John Cusack will again star opposite Nicolas Cage?

So it seems, though they will be playing roles they're each less accustomed to, according to Collider:

Any day that involves a Con Air reunion is a good day. Nicolas Cage and John Cusack, who were the stars of the 1997 action film centering on a prison-hijacked plane (genius!), are in negotiations to reteam on The Frozen Ground. The film is based on the true story of an Alaskan family man who, for 12 years, abducted over 24 women and flew them to the wilderness where he hunted them for sport. Detective Glenn Flothe teamed up with the serial killer’s only escaped victim to eventually bring him to justice.

If you thought you knew who would play what role, you’re probably wrong. Deadline reports that Cage is eyeing the part of Detective Flothe while Cusack would play Robert Hansen, the serial killer. Scott Walker wrote and will make his directorial debut on the project. If both actors sign on, this’ll make for one hell of a creepy project.

-Joey's Two Cents: I like the idea of them playing against type...thoughts?

Harrison Ford to play Wyatt Earp!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

With Cowboys & Aliens premiering tonight at Comic-Con,Harrison Ford has attached himself to another cowboy role, though this one comes with an interesting twist.

Ford is attached to star as an aging Wyatt Earp in Black Hats, an adaptation of a Max Allan Collins novel being produced by Thunder Road's Basil Iwanyk and Jason Netter of Kickstart Productions.

Kurt Johnstad, who co-wrote 300 and is co-writing its sequel,300: The Battle of Artemisia, has been tapped to pen the adaptation.

Black Hats blends fact with fiction in its telling of the story involving an older Earp, the one who spent his last years as a private detective and movie consultant in Los Angeles. The spin involves Earp learning that his friend and compatriot Doc Holliday had a son, now living in Prohibition-era New York City. While Holliday is long dead, the son has gotten himself in trouble with a rising mobster, Al Capone.

Earp teams up with Bat Masterson, one of his former deputies and now noted sportswriter for the New York Morning Telegraph, to take on the gang in what becomes a tale of six-shooters versus tommy guns.

Collins wrote the book, published in 2007, under the pseudonym of Patrick Culhane. The author, known in comic circles for creating private eye heroine Ms Tree and writing Batman stories, wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition, later adapted into a 2002 gangster movie directed by Sam Mendesstarring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law.

Netter brought the book to Iwanyk, who showed it to Ford, with the actor sparking to the idea of an old gunfighter with his .45 walking the streets of 1920s Big Apple.

The producers aim to develop and package the project before approaching studios. Brazilian company RT is paying for the script and development, with RT principals Fernando Loureiro and Rodrigo Teixeria also taking on producer roles.

Iwanyk, who was a producer on The Town and Clash of the Titans, is currently in production on the latter¹s sequel and is also developing the remake of A Star is Born, to which Beyonce Knowles is attached to star.

Netter and his comic-centric Kickstart, along with Neal Moritz, last week set up comic book adaptation The Red Star at Warner Bros. Netter was a producer on the 2007 Angelina Jolie comic book movieWanted.

Johnstad, repped by WME, Untitled, and Parseghian/Planco, also wrote The Last Photograph, a drama that has Christian Bale and Sean Penn attached to star.

Ford, repped by UTA, is notoriously choosy for this roles and is not one to haphazardly develop projects that he may or may not do. In Cowboys & Aliens he stars as a land baron who teams up withDaniel Craig to fight aliens in the Old West in the Jon Favreau-directed tentpole. The movie premieres tonight at Comic-Con.

-Joey's Two Cents: As long as he doesn't look asleep and cranky, I'm happy to have him in any movie...thoughts?

Felicity Jones will work again with her ‘Like Crazy’ helmer Drake Doremus...

...which, considering how strong the buzz on Like Crazy is, makes me excited for the film. Here's the story from The Playlist:

Sundance may be located in the middle-of-nowhere Utah, be a pain the ass to get to and be ridiculous expensive but there is a reason every budding filmmaker dreams of taking the journey—it can make (or break) your career. For Drake Doremus, he saw everything change with his low key long-distance romance tale “Like Crazy.” After directing three little seen features, Doremus soon found himself as the center of attention with the picture earning strong reviews, great buzz for the performances byAnton Yelchin and Felicity Jones and walked away from the festival with a distribution deal withParamount. And oh yeah, he also took home a Grand Jury Prize for his film as well. Not bad. Well, he’s riding that wave into his next effort and he’s lined up a solid cast to work with.

