Adams and Mortensen going "On the Road"

 

TOLDJA! is reporting that Amy Adams and Viggo Mortensen have joined the Francis Ford Coppola-produced and Walter Salles-directed, On the Road.  The film - also starring Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, and Garret Hedlund - is an adaptation of the classic Jack Kerouac novel involving a series of cross country trips taken by writer Sal Paradise (Riley).

In the picture, Mortensen will play the character of Old Bull Lee while Adams will play his junkie wife, Jane, of two kids.  The actors are said to be shooting their scenes later this month as filming reportedly began today.

Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries) wrote the script while Rebecca Yeldham is also producing with Coppola.

More on this story as it comes.

Kurt Russell to star in "Touchback"

If there's one actor over time who has been consistently overlooked and underappreciated for his talent, it's Kurt Russell.  In every film I've seen him in, whether it be comedy (Overboard), action (Backdraft), sports-drama (Miracle), or just plain drama (Dark Blue), he's absolutely terrific.  In recent years, Russell has been appearing in less and less films, but thankfully, a new pic of his is just about to roll.

Via The Trades, Russell is set to star in the football-drama, Touchback.  The film, which starts shooting this week in Michigan, will be directed by writer/director Don Hanfield. 

Russell will play a high school football coach whose once promising star player, played by Brian Presley (Home of the Brave), is thrust back into the fateful instant that left him critically injured and career cut short.

Melanie Lynsky (Up in the Air) and Christine Lahti (Obsessed) will also star.

Willis & Weaver feel "Cold Light"

Following up my story from last week regarding Henry Cavill landing the lead in The Cold Light of Day, The Trades are reporting that Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver have come aboard the project over at Summit-Intrepid Pictures.

Willis will play Cavill’s father, a man whose secrets lead to his family being kidnapped in connection with a government conspiracy and his son (Cavill) on a mission to rescue them. Weaver will play the mother.

The picture, being directed by Mabrouk El Mechri (JCVD), starts filming in Spain on Sept. 6th.

Stallone Interested In Possible ‘Rambo’ "Prequel?"

When it comes to legends in the film industry, it’s hard to come by a more larger-than-life figure than Sylvester Stallone.  If there’s one actor in Hollywood who has done it all, seen it all, and most of all, experienced it all, it’s Sly. 

While answering questions over at Ain’t It Cool News in promoting his upcoming action mantra ‘The Expendables,’ the actor-director-writer-producer-and pretty much everything else, was asked about his interest in doing a Rambo film set before the events of ‘First Blood.’  Stallone had this to say:

I certainly think this is worth pondering because it’s intriguing to find the whys and wherefores of how people have come to become what they are. The traumas, the loss and the tragedy of being in Vietnam would certainly be a great challenge for a young actor and it would be ironic that Rambo directs younger Rambo after having played it for 20 plus years.

Not too sure how I feel about this.  I mean ‘Rambo’ was a great finish for the franchise and it seems that taking the route of a prequel is more tacking on then actually necessary.  On the other hand, since Sly resurrected his career with ‘Rocky Balboa’ and been on a role in recent years, it’s hard to argue any career choice he makes at this point.  If he wanted to do it then I’d see it.  The guy’s probably the hardest working man I’ve ever read about so any project he takes on is going to be worth it.

And by the way…he ain’t casting Taylor Lautner

Cavill To Headline "Cold Light"

Henry Cavill -- yes, the guy who should play Superman -- is set to star in the kidnapping thriller, ‘The Cold Light of Day.’  The flick will be set around a young, arrogant Wall Street tycoon who takes an unwanted vacation with his family to Spain, only to be thrust into a government conspiracy when they are kidnapped.  In order to rescue them, he must face his father’s hidden secret and save the ones he loves.

Mabrouk El Mechri (the awesome Van Damme flick ‘JCVD’) will direct from Summit and Intrepid Pictures.  Filming starts in Spain Sept. 6th.

It’s nice to see Cavill starting to hit the big-time as his talent demands more starring roles.  Hopefully Chris Nolan will notice ;)

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First Image Of Ghostface On 'Scream 4' Set

Horror icon Wes Craven has presented the 1st image of Ghostface on the set of ‘Scream 4’ via Twitter.  Nothing too exciting to look at but is good to see the new supposed “trilogy” isn’t veering away from what made the previous three films great (well, not so much the 3rd one).

Little is known about the plot of this 4th installment in the horror franchise -- completely written by original scribe Kevin Williamson, NOT Ehren Kruger contrary to reports -- but photos from the set indicate the original three (Sidney, Gale, Dewey) are back in Woodsboro, the place where it all began.

New to the cast are Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Hayden Panettiere, Nico Tortorella, Adam Brody, Mary Shelton, and Anthony Anderson.

Here’s hoping a teaser trailer is released before the end of summer. Check out the picture below.

Vince Vaughn and David O. Russell Heading To "Old St. Louis"

In one of the more odd-pairings of actor and director in recent years, TOLDJA! is reporting Vince Vaughn (The Breakup, Wedding Crashers) and David O. Russell (Three Kings, upcoming The Fighter) are said to coming aboard Universal’s Old St. Louis.  The film, written by Russell, is set around a traveling salesman father (Vaughn) who has been absent from his daughter’s life only to find redemption when he starts to spend time with her.

