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David Gordon Green's upcoming action-comedy "The Sitter," starring Jonah Hill, was already looking like it was going to be a lot of fun. Written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka (they're actually writing the "Baywatch" feature too), the script we read earlier this year was an enjoyable blast of comic silliness, probably not far off in tone from Green's "Pineapple Express" in 2008.
Well, it just got that much better. Sam Rockwell is evidently in final negotiations to play one of the two drug dealers in the film that chases Hill's character around town for losing his cocaine in a wild night of danger and adventure. Rockwell already worked on Green's low-key indie drama, "Snow Angels," and the filmmaker has always talked fondly about that collaboration so it doesn't surprise us they decided to work together again. Though the drug dealer role was originally African American. Can you see Sam Rockwell pulling a Gary Oldman a la "True Romance"? One can only hope.
This likely means most of the key casting pieces are complete. Max Records, the lead in "Where The Wild Things Are," essentially has the lead child role (the elder neurotic boy), while Kevin Hernandez, who'll be seen in Mel Gibson vehicle "How I Spent My Summer Vacation,"and Landry Bender play the other two children that Hill's college kid character is forced to babysit at the behest of his mother since he's been expelled from school. J.B. Smoove, the stand-up-turned-actor best known for his role as Leon Black in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," has the other drug dealer role, and Ari Graynor who is perhaps best known for her drunken friend role in "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," will play Hill's selfish girlfriend. The aforementioned mom role is basically the last piece of the puzzle, though there is one more small slot for a fun, dumb, jock role.
"The Sitter" is already set for a July 15th, 2011 release and Green's "Your Highness" will hit theaters April 8th, 2011, so that will be two films from the prolific director in one year (and less than three months apart) and three comedies in a row. [The Wrap]
The biggest surprise hit of the year? Or at least the one with no existing franchise film before it? Paramount/ Dreamworks Animations' "How to Train Your Dragon" without question. The film is currently #8 on the worldwide box-office grosses of 2010 having grossed $492.6 million worldwide and $217.6 million domestically. Not bad numbers at all for a film that isn't part two or three of anything (the only bigger, "brand new" not based on a franchise was "Alice In Wonderland," but arguably the story is world renowned and had a built in audience regardless of Johnny Depp or Tim Burton). Did inflated 3D prices help its numbers? Hell, yes, but the studio is not looking a gift horse in the mouth.
So it's absolutely no surprise that a "How to Train Your Dragon 2" is now in the works according to Variety. The entire principal cast will be returning to reprise their voice roles including Jay Baruchel, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig.
Co-writer/director Dean DeBlois, who performed double duty with Chris Sanders on the first film will take over to assume full duties on part two (Sanders is off and running with "The Croods" to be voiced by Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds).
The film will be aiming for a 2013 release and apparently the first one was conceived as a prequel to the series based on Cressida Cowell's books. "There are nine books, and I feel like there are all sorts of elements that we could pull from," DeBlois said.
Last we heard, Ben Stiller was working with fellow actor/writer/director Justin Theroux on a sequel to his cult hit, 2003's fashion industry comedy "Zoolander."
Appearing at NYCC for David Gordon Green's "Your Highness" now, Theroux has provided several updates on the sequel. The gestating script is described as being in "good shape right now. I'm feeling very optimistic about it. We're doing a few little tweaks before we submit it, but I'm very hopeful that I'm going to be working on that soon," Theroux told MTV.
As previously mentioned, the sequel will be set 10 years after the original and will begin with Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and rival-turned-partner Hansel (Owen Wilson, whose return sounds more likely now) "in a pretty bad place. They're about to ring 40's bell. They have to claw their way back into the fashion industry in some way or another." We're sure some of Theroux's attempts to hook with up models research at Paris Fashion Week will come into play here.
One of the best performances by a kid we've seen in recent years was the brilliantly-named Max Records in Spike Jonze's outstanding "Where The Wild Things Are" — totally unforced, natural and feral. So, really, we couldn't be happier that Records has landed another role, in a project helmed by a director with a track record in getting excellent performance from children.