Jones will return to work with Doremus along Guy Pearce and Amy Ryan also signing on for his next, and currently untitled film. You see? That’s the awesome kind of casting Sundance buzz gets you. Penned by Doremus and Ben York, his collaborator on “Like Crazy,” details are being kept under wraps but the film will center on love and marriage. So maybe a spiritual sequel of sorts to “Like Crazy”? At any rate, Doremus is sticking with thematic material that has served him well already.

Indian Paintbrush, who partnered with Paramount in acquiring “Like Crazy,” are financing the film and it’s moving fast—it will start shooting next month. It looks like Doremus is too reveling in the good word surrounding his Sundance hit and is getting right back to work. No release date yet but we presume this will find its way to theaters sometimes next year.

As for “Like Crazy,” you can see if it deserved the hype when it opens on October 28th.

-Joey's Two Cents: I can't wait...thoughts?

Seth Rogen to team up in an R rated comedy with...Zac Efron?

Apparently so, according to Deadline:

After a feverish day-long bidding battle, I'm hearing that Universal Pictures is closing a 7-figure deal for an untitled comedy that will have Seth Rogen and Zac Efron attached to star. Rogen and Evan Goldberg will produce through their Point Grey Pictures banner. I'm told that this was an incredible deal that capitalized on the R-rated successes of the summer, and that beyond the 7-figures for writers Andrew Cohen and Brendan O'Brien, Rogen will be paid $8 million with a separate low seven-figure producing fee.

Several studios bid on the pitch that will be written by Cohen and O'Brien, who, like Rogen and Goldberg, are Judd Apatow proteges. Cohen and O'Brien will be executive producers. The pitch will be an R-rated comedy that has the tone of Old School. Rogen plays a regular guy who lives near an alpha male fraternity house. Efron is a member of the fraternity, whose raucous behavior wreaks havoc on the other guy's family life. The scribes hatched the idea and brought it to Goldberg and it was packaged with Efron and Rogen. The bidding came down to Universal and New Line. Uni made Bridesmaids and New Line made Horrible Bosses, both of which were big R-rated hits. CAA and Alchemy Entertainment repped Efron, and CAA repped the writers. UTA and Principal repped Rogen and UTA repped Goldberg.

-Joey's Two Cents: The pairing actually could work really well...thoughts?

Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell could be working together real soon...

...according to The Playlist:

...and then there was one. With Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Andrea Riseborough, Olivia Wilde and Jennifer Lawrence all vying and testing for the coveted female lead role in David O. Russell‘s “The Silver Linings Playbook,” one name has risen above the others. Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence seems to have impressed the director where the others have failed, taking the frontrunner position according to Deadline.

We were definitely bummed when the “Winter’s Bone” star bailed on Oliver Stone‘s “Savages” to make way for “The Hunger Games,” but this finds the actress back into meatier territory after her recent vacations in tentpole land. The plot involves Pat Peoples (to be played by Mark Wahlberg), a former high school teacher who, after being released from a four-year stint in a mental institution, moves back in with his mother; he then seeks to remake himself, finding the titular silver linings in his life. The role that Lawrence will take is that of a depressed neighbour, who after the death of her husband, goes on wild sexual spree, loses her job and eventually becomes friends with and a love interest for Pat.

Of course, Lawrence is currently very busy shooting “The Hunger Games” in the lead role of Katniss Everdeen, but should the contracts get signed, sealed and delivered, she will transition straight to Russell’s film which is gearing up for a fall shoot. It’s certainly a rock solid casting choice for Russell, who could really have chosen anybody he wanted, and for Lawrence, another smart move by the actress who is quickly diversifying her IMDb page.

-Joey's Two Cents: I like this pairing a lot...thoughts?

Helen Mirren replaces Bette Midler in HBO's Phil Spector biopic...

