Tag: casting

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Black Panther casting Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington says Ryan Coogler is writing a part for him in ‘Black Panther 3’

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By all accounts, Denzel Washington has a scene stealing supporting (yet pivotal!) role in Gladiator II. Denzel plays Macrinus, an arms dealer who’s probably/definitely plotting the fall of the Roman Empire. The promotional campaign has been steadily ramping up, and one talking point Denzel keeps returning to is how he’s selective with his projects these days. As a young 70-year-old, Denzel wants to work on films, and perhaps more importantly with filmmakers who excite him, challenge, take him to places he’s never been before. And apparently, one of those new places will be Wakanda. While talking to an Australian network during a big press junket, Denzel revealed that “Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.’”

Marvel Studios has not officially confirmed that a third film in the Black Panther franchise is in the works, but actor Denzel Washington on Tuesday indicated that there is, and that he will have a role.

Speaking to the Today show on Australia’s Channel 9 as part of a Gladiator II press junket, Washington said that director Ryan Coogler is writing a part for him in the next Black Panther film.

When asked about his future plans, Washington said that “at this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best, I don’t know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done.”

“I played Othello at 22, I’m now going to play it at 70,” he continued. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther.”

Black Panther has become one of the MCU’s signature franchises, with the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan garnering not only critical acclaim but a massive box office haul, earning more than $1.3 billion.

Boseman died at age 43 in 2020.

The 2022 sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, functioned as a tribute to the late actor, and a way to continue the story of Wakanda and its people. It also launched to success at the box office.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I really liked both Black Panther movies. They were each so visually and musically sumptuous! Losing Chadwick Boseman was devastating — he was a lovely, honorable, empathic human. The impact of his death was obviously bigger than how it affected a movie, but I thought Coogler found a way to make Wakanda Forever a thinking, feeling piece on how we process grief. Was it a perfect film? No. But it was pretty impeccable what Coogler created after the tragedy of losing their hero.

All that being said, and bearing in mind that I’m not well-versed in the original comic book lore, I can’t imagine where Black Panther is headed for a third film! Or how Denzel will be fitting into that world. Based on his comments, I’m guessing Denzel wouldn’t settle for being anything other than a Wakandan himself, right? So who could he play — the late Queen Ramonda/Angela Bassett’s brother? M’Baku/Winston Duke’s father? Or maybe a leader from one of the five tribes that hasn’t been so prominent in the previous movies. So many possibilities! Also, who else but Denzel Washington could get away with casually breaking Marvel casting news? Was he supposed to share that with the world now? I think not! But what can they do — if we know anything about Denzel at this moment, it’s that he could easily plot the downfall of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Empire.

Photos credit: Jimmy James/Avalon, Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon, IMAGO/mpi099/MediaPunch/Avalon, Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon, Jerry Perez/Avalon

Categories
casting Domhnall Gleeson Reboots Television

‘The Office’ spinoff is officially happening at Peacock & it will be set at a newspaper

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Previously On…The Office Spinoff News: Last fall, there was a very brief mention of the possibility of an Office reboot stuck into a Puck News post about the WGA strike ending. All it said was that showrunner Greg Daniels was “set to do a reboot.” This set the internet ablaze with “will they or won’t they” speculation and, of course, opinions. Daniels played it cool, riding that wave of free publicity before officially commenting that he wasn’t interested in doing a reboot, but rather a “sister show” set in the same universe a la all of the Star Wars and Marvel properties. Where we previously left off was with reports that Daniels had set up a writers room to brainstorm different ideas for the news series and that he wasn’t ruling out following the same documentary-style format as the OG series.

Well now, after months of speculation, we now have some definitive details about the series. In short, it’s going to take place in a newsroom, with the overarching plot being a publisher trying to save his newspaper. There’s no title yet, but it will be a mockumentary filmed by the same crew that filmed The Office and set in the same Dunder-Mifflin universe. Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore will co-star. Here’s everything else we know so far.

Movin’ to the Midwest: A new mockumentary comedy series that takes place in the same universe as “The Office” was announced Wednesday by Peacock, set at a yet-to-be-named “dying historic Midwestern newspaper.”

The plot: The new untitled series, which starts production in June, will center on a newsroom whose publisher is trying to save it with “volunteer reporters,” per the announcement. The story will be told by the same fictional documentary team from the U.S. version of “The Office.

New cast, same showrunners: The new show will star Domhnall Gleeson (“Ex-Machina”) and Sabrina Impacciatore (“The White Lotus”). It will be produced by “Nathan for You” co-creator Michael Koman and Greg Daniels, who adapted the original British version of the “The Office” for American audiences.

Some fun speculation: So, can we look forward to journalism-version of Jim falling in love with journalism-version of Pam as they work late trying to cut 1,000 words from an overlong draft? Will some Ryan Howard-esque hotshot show up and TikTok all the news? Can a show about depressed (we assume) reporters possibly follow up the TV magic of “The Office?”.

