In a matter of weeks, actress Hope Davis will transform herself from Annette -- the upper-class wife and mother who spars on stage with Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, and James Gandolfini eight shows a week in the Tony Award-winning Broadway play God of Carnage -- into Hillary Clinton for HBO Films' political drama The Special Relationship for British director Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon). She was just asked Monday to step into the role after Julianne Moore had to bow out due to a scheduling conflict. Now, Davis is tasked with embodying our current Secretary of State during her less glamorous years as First Lady to Bill Clinton (played by Dennis Quaid) during the Monica Lewinsky affair.
So how does the award-winning actress plan to hastily prepare? Through lots of audio tapes, lots of books, and a trusty wig. "With something like this, you can't spend all your time worrying about what you sound like, that you're not doing the storytelling part," Davis tells EW, while on her way to yet another live show of Carnage. "That has to come first."
While the title A Special Relationship refers to the friendship between two heads of state, U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (to be played for the third time by actor Michael Sheen), the film, from screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen), also imagines what went on behind closed doors between the Clintons during the Lewinsky affair. And it's something Davis can relate to. "Almost every woman in the world has been in that position -- it was a long time ago in my life -- where the person that you trusted looks at you and says, 'I have an admission to make.' It's a moment we've all lived through."
Davis will be flying to London on Sunday to meet Quaid and Loncraine and to do a script read-through. Production will begin July 20 and Davis will join the cast in the beginning of August.
Cameron Diaz is considering an offer to play the female lead in Green Hornet, opposite Seth Rogen. A deal hasn't been sealed yet, but sources tell EW that she is in early talks for the role. Her reps at CAA declined comment. Michel Gondry is set to direct the film based on a script by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg. Shooting is supposed to begin shortly, with a release date already set for July 9, 2010.
Jun 30, 2009, 02:10 PM | by Nicole Sperling
Categories: Movie Biz
EW has learned that George Clooney will be moving his production company Smokehouse from its long-time home at Warner Bros. to the Sony lot. The Culver City-based studio is currently negotiating a two-year deal with the famed actor and his production partner Grant Heslov. Clooney spent eight years at Warner Bros. producing such films as Michael Clayton and Good Night and Good Luck. His previous production company, Section Eight with Steven Soderbergh, was also housed on the Burbank lot. Smokehouse's The Informant, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh will be released by Warner Bros. in the fall, while Overture Films will bow the Clooney-starrer Men Who Stare at Goats from director Heslov next year. Insiders are buzzing about the reason for the move with few saying that Clooney and Heslov were looking for too much cash to justify a production company that has a history of winning the studio awards but not doing much to fill their coffers financially.
EW has confirmed that Dimension Films has acquired the rights to John Landis' classic horror flick An American Werewolf in London, with Sean and Bryan Furst (Daybreakers) set to produce. The news was first reported by Bloody Disgusting.
Jun 23, 2009, 08:00 PM | by Nicole Sperling
Categories: Movie Biz, News
Zac Efron continues to take charge of his career. Capitalizing on the success of 17 Again -- and recently following his decision to decline the starring role in Footloose -- Efron has joined forces with Juno producers Mandate Pictures to star in and exec produce an untitled thriller currently being penned by veteran screenwriter Leslie Dixon (Hairspray, Freaky Friday). Producers are staying mum on plot points, only to say it will be a sexy thriller. Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker) will produce with Jason Barrett (17 Again) and Dixon. Mandate's Nathan Kahane will exec produce with Efron.
Jun 23, 2009, 05:30 PM | by Nicole Sperling
Categories: Movie Biz, News
David Fincher is in early talks to direct Aaron Sorkin's Facebook script for Sony Pictures. Sources tell EW that producers are very high on securing the acclaimed director's involvement on the project, which centers on the drama behind the Harvard dorm room creation of Facebook by founder Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates. Producers Scott Rudin, Mike DeLuca, and Kevin Spacey are hoping to get the film into production this year or first thing next year. The movie would mark Fincher's follow-up to last year's Academy Award-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The script, supposedly printed on hard-to-photocopy red paper, is being kept tightly under wraps. All parties declined to comment.
Talk about it on PopWatch:
David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin: Can these crazy kids make a Facebook movie work?
He may have once told EW that "nobody wants to see me make out on screen with Jennifer Aniston," but Jeff Garlin is doing the next best thing: costarring in her next film. The Curb Your Enthusiasm star just signed on to play a gruff bail bondsman helping to track down Aniston's character in the upcoming comedy Bounty Hunter, now shooting in New York City.