Records, and relative unknown Kevin Hernandez, who'll be seen in Mel Gibson vehicle "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," if it ever sees the light of day, have joined the already-cast Landry Bender as the three children that Jonah Hill has to look after in David Gordon Green's currently-filming comedy "The Sitter." Hernandez will presumably play Rodrigo, a semi-psychotic, destructive 10-year-old Latino kid, while Records will be Slater, the eldest of the kids, a neurotic 13-year-old (man, he's perfectly cast in the role) and Landry is Blithe, an 8-year-old obsessed with Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.
Ari Graynor ("Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist") was already in the cast, as Hill's girlfriend, and there's another new addition in the shape of J.B. Smoove, the stand-up turned actor best known for his role as Leon Black in "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Smoove will play one of a pair of drug dealers in pursuit of Hill (Joaquin Phoenix was reportedly offered the other, although as far as we're aware, the role hasn't been cast yet).
It's all shaping up to be one of the more promising comedies of next year, particularly with Hill having shown new depths in"Cyrus," and with Records coming on board. The film will be released on July 15 next year, as neat counter-programming to the final "Harry Potter" movie. [The Wrap]
Does good news for Sony, Marc Webb and and Andrew Garfield mean bad news for Jonah Hill, directors Phil Lord, Chris Miller and well... Sony?
The L.A. Times is reporting that Emma Stone's recent confirmed casting in the "Spider-Man" 3D reboot may preclude her involvement in Hill's "21 Jump Street" adaptation that was written by screenwriter Michael Bacall ("Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World," the "Les Grossman" project).
The issue? Scheduling. Isn't it always (imagine how much money studios could generate if they could create cloning technology)? "Spider-Man" is set to start filming in December of this year (probably pushed to early 2011 as they usually are) and "21 Jump Street" is hoping to shoot early in 2011 as well. There's two options for the project that's not a cash-cow franchise that can't be moved (guess which one?). One: delay their schedule and wait a few months until Stone is free. Or two: recast.
While waiting is an option, apparently scheduling issues lay further down the road as Hill and Stone have to take on other projects and "Spider-Man" will shoot through the entire winter of 2011."Spider-Man" 3D is set for a July 2012 release, while "21 Jump Street" doesn't have anything more than a vague TBD Winter 2012 release date attached according to BOM. Sony are no dummies though. One film is a major priority, while the other is an interesting new franchise that could take off. Keep an eye out for developments and or for a new pretty face to join Hill if it comes to that.
Emma Stone's "Easy A" might have come second to Ben Affleck's "The Town" last weekend in the box-office sweepstakes, but every single player in Hollywood noticed just not only how well the teen comedy did (relatively well, next to an male-dominated action thriller), but just how Stone charmed the pants off everyone in the audience, studio heads included.
So it's no surprise, her name is on the tip of everyone's lips this week. She's already been touted as a potential love interest in Marc Webb's "Spider-Man" starring Andrew Garfield, but Variety is also reporting that her "Superbad" co-star Jonah Hill wants her for the female lead in his upcoming adaptation of the late '80s teen-cop TV show, "21 Jump Street."
Written by Michael Bacall ("Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World," the Les Grossman film) and to be directed by Phil Lord ("Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs") "21 Jump Street" is set to begin production in early 2011, after Hill finishes shooting David Gordon Green's "The Sitter."
"Easy A" did well for Sony -- $21 million so far off a very modest $8 million dollar budget, and expected to grow-- and Stone is now a big hit with studio head Amy Pascal (who also has control over "Spider-Man"). No other details are given, but such is the fickle world of Hollywood. If Stone is wise, she'll strike while the iron is hot.
>>> Emma Stone Circling Female Lead In Jonah Hill's '21 Jump Street' >>>
David Gordon Green's upcoming action-comedy "The Sitter," starring Jonah Hill, was already looking like it was going to be a lot of fun. Written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka (they're actually writing the "Baywatch" feature too), the script we read earlier this year was an enjoyable blast of comic silliness, probably not far off in tone from Green's "Pineapple Express" in 2008.