[From Washington Post]

I admit, I am intrigued, more so than I was when the news first came out. Any thoughts on the cast? I’m not very familiar with either actor, though I remember Gleeson from the latest Star Wars movies. Any initial thoughts on what they should call it? The Newsroom is already taken. The Newspaper? Jk, jk, I’m so bad at that game. I like that they’re not setting the new series in Scranton or even in Pennsylvania. I wonder if they’ll do anything beyond having the same film crew to establish that they’re in the same universe? Like, will it be more direct, with OG characters tying the two series together? For example, having Ryan as a financial backer or a scene where Jim’s Athleap company is buying an ad spot.

Or, will they keep it at just the film crew and take more of the J.J. Abrams shared universe approach? Abrams left easter eggs in most of his series and movies that suggested they all took place in the same universe, dubbed by fans as the “Slushoverse” because of the fictional Slush-O drink that appears in all but Lost. (Lost has direct ties to Cloverfield, as the Dharma logo appears in it.) In this scenario, maybe we see billboards for an expanded Vance Refrigeration or food labels with the Schrute Farms logo on it. Whatever it is, I’m now looking forward to knowing more.

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casting Jake Gyllenhaal Movies

Jake Gyllenhaal on if he’s interested in stinking up the Batman suit: ‘it would be an honor’

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Adam West. Michael Keaton. Christian Bale. Ben Affleck. These are all actors who have famously played the Caped Crusader himself, Batman. (I left out Clooney on purpose, *but* I think his cameo in The Flash movie was perfection.) Batman is such a well worn-in property at this point that the chance to play him comes along like six times per generation. Jake Gyllenhaal has long-wanted to play the Dark Knight. And since James Gunn is (infamously) rebooting the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) since taking over in November 2022, he’s looking for a new Batman. In an interview with Screen Rant, Jake commented on fan rumblings about him playing Bruce Wayne’s alter ego, calling it an “honor.”

Screen Rant: Jake, watching you in these action scenes was absolutely incredible. Like I said, it was deliciously visceral. But a while back, I know that you auditioned for the role of Batman, and I got some Batman vibes in this film when you were beating the crap out of people. Is that a role you’d still be interested in, especially after doing a movie like this?

Jake Gyllenhaal: Oh, man. That’s a classic. It’s an honor. Speaking of playing roles that other incredible actors have played in the past, to me actually roles that other incredible actors have played in the past, which, to me, actually, when I think about it, I’m going to play Iago in Othello with Denzel Washington, and I think about like the history of actors that have played that role throughout time, and I’m intimidated by that. So that’s the first level. That’s what I’m working on right now. But of course. It would be an honor always. Those types of things and those roles are classics.

[From Screen Rant]

Alright, I know there’s a good amount of y’all on here who are into this stuff like I am. What are your thoughts at a potential Gyllenhaal Batman? I’m a very hard no on this one. He was fine as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home but…Batman? Bruce Wayne needs to be played by a certain type of actor and that is not Jake. “But Rosie,” you may say, “What about Robert Pattinson?” I did like the RPattz Batman movie a lot more than I expected to. I think it was because The Batman was an artsy, noir, whodunit version of the character set in an entirely different universe.

At the end of the day, let’s just stick with Maggie as the Gyllenhaal sibling who’s involved in a Batman movie. I suppose, however, if Jake wanted to, there’s always a villain or someone else he could play. There’s also that small matter of Jake’s personal hygiene. Will he commit to daily showers if he plays Batman? It gets hot in that suit, even without all of the ass-kicking. You know Bruce Wayne probably takes two to three showers a day. Anyway, if Aaron Taylor Johson really is going to be the next James Bond, then I put Idris Elba up for consideration for the role. Idris would make a fine Batman.

photos credit: IMAGO/RW/MediaPunch/Avalon, Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Avalon, JW/Bang Showbiz/Avalon

Categories
casting Linda Ronstadt Movies Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez to star as Linda Ronstadt in upcoming biopic

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A couple days after the Golden Globes, Selena Gomez posted a pic on Instagram of her reading Linda Ronstadt’s memoir, Simple Dreams. Shortly after that the news became official: Selena will play Linda in an upcoming biopic. Was the timing of the announcement a way to shift the conversation from what Selena may or may not have been gossiping about at the Globes? I don’t know, I doubt it, and ultimately I don’t care because I friggin’ love this casting! The project is in pre-production and doesn’t even have a confirmed title yet, but Variety still assembled some details for us:

Selena Gomez will play Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic, Variety has confirmed.

The pop singer and “Only Murders in the Building” star teased the role Tuesday night by posting a picture of Ronstadt’s 2013 memoir “Simple Dreams” on her Instagram story.

The music biopic is currently in pre-production, with producers including Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan, and James Keach, who produced the 2019 documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.”

No other casting has been announced.

Ronstadt is a country, rock ‘n’ roll and Latin music legend, with her 1970s albums “Heart Like a Wheel” and “Simple Dreams” reaching critical and commercial success and showcasing her versatility across genres. Throughout her career she has won 11 Grammys, and she was honored by both the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Ronstadt and Gomez are both of Mexican descent. The latter has been nominated twice for a Golden Globe for her performance on Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” which she executive produces and stars in alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short. Gomez broke out as an actor on Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” and achieved success as a music artist with hits like “Lose You to Love Me” and “Love You Like a Love Song.”