Garlin tells EW that he jumped at the role mainly because of the guy playing his fellow bounty-hunter best friend (and Aniston's ex): "It's with Gerard Butler -- need I say more? He's the coolest, he's the best. And they paid me what I wanted."
Garlin is cramming the project into an already-busy season. His comedy special, Young and Handsome, debuts on DVD July 7 and airs on Comedy Central in the fall, while Curb Your Enthusiasm returns to HBO for another guest-star-tastic season this fall.
Sean Penn has pulled out of the Asger Leth-directed drama Cartel and may not be able to make the start date of his anticipated MGM comedy The Three Stooges, helmed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly and costarring Jim Carrey and Benicio del Toro, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A source close to Penn tells EW that the actor wants to take
some time off to work on his marriage with actress Robin Wright Penn.
Twice in the past two years, most recently last month, the couple has seemed on the verge of splitting, before ultimately reconciling.
A Cartel production source says that Penn will be replaced, but a new actor has not been cast yet. Sources close to The Three Stooges are hopeful that Penn will remain in the cast of that film if the beginning of production can be pushed to a later date (it had been eyeing an August start, reportedly). Penn recently wrapped Fair Game, a drama based on former C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame's memoir. (Additional reporting by Nicole Sperling)
Robert Pattinson's new movie, which is tentatively titled Remember Me, began filming in New York City this afternoon. As an exasperated crew member was overheard complaining, "They might as well call it Paparazzi and 'Tweens, 'cause there's more of us than them!" It was a fair statement considering how the crowd had swelled substantially (a rough estimate of 200) outside of NYU's Silver Center of Arts & Science, after fans had texted and called their friends to get to downtown Manhattan, like, omigod, right now!
The scene in question was of Pattinson (wearing a plaid shirt and donning those now-trademark sunglasses between takes) walking down the street while talking to a friend, smoking a cigarette, and holding a cup of coffee (he's versatile!). During one scene, the actor who plays Pattinson's friend mockingly yelled, "Have a good day, sweetheart!" as he walked away.
Oh, how the hundreds of girls who lined Washington Square Park would have loved to yell that to the Twilight star -- though the couple of "I love you Robert!"s and "I love you Edward!"s that squeaked in will inevitably make for some tough sound editing. Members of the mostly young, female crowd, some of whom had skipped school and arrived at the scene as early as 9 a.m. to watch their beloved Pattinson, said they had been tipped off by onlocationvacations.com. While the crowd mostly kept calm during filming, once the movie broke for lunch, a flood of girls chased Pattinson as he was escorted to his next location. So will this wreak havoc on Remember Me's fliming or will the cast and crew simply have to up the security/location ante?
Jun 15, 2009, 11:21 AM | by Chris Nashawaty
Categories: Movie Biz
After reading all those great quotes from our first interview with Transformers star Megan Fox ("As far as girls go, I have a really badass personality"), we're sure you were clamoring for more. Well, lucky you, more is what we have. Read on for some extras from our chat with the woman who once said she has "the libido of a teenage boy"...
On her recent statements against Disney, for Olivia Wilde, and about her raging libido.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You recently were quoted saying "F--- Disney" for how they handled the Miley Cyrus blow-up about her Vanity Fair photo. Did you regret that?
MEGAN FOX: No, when I said 'F--- Disney!', I f---ing meant that! Because I was defending Miley Cyrus and all these young kids that they basically enslave and then basically s--- on when something goes wrong publicly. The fact that they made Miley Cyrus apologize publicly for a photograph that she took with Annie Leibovitz is outrageous. They should have had a Disney rep on the set who was watching over it, because it's Annie Leibovitz. She's known for doing a certain kind of photography. And they didn't. And that's their fault. To force a 14- or 15-year-old girl to come out and apologize like she's done something wrong is not acceptable. If you ever watch the Disney Channel, they're selling sex. All the girls on these shows have on full Pussycat Doll makeup, they're wearing tight-ass leather pants, and they're dressed up like these little cupcakes. So what they do on their network is so much worse than what Annie Leibovitz did, which was a beautiful photograph.
What about when you said, 'I have the libido of a teenage boy'?
I don't think that's true. I mean, I think within a certain relationship I can be extremely sexual, but at the same time, because I'm a loner, once I'm alone, I can go weeks, months, forever without a boyfriend and be perfectly fine. So I don't think I'm a sex addict, no.
What about when you came out and announced that you wanted to sleep with actress Olivia Wilde?
She's completely gorgeous and I would totally date her. But come on, she's married!