After weeks of talks, it is looking like Vince Vaughn and director David O. Russell are likely to team on Old St. Louis, a script written by Russell. The discussions have the film landing at Universal, which would co-finance and distribute. The film will be produced by Vaughn and sister Victoria Vaughn through their Universal-based Wild West Picture Show Productions.

Old St. Louis is the story of a traveling salesman who has been an absentee father, and how his life changes when his daughter becomes part of his life. Vaughn would play the salesman, and actresses including Kick-Ass star Chloe Moretz have been mentioned as possibles to play the daughter. I'm told Russell would like to make the film his followup to The Fighter, the film that stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, with Paramount distributing the Relativity Media/Mandeville co-production.

CAA, which reps both Vaughn and Russell, continue to work to tie down the rights, but I hear it's going to happen. Vaughn has been starring with Kevin James in What You Don't Know, an Allan Loeb-scripted comedy about infidelity that Ron Howard is directing for Universal. Vaughn is producing with Imagine's Brian Grazer.

I don’t know about you, but I’m actually interested to see this.  Vaughn has been stuck in comedies for years so it’s nice to see him getting back to his dramatic roots.  See A Cool, Dry Place or Return to Paradise,  he’s fantastic.  Russell on the hand…what can be said about this guy?  He’s made some interesting films in his career (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) yet has been known to be a difficult to work with.  With that said though, I’m beyond pumped to see The Fighter.  Let’s see where this goes.

Is "The Amazing Spider-Man" a cheat for "Spider-Man 4"?

Early this year, it was huge news out of Hollywood that Sony would be rebooting its Spider-Man franchise by canceling "Spider-Man 4" and ridding themselves of Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and everyone else involved in the three previous films, collectively.  Along with this, it was announced that Peter Parker would be returning to his high school roots as the new franchise would focus on our young superhero tackling real life, coming of age issues. Getting rising filmmaker Marc Webb certainly endorsed this notion as his film debut, (500) Days of Summer, exemplified his ability to show young adults dealing with the difficult journey we all call life. 

Then, just over a month ago, something strange happened.  After months of speculation over what 18 to 20 something actor would play the adolescent Peter Parker/Spider-Man -- from Anton Yelchin, to Logan Lerman, to Josh Hutcherson -- Sony announced Andrew Garfield had landed the role.  While most fans were quick to ask, who is that?  Their second question most likely was, isn’t he kind of old?

To be correct, Garfield is 26 years of age and will turn 27 in less than a month.  While the talented actor looks extremely young for his age, the internet caught fire wondering why Sony would go with someone, on a psychological level, over a decade out of high school to play someone in high school?  Talk backers were quick to get an answer as multiple reports have been confirming that Sony has decided to change the new Spider-Man’s setting from high school to college due to Garfield’s age.  Now here’s where things get fishy.

First off, the previous Spider-Man franchise, started with Peter Parker in high school and ending with him somewhere in his 3rd, maybe 4th year of college.  So now Sony is basically putting their new Spider-Man back in almost the same position their old one was, give or take a few years?  Does anyone think Sony had a plan all along to scrap the Sam Raimi franchise so they could start over with all the characters, yet at the same time, keep their superhero in the same position he would have been anyway?

Let’s look at the comparison between films here.  "Spider-Man 4" would have had a 2-3 year, out of college Peter Parker/Spider-Man with Mary Jane Watson, played by actors well beyond their character’s ages, along with having no Harry or Norman Osborne, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Eddie Brock, or any other character that had appeared in the previous three films. 

Then we have the new Spider-Man film, or lets call it "The Amazing Spider-Man".  We’ll have a college bound Peter Parker, again with an actor older than his character’s age, yet have the freedom to reuse any character from the old franchise.  Uncle Ben, MJ, Harry, Norman, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, all of them.  Not to mention, what’s the difference in the Peter Parker character’s age from "Spider-Man 4" to "The Amazing Spider-Man"?  5-6 years tops? 

Sounds like Sony was thinking more with their wallets than treating moviegoers to their “intentions” to deliver a quality Spider-Man film based on creativity, not greed.  Yeah, not in today’s world.

Could Sasha Grey be ‘Melting’ Hollywood?

Who said porn stars can’t go mainstream?  Young adult-film actress Sasha Grey is said to be in talks to join Mark Pellington’s low-budget drama, "I Melt With You".  The film will also star current HBO vets Thomas Jane and Jeremy Piven, along with Rob Lowe and Arielle Kebbel.

It’s been quite a past couple years for Grey as she made her feature film debut in Steven Soderbergh’s "The Girlfriend Experience", which gained solid reviews, along with nabbing a meaty role in this summer’s current season of "Entourage".

"Melt With You" revolves around three former college pals (Jane, Piven, and Lowe), now adults, who reunite one summer and realize they have found emptiness within themselves, leading to a resurrection of a dangerous pact they swore by.Grey will play the free spirited Raven, a young girl who aides the men in finding the ultimate thrill in life is death.

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