Enver Gjokaj, Frost/Nixon, hand-drawn animation, Headlines, hobbits, Jack the Giant Killer, James McAvoy, Jet Li, John Hillcoat, Joss Whedon, Michael Sheen, Milla Jovovich, Movie Clips, Nick Cave, Orson Welles, Peter Jackson, Peter Morgan, Robert De Niro, Roland Emmerich, Ryan Goslin, Shia LaBouef, Steven Seagall, Tchaikovsky, The Blind Side, The Damned United, The Hobbit, The Nutcracker, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, The Princess and the Frog, The Queen, The Road, Vlad, Vlad Dracul