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It looks like Joaquin Phoenix's return to the big screen following his elaborate career sabotage hoax won't be in Clint Eastwood's forthcoming biopic "Hoover."
Reports surfaced last month that the director wanted Joaquin Phoenix to join the film in the role of Clyde Tolson, Hoover's "gay lover." But maybe someone should've asked Eastwood himself. Speaking to Reuters Eastwood quashed the rumors saying, "No. I don't know where that came from...didn't he become a rapper?" Hmm...maybe someone needs to send a screener of "I'm Still Here" over to the Eastwood estate.
Moreover -- and as our earlier read of the script revealed -- Hoover's gay life isn't of much interest to the director. "He was a very complex person. The homosexual aspect is just one of many. I would say that's the least of his problems. But he was also very clever, whether rightfully or wrongfully, he was very clever about keeping himself in a certain position in life, so it is an interesting study," Eastwood said. Dustin Lance Black's script is actually quite subtle in the treatment of homosexuality in the film and is not a central focus to the film. While their relationship is key, and the attraction between the two is there, the actual depiction of it is actually quite understated.
As for Leonardo DiCaprio, long linked to the lead role, it looks like the wheels are in motion. Eastwood says that contracts are "in the process" of being signed by the actor. So it looks like at least the biggest piece of the casting puzzle remains intact, but just don't expect DiCaprio to be borrowing Bar Refaeli's heels for the film.
Despite "Australia" being something of a misfire, we're always keen to see what Baz Luhrmann is cooking up -- we may not be unconditionally in love with all his films, but few directors working in big-scale cinema are doing what he does. For some time, Luhrmann's been circling a number of projects: while he flirted with "My Fair Lady," the main contenders have been an unknown historical epic, a musical, possibly a collaboration with "Slumdog Millionaire" composer A.R. Rahmann, and an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
MTV spoke to our favorite Australian Roger Sterling-lookalike at the premiere of "The Social Network," and he confirmed that he'd narrowed his decision down to two projects, 'Gatsby,' and the mysterious musical, which seems to be set in New York. Luhrmann told them "I've got the script for both of them and I'm making that decision in four to six weeks, no longer than six weeks."
Coincidentally, Production Weekly ran with some casting rumors for 'Gatsby' via Twitter yesterday -- namely Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Amanda Seyfried as Daisy Buchanan. DiCaprio makes sense, although there's a suavity to the character he's never quite displayed (Ryan Gosling would be perfect), but as always, the names are probably at this point not much more than names on a wishlist. Luhrmann was non-committal when he spoke to MTV, telling them that "You know I think of casting all the time, but I put that to the side and I complete the text. Obviously there are natural choices and there is a natural top of the list, but I really refuse to say anything until we have the text right." With that in mind, we're certainly not going to take the casting rumors with anything other than a colossal pinch of salt at this point.
That said if the intel is on the right track, both DiCaprio and Maguire do have open calendars in 2011 (with former shooting Clint Eastwood's "Hoover" early in the year) when we presume 'Gatsby' would shoot -- if that's what Luhrmann decides to do. And as DiCaprio and Maguire are good pals, it would certainly lend an extra element to the film.
Would there be a potential comeback role more appropriate for Mel Gibson than some sort of tongue-in-cheek involvement with Matthew Weiner's critically-adored, '60's-set drama "Mad Men"?
Rumors have it that the fantasy teaming may actually be in the works. Women On The Web report that Weiner is a fan of Gibson and has recently met up with him to plot a collaboration for the show's next season, its fifth, which begins lensing next summer. Weiner is said to have "told a pal recently that he sees a lot of dramatic potential pitting Gibson against Don Draper."
Too good to be true? It looks like it. According to a source close to the show, the rumor is bunk and more importantly Weiner and Gibson "have never met." Ah well. We figured it was too soon for Gibson to be talking about acting roles. He's yet to do the talk-show-interview/crying-in-public routine that these sort of situations usually demand before all is forgiven. Surely this all spawned from wishful thinking but we guess stranger things have happened.
Gibson, of course, still has Jodie Foster's man-and-his-puppet tale "The Beaver" waiting in the wings even if its prospects seem up in the air at this stage. We're also still wondering if his planned William Monahan-scripted Viking epic with Leonardo DiCaprio is officially dead and gone just yet. It might be bias, blind optimism but something tells us audiences haven't been put off Gibson by his recent tape-gate scandal — in fact a recent CBS/Vanity Fair poll said that 76% of respondents replied that they would not be less likely to see a Mel Gibson film following his latest controversy. Whether Hollywood feels the same way is another question.
It looks like Joaquin Phoenix's return to the big screen following his elaborate career sabotage hoax won't be in Clint Eastwood's forthcoming biopic "Hoover."
