Reese Witherspoon Joins Joaquin Phoenix & Benicio Del Toro In Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Inherent Vice’
May 16th
Deadline are reporting that Reese Witherspoon is joining Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio Del Toro and Owen Wilson in writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Inherent Vice.’ Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute and finance the film, which Anderson has adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s soft-boiled crime novel. Set in Los Angeles during the spring of 1970, the story follows pot-smoking private detective Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) as he investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.
The film would re-team Reese Witherspoon with Joaquin Phoenix, with whom she had a triumphant pairing in the Johnny Cash biopic ‘Walk the Line.’ Witherspoon won the Oscar for her portrayal of June Carter and Phoenix got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Johnny Cash. The synopsis for the ‘Inherent Vice’ novel can be read below.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine & Amanda Seyfried Join ‘Z for Zachariah’
May 16th
Material Pictures and Zik Zak Filmworks send word that Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine and Amanda Seyfried have joined director Craig Zobel’s (Compliance) ‘Z for Zachariah.’ Nissar Modi is providing the screenplay for the post-apocalyptic thriller, adapting Robert C. O’Brien’s 1974 novel. The film is a psychological thriller set after an apocalyptic event. It centers on a girl (Seyfried) who is seemingly the sole survivor until a scientist (Ejiofor) finds her farm, and the two fall in love. Another survivor, a young man (Pine), surfaces, complicating matters. ’Z for Zachariah’ is expected to begin production this August.
Samuel L. Jackson Joins Hailee Steinfeld In ‘Barely Lethal’
May 16th
Variety are reporting that Samuel L. Jackson has joined Hailee Steinfeld in Kyle Newman’s ‘Barely Lethal’ The action comedy features Steinfeld as a 16-year-old international assassin yearning for a “normal” adolescence. After she fakes her own death and enrolls as a senior in a suburban high school, she quickly learns that being popular can be more painful than getting water-boarded. Jackson will play her mentor who trains her in the program.
Samuel L. Jackson most recently appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Django Unchained’ and is currently filming his next entry in Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe with ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ The Oscar nominee lends his voice later this summer to the DreamWorks Animation pic ‘Turbo’ and can also be seen in MGM’s reboot of ‘Robocop’ early next year.
Fantastic ‘The Hobbit’ Watercolor Painting Of Richard Armitage’s Thorin Oakenshield & Thrór
May 15th
Kimberly 80 has drawn this brilliant ‘The Hobbit’ portrait centering on Richard Armitage’s Thorin Oakenshield and Jeffrey Thomas’ Thrór. The official character description Warner Bros. Pictures released for Thorin is as follows: “As a young Dwarf Prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain. When no one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile. Now, as the strong, fearless fighter and respected leader of The Company of Dwarves, Thorin is determined to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that brought such misery upon his people.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman To Star In John Slattery’s ‘God’s Pocket’
May 15th
Park Pictures Features send word that Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is set to star in ‘God’s Pocket,’ the upcoming feature directorial debut from Emmy-nominee John Slattery (Mad Men, Flags of Our Fathers). Slattery adapted the screenplay with Alex Metcalf from the novel by National Book Award Winning author Pete Dexter. Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks and John Turturro will co-star.
Set in the gritty blue-collar neighborhood of God’s Pocket, Mickey’s crazy stepson Leon is killed in a construction ‘accident’ and Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, things go from bad to worse. Mickey finds himself stuck in a life and death struggle between a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please and a debt he can’t pay.
Jaden Smith & Will Smith Feature In New ‘After Earth’ Clip: “Monkey Discovery”
May 15th
Sony Pictures has revealed this latest clip from M. Night Shyamalan’s Will Smith and Jaden Smith-starring ‘After Earth.’ The sci-fi adventure film is set 1,000 years into a future where humans no longer live on Earth after it becomes inhospitable. The elder Smith is playing a Legendary General, while Jaden is his son. When the two crash-land on Earth, it’s up to the son to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes. Zoe Kravitz and Sophie Okonedo are also on board, playing Will Smith’s daughter and wife respectively. The script is by Shyamalan, Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) and Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana). ‘After Earth’ arrives in the US on May 31st and on June 7th in the UK.
In After Earth, one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (played by Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.
