Kevin Costner to be in Tarantino's Django Unchained?

It’s quickly becoming a reality, according to Deadline:

Quentin Tarantino never has trouble putting together good casts for his films, but his Sergio Leone-style Spaghetti Western Django Unchained is turning out to be quite something. Kevin Costner is in negotiations to join a cast that is headed by Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Costner is in talks to play Ace Woody, and it's a real surprise turn for an actor most associated with good guy roles. He's the sadistic trainer of the male fighting slaves who entertain the white patrons of Candyland as well as the female slaves who are forced to be prostitutes. The club and ranch are owned by Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and Ace Woody is the one who pits the "mandingo" fighters against one another, and has little qualms about mistreating and even killing the slaves who don't measure up.

The roles that DiCaprio and Costner will play are every bit as sadistic as the one that Waltz played in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, and while Costner is still doing fine work, this could shine a light on him the way that Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta.

Foxx will play the title character, a slave-turned-bounty hunter who must take on those villains to free his slave wife. It's looking like Tarantino might make a discovery on that role, a character named Broomhilda. The Weinstein Company will put the picture into production in the early fall, with Sony Pictures taking foreign. Costner will take the role after playing Pa Kent in the Superman reboot Man Of Steel, and prepping to star in the miniseries “The Hatfields and McCoys” for History, which he's also producing. Costner's repped by WME and One Talent Management.

Jamie Foxx could be Quentin Tarantino's Django...

...but the source is not exactly rock solid in my eyes. The Playlist has more:

Yes, this bit of news is coming just from a tweet right now, but it comes from someone who has been on point for some of the biggest news surrounding Quentin Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained” thus far. Former Creative Screenwriting magazine Senior Editor and host of “The Q&A” podcast Jeff Goldsmith tweeted yesterday evening, “Will Smith is out! Inside sources tell me that Tarantino has chosen Oscar winner @iamjamiefoxx to play Django! #fb” If you have your doubts, Goldsmith was one of, if not the first person to tweet about Will Smith‘s interest in Quentin Tarantino’s Spaghetti Western slavery epic. And he also was hip to Leonardo DiCaprio‘s involvement before it got to the trades. Clearly, Goldsmith’s sources are pretty well informed.

While Quentin Tarantino actively sought out Will Smith for the lead role—with the actor’s longtime home Sony landing the foreign film rights in an effort to lure Smith—the writing has been on the wall for a while now. With days turning to weeks, it quickly became apparent Smith might not be so hot on the role and assortment of other names including Jamie Foxx, Idris Elba and Chris Tucker began entering the mix. In fact, if you like a good conspiracy, there have been some suggestions that the Weinsteins involvement in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Scientology skewering “The Master” put Smith off of working with the studio completely, but of course, that’s just a rumor. However, Foxx stepping into the lead role is frankly, just as strong a substitute both from both a business and artistic standpoint.

Not only is Foxx a big enough star to keep the backers happy in lieu of Smith, but he’s also a good fit for the role—not as imposing as Elba (Django is described as being fairly slight), not as annoying as Tucker—with action experience and an ability to turn out good performances when he’s not slumming it in “Valentine’s Day” and “Law Abiding Citizen.” It should also be noted, we were also told a couple weeks ago by Warner Bros. that they’d been pursuing Foxx for a role in “Gangster Squad,” but that the scheduling didn’t work out—was Foxx holding out for “Django Unchained?”

Add it all up, and we’re pretty sure a story will be hitting the trades about Foxx being in negotiations for the film in the near future (it was about a week between the DiCaprio tweet and the news hitting outlets). Should it all work out, he’d join Christoph Waltz, as benevolent German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultze, Samuel L. Jackson as the villain’s right-hand man and head house-slave Stephen, and Leonardo Di Caprio, as the villain, Calvin Candie (who last we heard was still in talks). “Django Unchained” hits theaters on Christmas Day 2012

-Joey's Two Cents: I was hopeful for Will Smith, but Foxx could hit a home run with this too...thoughts?