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Helen Mirren has replaced Bette Midler in HBO Films’ Phil Spector telefilm.

Midler was forced to bow out of the project, written and directed by David Mament, as it was already in production after suffering a herniated disc that may require surgery.

Oscar-winner Mirren (The Queen) will play Linda Kenney Braden, a defense attorney who represented the producer during his first trial for murder, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Al Pacino will play Spector.

Barry Levinson will executive produce alongside Mamet and Pacino. The cast includes “Arrested Development’s” Jeffrey Tambor, who will play Bruce Cutler, an attorney on Spector’s defense team.

Mirren won an Emmy in 2005 for HBO’s miniseries “Elizabeth I;” her television work also includes her Emmy-winning performance in the 2006 telefilm Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act, where she reprised her role as Detective Jane Tennison.

NBC is rebooting the “Prime Suspect” series this fall with Maria Bello stepping into the role made famous by Mirren.

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.

Judd Apatow adds John Lithgow and 2 non actors to his next film!

The Film Stage has more:

We told you last night that John Lithgow had already joined the cast of the next film fromJudd Apatow, which might be titled This Is Forty. (I would like to just be able to call it that and move on, really.) Now, THR has learned of two more additions to the movie, and interestingly enough, neither of them are traditional actors.

The two are Annie Mumolo and Robert Smigel, the former of whom co-wroteBridesmaids with its star, Kristen Wiig. Smigel is a name that you might recognize right away, thanks to his work on shows like Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. On that talk show, he created Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who became one of the most famous figures in comedy from the past ten years.

His past association with Apatow comes through his co-writing credit on You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, but let’s hope this turns out a little better than that. Some might be worried about two people who aren’t normally actors having parts here, but I think that can be dissuaded for two reasons: 1. Apatow is very good at bringing out people’s comedic sensibilities, and 2. These will probably be smaller roles.

The rest of the cast is rather impressive, being comprised of Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, Albert Brooks, Charlyne Yi, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Melissa McCarthy, and Ryan Lee. It’s expected to see a release on December 21st, 2012.

Are you a fan of the work of either, and how do you feel about them acting in this film?

-Joey's Two Cents: I have no clue what they are going to be doing, but I just like knowing Lithgow is in this...thoughts?

Sam Rockwell replaces Jeremy Renner in Better Living Through Chemistry...

...according to Variety:

Sam Rockwell is in negotiations to star opposite Jennifer Garner in Occupant Films' darkly comedic thriller "Better Living Through Chemistry."

Rockwell will play a meek, small-town pharmacist stuck in a loveless marriage who rediscovers himself by starting an affair with a trophy wife, to be played by Garner. After she introduces him to the pleasures of prescription drugs, things spin out of control when they begin plotting to kill her husband.

Michelle Monaghan is set to co-star as Rockwell's wife, while Judi Dench will serve as the film's narrator.

Geoff Moore and David Posamentier, whose script appeared on the most recent Black List, will make their directorial debut with the indie pic, which was previously slated to star Jeremy Renner.

Occupant's Joe Neurauter and Felipe Marino are producing "Chemistry," which ICM is handling North American rights for.

Rockwell recently starred in "Conviction" and "Iron Man 2." He'll soon be seen in Jon Favreau's "Cowboys & Aliens" and David Gordon Green's Jonah Hill comedy "The Sitter," which 20th Century Fox releases Dec. 9.

Rockwell is repped by Gersh.

-Joey's Two Cents: One good actor replacing another...thoughts?

Melanie Laurent will co-star with Jesse Eisenberg in an upcoming thriller?

Via The Playlist:

We definitely have a soft spot for Louis Leterrier, as far as action-led helmers go. Undeniably talented, he’s more than proved his action chops on the first two “Transporter” films, and pulled off a solid superhero flick on “The Incredible Hulk.” Unfortunately, his last film, “Clash of the Titans,” while a big hit, suffered from shoddy 3D and was probably a script that shouldn’t have gone before cameras in the first place.

While the currently-filming sequel was given to other hands, Leterrier hasn’t been bowed, and his next film is shaping up to be his most promising to date by far. The French director is gearing up to direct “Now You See Me,” a heist thriller about the face-off between an FBI team and a group of world-famous illusionists who pull heists during their act, and an impressive set of names were said to be circling the project, including Jesse Eisenberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Olivia Wilde. There’s good news and bad news today, with some of the previous names being locked in, while at least one has moved on to new pastures.

Variety reports that “Inglourious Basterds” star Melanie Laurent, last seen being typically luminous in Mike Mills’ wonderful “Beginners,” is in firm negotations to play the female lead in the film, which, after her terrific turn in Tarantino’s film, can only be a good thing. Laurent will join the increasingly, and deservingly, busy Eisenberg, who’s now locked in to the project, but the trade reports that Gyllenhaal has passed. There’s no word on whether Hoffman and Wilde are still involved—neither have taken other projects recently, so it’s possible they’re still in talks.

Still, Eisenberg and Laurent alone would have our interest: both are relatively picky in their roles, which suggests that the script, by Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt, is strong. “Star Trek” writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are producing, and Summit will release the film. There’s no exact word on when filming will start, but it’ll presumably come some time after Eisenberg wraps Woody Allen‘s currently-filming “Bop Decameron,” so perhaps we’ll see it in theaters in late 2012 or early 2013.

-Joey's Two Cents: I love the pairing...thoughts?

Ed Norton could play opposite Jeremy Renner in the next Bourne film...

...and as the bad guy no less, as per this in Variety:

Edward Norton is in negotiations to play the villain in Universal's "The Bourne Legacy" opposite Jeremy Renner.

Tony Gilroy is on board to direct from a script he penned and Rachel Weisz has also signed on to star.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Jason Bourne will not be featured in the film, while Renner will play another assassin trained in the same program that Bourne was trained in. Universal had no comment on Norton's negotiations.

Frank Marshall, Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner are producing.

Besides "The Italian Job," Norton has not been in full-bore villain mode for some time. The "Bourne" role is his most commercial since starring as the Hulk in Marvel and Universal's "The Incredible Hulk."

In previous "Bourne" pics, Universal had not surrounded then-star Matt Damon with high-profile names, but the Gilroy pic is shaping up as a major ensemble piece.

Norton is filming the Wes Anderson pic "Moonrise Kingdom."

He is repped by WME.

-Joey's Two Cents: I like the direction of this film so far...thoughts?

Paul Rudd will star in a narrative feature from Errol Morris?

So it seems, according to Collider:

Paul Rudd is set to star in a new feature film from noted documentarian Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line). The non-documentary feature is based on a story from “This American Life” about Bob Nelson, a California TV-repairman who decided that his obsession with cryogenically freezing humans in order to resurrect them later in the future needed to become a reality. The material seems pretty spot-on for Rudd’s comedic sensibilities.

The Washington Post confirms Rudd’s casting, and Stranger Than Fiction screenwriter Zach Helm will pen the screenplay. Morris is apparently collaborating with “This American Life” host Ira Glass on the project. The director previously helmed the 1991 non-documentary film The Dark Wind, and most recently released his documentary Tabloid. His 2004 doc The Fog of War (which is a must-see) won the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.

-Joey's Two Cents: I loved Helm's script for Stranger Than Fiction, so this has my attention...thoughts?

Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning on a return to cinema with a Western?

Deadline seems to think so, and they have the story:

The Lionsgate project has been off, then on, then off, and now on again. The studio in May had been on the verge of announcing that Arnold Schwarzenegger was starring in its long-in-development Western titled Last Stand, set up as the English-language debut of director Kim-ji-Woon. Then the actor pulled out just before his personal scandal went public and deep-sixed his marriage to Maria Shriver. But now the actor is back in the project and aiming to test his popularity post-divorce. I've learned that Arnold's deal with Lionsgate is not nearly as rich as the one CAA made for him in QED International's Cry Macho, which was a $12.5M salary plus 25% first dollar gross back end. (See my previous, Schwarzenegger Closes Next Film: Worldwide Rights Will Sell At Cannes Fest) Poor Bill Block brought that project to Cannes in the middle of Schwarzenegger's scandal and now it looks to be dead or at best delayed until February 2012. So now Last Stand would start in September of this year. "It's a property which a zillion directors fell in love with: the good, the bad, the weird," a Lionsgate exec told me when I first heard Schwarzenegger was in. "It's an old-fashioned Western specifically designed for a 63-year-old broken-down guy with a moral decision whether Arnold decides to stand up for his town. We always needed an iconic figure for it." When I asked Lionsgate if Arnold is still a star despite the scandal, an exec assured me, "I can tell you from The Expendables it was electrifying when Arnold came on. He is still a big piece of news."