Look for Quentin Tarantino to leave you a stocking stuffer next December!

Yes, his next film is due next Christmas, according to Collider:

How cool is your family? For instance, if the new Quentin Tarantino movie opened on Christmas Day, would you have to ditch the folks for a couple hours, or could you bring them along? The Weinstein Company will put these family ties to the test with a December 25, 2012 release date for Django Unhcained [Box Office Mojo]. The supporting cast is mostly set: Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio are all on board or about to be barring any sticking points in negotiations. Much less certain is who will play Django, the freed slave taught the tricks of the trade by a German bounty hunter (Waltz) to liberate his wife from an evil plantation owner (DiCaprio). Will Smith was the early frontrunner, though a deal has not come easy. More recently, Idris Elba, Chris Tucker, and Jamie Foxx came up as possible Djangos. Showbiz 411 hears Foxx is the closest to the role, but all is heresay until it’s in the trades. Production is scheduled for later this summer or early fall — with the finish line in place, we’ll meet our Django soon enough.

Christmas Day is a Tuesday in 2012. As of this writing, Django Unchained has the holiday all to itself, but Hunter Killer, Life of Pi, and The Lone Ranger open the Friday before, December 21.

-Joey's Two Cents: Christmas isn't my holiday, but this is still something to circle on the calendar...thoughts?

Leonardo DiCaprio might end up working with Quentin Tarantino after all!

It's far from set in stone, but Collider has this to say:

Tarantino fans are hungry for any information regarding his next film, Django Unchained. However, while deals are still being done, we’re all left to wonder how the film will be cast. We already know that Christoph Waltz will play a bounty hunter who mentors an escaped slave named Django and then teams up with him to free Django’s wife from an evil plantation owner. Rumors are now springing forth from the Twitter about casting for Django and the plantation owner, Calvin Candie. Yesterday, tweets from Idris Elba hinted (in the vaguest of terms) that he might be playing Django even though Will Smith was tipped as Tarantino’s top choice for the role. Today, Creative Screenwriting magazine Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith tweeted

“Casting Rumor: Leonardo DiCaprio WILL play villian [sic] Calvin Candie in [Quentin] Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained”! QT wanted him for [Inglourious Basterds] & now has him!”

Hit the jump for more on these rumors.

Regarding the rumors, let’s start with Elba. Here’s what he tweeted [via The Playlist] this weekend:

“Having one of the biggest meetings of my professional life today…meeting a very controversial director for a very controversial part.”

Django Unchained is supposed to be highly controversial because it reportedly pulls no punches with regards to slavery and racial politics. Elba then followed-up by tweeting:

“I wish I could tell you more but…in due time. On the plane to the destination of my fate…..ok…. a lil dramatic….destination of my life..?”

There are a variety of controversial roles for controversial directors, and Django Unchained certainly fits the bill. However, it may not be for the role of Django. After all, it was implied that the reason The Weinstein Company partnered with Sony Pictures on distribution was to appeal to Smith since he’s got a strong relationship with Sony. Personally, I would love to see Elba star in a Tarantino film, and I think there’s some desire among Tarantino’s fans to see Smith not get the part because of his insistence on re-writing scripts (even though no one re-writes Tarantino) and more importantly, his clean-cut image trying to fit into a controversial role.

Then there’s DiCaprio who was already mentioned in connection with the project. On May 6th, Variety reported that “Tarantino is believed to have written the role of Dr. Schultz for DiCaprio, but when he passed, it was modified for Waltz.” But it’s possible that Tarantino hasn’t given up on DiCaprio and has offered him Candie instead. However, DiCaprio may have a scheduling conflict with Baz Luhrmann’s 3D adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

The Playlist points out that Goldsmith was one of the first people to report that Will Smith was up for Django and there have certainly been discussions with DiCaprio’s camp about joining the film. Furthermore, if Smith passed and the production went for Elba, they would most likely need a movie star of DiCaprio’s caliber just as Basterds needed Pitt.