Liam Neeson had been attached at one point, but he kept pushing it back as his schedule grew more crowded. Ultimately, Lionsgate moved on. Arnold then fell in love with the movie several months ago, and Lionsgate spent the ensuing time snagging a director. The studio had already pre-sold the $30M-budgeted movie overseas with Liam so will tell its partners about the switch to Arnold shortly. Schwarzenegger briefly teamed up with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee to create a toon superhero based on his nickname while in office, The Governator. But that project got put on hold because of the scandal, too.

-Joey's Two Cents: I'd see it...thoughts?

John Cusack is cast in Lee Daniels' next film...

...replacing Tobey Maguire. Here's the story from Variety:

John Cusack is set to co-star in Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy," an indie drama that marks the helmer's follow-up to "Precious."

Ensemble pic stars Zac Efron, while Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey are also in advanced negotiations for key roles.

Cusack replaces Tobey Maguire, who was forced to drop out of the project when its shooting schedule conflicted with his dates on "The Great Gatsby."

Based on the 1995 novel by Pete Dexter, Florida-set period pic finds two brothers, a reporter and a college dropout, teaming up to investigate a possible miscarriage of justice surrounding a death row inmate convicted of killing the local sheriff.

Cusack will play the condemned prisoner, while Kidman will play a woman with a dark side who writes letters to men on death row.

Daniels is producing along with Hilary Shor. Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort and Cassian Elwes exec produce, while Millennium/Nu Image is handling foreign sales.

Cusack recently wrapped the indie comedy "Dictablanda," which he also co-wrote and produced through his New Crime Prods. banner. Thesp will soon be seen playing Edgar Allan Poe in James McTeigue's "The Raven," which Relativity Media opens March 9, 2012.

Cusack is repped by CAA.

-Joey's Two Cents: I had my issues with Precious, but I'm interested in seeing how Daniels evolves as a filmmaker, and casting Cusack is always a good idea in my book...thoughts?

Melissa McCarthy joins Judd Apatow's next film!

The Hollywood Reporter has the casting news:

Melissa McCarthy, a breakout star of Bridesmaids, and Ryan Lee, one of the child actors in Super 8, are joining the cast of Universal’s untitled comedy project being directed and written by Judd Apatow.

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are reprising their characters of husband and wife from Apatow's Knocked Up in a new story by the writer-director-producer. Albert Brooks and Megan Fox are also among the cast.

Many of the character details are being kept secret but it is understood that Lee will play the son of McCarthy, a mom at the school that Rudd and Mann’s children attend.

Barry Mendel and Clayton Townsend will also produce the comedy, which at one point was working under the title This Is Forty.

McCarthy is riding high these days off of her raunchy work in Universal’s Bridesmaids, which has grossed more than $154 million domestic and was produced by Apatow. The actress, repped by CAA, Schiff Co. and attorney Mark Wetzstein, also stars on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly.

Lee played brace-faced-kid-turned-adventurer Cary in J.J. Abrams’ Super 8. He is repped by the Atherton Group, Principato Young Entertainment and Felker Toczek Gellman Suddleson.

-Joey's Two Cents: Both were real good in their films this year, and I'm looking forward to Apatow's flick more and more these days...thoughts?

Giovanni Ribisi is the latest to join The Gangster Squad!

From Deadline:

Giovanni Ribisi has landed a co-starring role in Warner Bros' The Gangster Squad, the period crime drama Ruben Fleischer is directing that stars Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen, and Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin as members of the elite cop squad that are after him in 1949 Los Angeles. Anthony Mackie and Michael Pena also are aboard. Will Beall wrote the script. Langley Park Pictures and Lin Pictures are producing. Ribisi, repped by CAA and Management 360, will play Conway Keeler, a cop in the group who is a master of electronics and wires. He is currently shooting Universal's Ted and next appears in FilmDistrict's The Rum Diary opposite Johnny Depp.

-Joey's Two Cents: Few projects have a better cast going these days than this one...thoughts?

Clark Gregg joins the comedic ensemble for 'The To Do List'...

...and it's a good group, as you can see above (though the film used to have a much better title). Here's the story from The Playlist:

Already boasting a massive cast, the upcoming high concept comedy “The To Do List” (previously known as “The Hand Job”) has now added two more its ranks.

The Playlist has confirmed that Clark Gregg—best known as Agent Coulson from the Marvel movie franchise—and Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts from “The O.C.”) have come aboard the film. Starring “Parks and Recreation” star Aubrey Plaza, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Alia Shawkat, Mae Whitman, Johnny Simmons, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Scott Porter, D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierkes the film follows a studious, A-type who has recently graduated from high school but remains sexually inexperienced. Before hitting college, she decides she’s going to check off every possible sex act and embarks on an adventure like no other...

...with goals on her list including hand-job, titty-fuck, blow-job, fingering…you get the idea. Naturally, her friends are naturally shocked by her sudden and somewhat aggressive quest.

The was written and will be directed by comic Maggie Carey (who is also Hader’s wife) with Plaza in the lead, Britton as her liberal, free-spirited mother; Porter will take on the role of a grunge rocker Plaza has a crush on, Simmons will be a classmate and Mintz-Plasse his sci-fi dork best bud. Dierkes, Pierson and Glover will play a trio of lifeguards while Hader will play a stoned pool manager. No official word yet on Gregg and Bilson’s roles, but it’s likely they’re slotted in as Plaza’s conservative father and older sister respectively—the two remaining parts that needed to be filled.

Filming is likely to kick off soon as a good chunk of the cast will be returning to their TV shows this fall (”Saturday Night Live,” “Community,” “Parks & Recreation” etc). No release date yet, but 2012 looks likely.

-Joey's Two Cents: I think Aubrey Plaza has the potential to be a big star, so perhaps this will be her 'Bridesmaids'...thoughts?

Danny Boyle wants Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson in his next film!

The Playlist has the details:

If there was every any doubt, after work like “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting” and “Sunshine,”Danny Boyle has firmly planted his feet among the A-list of directors: he’s had two Best Picture nominees in a row, with the first of them, “Slumdog Millionaire” winning a Best Director Oscar; he’s scored a big stage hit in “Frankenstein”; and he’s been handed the responsibility for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. While the latter will take up most of Boyle’s next year, he’s not going to be totally absent from the film world; it was announced a few months ago that he’s planning a new heist thriller, “Trance,” a remake of the 2001 British TV movie.

The plot involves an employee of an auction house who recruits a gang for a heist, only to wake with amnesia, and forget the location of the stolen painting, leading to the suspicious thieves bringing in a hypnotist. The plan is for Boyle to shoot the film before his Olympics duties, and then edit it afterwards. Unsurprisingly, the director was assembling an impressive cast, with Michael Fassbender in talks for the leader of the robbers, and James McAvoy to play the amnesiac, reuniting the stars of “X-Men First Class.” The bad news is casting has hit a bump in the road, the good is that there are some high-profile replacements waiting in the wings.

Twitch reports that Fassbender has been forced to drop out, due to the always-popular “scheduling conflicts,” (although with what is unclear: we expect an announcement on a new project or a vacation for the actor in the same slot soon), as had rather been suspected for some time—when McAvoy’s casting was announced, it was originally reported that Fassbender was off the film. The good news is that Boyle isn’t hanging about, and wants Oscar-winner Colin Firth to step in to replace the Irish-German actor in the role of Aiden. It’s not a typical part for Firth, it would seem, which is intriguing, and his slate is clear, although he is playing another thief at present, opposite Cameron Diaz in “Gambit.”