But this is all speculation. Nothing’s been announced, discussions are happening behind closed doors, and there are plenty of roles to cast. But we’re always super-excited for anything Tarantino does so we’ll be sure to keep you updated about Django Unchained.

-Joey's Two Cents: DiCaprio would be great to see in a Tarantino flick, at least in my eyes. Thoughts?

Could Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained star Will Smith?

Quite possibly, according to Variety:

Will Smith is Quentin Tarantino's first choice for the lead in his latest project "Django Unchained," the director's new screenplay that's been making the Hollywood rounds over the past week.

Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" star Christoph Waltz is attached to play Dr. King Schultz, one of the pic's two leads. While the title role has yet to be cast, Tarantino wrote the script with Smith in mind, and multiple sources tell Variety that he's already been informally offered the role.

Story centers on a slave-turned-bounty hunter on a mission to rescue his wife Broomhilda from her sadistic slavemaster.

Insiders say Smith would be willing to give up his usual $20 million salary for the chance to tackle different, more controversial material -- just as Brad Pitt did to star in "Basterds." And Smith has long been seeking edgier roles.

Tarantino is said to have reached out to Pitt for one of the numerous juicy supporting roles in "Django," but the actor has decided not to pursue the project at this time.

Tarantino has also been looking to work with Leonardo DiCaprio. Several years ago, Variety reported that Tarantino was courting DiCaprio for the villainous role of Hans Landa in "Basterds," (July 15, 2008), which ultimately went to Waltz. Likewise, Tarantino is believed to have written the role of Dr. Schultz for DiCaprio, but when he passed, it was modified for Waltz.

Tarantino is also seeking a reunion with Samuel L. Jackson, who is being courted for the role of Stephen, the main servant to the chief antagonist in the Southern-flavored western.

The Weinstein Co. will distribute "Django Unchained," as Harvey Weinstein has handled distribution for all of Tarantino's movies. Perhaps coincidentally, Weinstein paid a visit Friday to CAA, which reps Smith.

-Joey's Two Cents: I'd love to see this casting come to fruition...thoughts?

Do we now know the title of Quentin Tarantino's next movie?

Quite possibly the one you see above, according to this story from Collider:

There’ve been rumblings about Quentin Tarantino’s next project for a while now. He previously talked about doing “a Southern,” a film that would bring to surface all the slavery issues that Americans are none too fond of tackling. Then there was that spaghetti western with Franco Nero rumored to be starring. In that updated story, it was confirmed that Tarantino was in fact writing a western, and Christoph Waltz is one of the stars. Beyond that, nothing else was known. The script was due to be turned in to The Weinstein Company in two months, at which time we might know more. Well, that was February.

Today, we may have learned that the title of Tarantino’s next film may be Django Unchained. How did we learn this? If you remember that image of the title page for the Inglourious Basterds script, with Tarantino’s scribbled handwriting, what lies after the jump may look familiar. Hit the jump to see what I’m talking about.

Today an image of what looks to be the title page of Tarantino’s final draft of Django Unchained was tweeted (via Slash Film). Here’s the picture:

It sure looks a great deal similar to that Inglorious Basterds page. Though this may seem a bit far fetched, keep in mind that there exists a 1966 spaghetti western called Django starring none other than Franco Nero, the same person who appeared to have spilled the beans on Tarantino’s next project a few months back.

I wouldn’t put it past Tarantino, a guy with an insane knowledge/passion for spaghetti westerns, to take the Django character and create an entirely new film. I’m not familiar with that western, but apparently Django is a gunslinger who drags around a coffin that conceals a Gatling gun. Consider me sold. Personally, I’m just psyched for a new Tarantino flick. Hopefully we’ll hear more soon, since according to the image Tarantino just finished the final draft a few days ago.

-Joey's Two Cents: Any new Tarantino project is a cause for celebration, so stay tuned for details! Thoughts?