Meanwhile, there’s a female lead going as well (at a guess, we’d say it could be the hypnotist), and supposedly Scarlett Johansson heads up a short list of actresses, with Zoe Saldana and “The Princess of Montpensier” star Mélanie Thierry not far behind. With the lengthy shoot for “The Avengers” still ongoing, and Jonathan Glazer‘s “Under The Skin” set to start up in the near future (it recently received $2.8 million in U.K. funding), her schedule may be trickier, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the other actors step up (and/or her dumping Glazer for Boyle and the poor “Sexy Beast” helmer having to look elsewhere).

All in all, things are looking promising, although we’re slightly concerned that the film has the potential to be as overly styled as “127 Hours” was in some moments, and it’s still unclear who’s writing it: we assume that Boyle’s current go-to guy Simon Beaufoy is involved, but that is only an assumption. Filming will start in September, and then the rushes will be put on ice until August 2012, when Boyle will start editing for a release in early 2013.

-Joey's Two Cents: I certainly like the cast...thoughts?

The director of Once is teaming up with Judd Apatow and Scarlett Johansson for his next film!

The Playlist has the details:

Writer/Producer/Director Judd Apatow has a lot on his plate at any given moment and we’ll forgive you if you forgot that way back in the summer of 2009 he revealed that among the many projects he was juggling, was a collaboration with a director who was making major waves with his indie musical at the time. “...we have a movie with John Carney, the guy who made ‘Once’ writing and directing, so hopefully, as soon as I’m done and have a little break, I can help people with their scripts and help to kick things around.”

Well, while Carney has knocked out a couple of films in that time—the comedy “Zonad” and the upcoming “The Rafters”—it looks like he and Apatow have cleared up their schedules and there is some big movement on what he’s cooking up. The Sunday Business Post Online (via ONTD) reports that Scarlett Johansson has been cast in “Can A Song Save Your Life?” a music-oriented picture that Carney will direct. The story will follow “a washed-up A&R man who forms a passionate bond with a young singer-songwriter (Johansson) from out of town.”

With that logline, it’s no surprise to learn that Johansson will sing a good handful of songs in the film, but that will be no problem for the seasoned vocalist. She has already dropped Anywhere I Lay My Head, an album of Tom Waits covers, collaborated with Pete Yorn on his album Break Up, and lent her voice to the soundtracks of “Wretches & Jabberers” as well as “Days Of Grace.”

‘‘I’ve been writing it for a year and a half,” Carney said. ‘‘I went out to Los Angeles to meet Scarlett a couple of months ago. She was everything you could imagine – very hot, elegant and she’s really smart.”

The film will have a tiny budget of $10 million with a shoot planned in New York City next year. No word yet on who will take on the male lead role, but Mark Ruffalo and Jim Carrey are said to be rumored.

As for Apatow, he just started shooting this week on his “Knocked Up” spinoff, “This Is Forty,” and is riding high off the success of “Bridesmaids” which he stamped his producer’s name to. This sounds like an intriguing project all around, that is pretty much right in our sweet spot and at the very least, it’s the most intriguing, meaty role Johansson has had in years.

-Joey's Two Cents: Apatow has the Midas touch when it comes to producing, so this could be something to keep a close eye on...thoughts?

Bryan Cranston is the latest actor cast by Ben Affleck in Argo...

...his much anticipated next directorial outing. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

Bryan Cranston is in negotiations to join the cast of Argo , Ben Affleck’s drama revolving the 1979 Tehran hostage crisis.

Affleck, Alan Arkin and John Goodman as starring in the political thriller ensembler, which is being produced by George Clooney andGrant Heslov. David Klawans is also producing.

Chris Terrio wrote the script based on a Wired article titled “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.” It told the true story of how the CIA, with help from Hollywood, used a fake movie project to smuggle six U.S. diplomats out of Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis. Argo was the name of the fake movie.

Affleck is playing Tony Mendez, a CIA technical operations officer that led the operation. Arkin will portray Hollywood producer Lester Siegel while Goodman will play Academy Award winning special effects master John Chambers who helped with the CIA’s cover story.

Cranston will play CIA agent Jack O'Donnell, a man who used to be President Eisenhower's bodyguard and is now Affleck’s boss.

Cranston, the star of AMC’s Breaking Bad, is repped by UTA.

-Joey's Two Cents: More strong casting for this film...thoughts?