Ronstadt’s 2019 doc was directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and chronicled the artist’s nearly five-decade career and domination of the country-rock genre. In 2011, Ronstadt announced her retirement, later revealing she is no longer able to sing due to her progressive supranuclear palsy, which was originally mistaken for Parkinson’s.

[From Variety]

Yeah, I’m a fan of this casting, as aforementioned. Selena’s got the stature, the frame, and facial features that align with Linda’s, so fingers crossed for no prosthetics. And I imagine Selena will do her own singing? What always stunned me with Linda Ronstadt was how that massive voice emerged from such a petite person. She really shaped her performances, too, with very intentionally quiet moments set against big releases of emotion. A particular favorite Linda song of mine is the ballad “Long Long Time,” which I hope we get to see Selena recreate. And I bet she’s gonna look groovy in the 70s and 80s costumes. Very excited for this one! So, who will be cast as former boyfriend CA Governor Jerry Brown? Not Timothée Chalamet, LOL.

Selena Gomez shares photo reading Linda Ronstadt’s memoir amid rumors that she’ll play her in a biopic. pic.twitter.com/6wnxh6mm1g

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 10, 2024

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Photos credit: Paul Canty/Avalon, Julie Edwards/Avalon, Jonathan Rebboah/Panoramic/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram

Categories
casting Lala Kent Vanderpump Rules

Vanderpump Rules plans to hire new cast members for season 11

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Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules has already started filming. There were some pap shots and bystander videos of the cast out and about and filming recently. All of the main cast is returning and Raquel Leviss was the only holdout until her team finally began negotiations. But apparently Bravo is still working on the cast list and plans to introduce some new faces. Lala Kent and Katie Maloney have some friends who might join the show. Hm.

Bravo is shaking up the cast of Vanderpump Rules! At least according to a source who spoke to Entertainment Tonight, saying that the show “is looking to bring in some new cast members” for season 11 and “have started having outbound conversations.”

Before you panic that a bunch of total randoms are about to show up at Sur, the source explained that Lala Kent and Katie Maloney “are looking in their external friend groups to see who might be a good fit for the show.” So, this is a friends-of-cast situation!!!

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Vanderpump Rules’ upcoming season will cover the aftermath of Scandoval—aka Tom Sandoval cheating on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss—but as of now it doesn’t look like either Tom or Raquel are filming.

While Tom has signed on to do the show, he’s been MIA due to working on another reality show. According to TMZ, “multiple sources with direct knowledge” say Tom’s filming season two of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test in New Zealand, but he’s “expected to start shooting” VPR when he’s back in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Raquel still hasn’t signed a contract, but TMZ recently reported that she’s in negotiations and that production wants to start filming soon since “the longer VPR rolls cameras, the harder it’s gonna be to integrate Raquel into the storylines.” That said, no one wants to “pressure” Raquel, who’s been in a mental health treatment facility since April.

[From Cosmopolitan]

Hiring from the cast’s wider friend group is a good move and I think the cast does need some new faces at this point. I know, it’s already a huge cast, but they didn’t really hire replacements after firing all those racists in 2020. So even without Scandoval, I think the show was due for some new faces and who better to add than friends who have been on the periphery this whole time. At least they’ll know how the whole deal works. And Lala in particular is a great reality star so any friends of hers will likely bring it. I am a little skeptical about the vibes of Katie’s friends though. And I wonder if the folks they ultimately bring in will be faces we’ve seen on the sidelines before. I do expect Jax and Brittany to pop up at some point. Also, I didn’t realize Tom Sandoval hadn’t started filming yet. He’s probably glad to start late and make an entrance now that he’s in his villain season. It’s nice that Ariana is getting time to be in her house, film, and hang out with her new bae without the threat of a run-in hanging over her head.

Categories
casting Hulu Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep is joining ‘Only Murders in the Building’ for season 3

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Only Murders in the Building is really trying to top itself each season with the guest stars. We’ve seen some pretty big names stroll through the Arconia in recurring roles and season three is no different. Soon after the second season ended with a death, we learned that the Paul Rudd character briefly introduced in the finale would be appearing in the third season. Then we learned that regulation hottie Jesse Williams would be joining the cast. And now, for the big one — Meryl Streep will be joining the Only Murders gang as well. They announced the news in a video Selena Gomez posted.

Only Murders in the Building had to really scrape the bottom of the barrel when it came to stunt casting for season 3.

Of all the people they could hire, they only managed to get … Meryl Streep.

In a surprise announcement Tuesday via social media, star Selena Gomez posted a behind-the-scenes video that shows her with her co-stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Paul Rudd. Suddenly, Streep pops up to make sure her new castmates are, err, comfortable with pillows. Welcome to the building, lady!

Hulu would only confirm the news but would not provide additional information about Streep’s character. We think, however, that her character wears braids.

In July, Hulu ordered a third season of the series from 20th Television. The second season ended Aug. 22.

Only Murders in the Building is from co-creators and writers Steve Martin and John Hoffman (Grace & Frankie). Martin and Hoffman executive produce along with Short, Gomez, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.

[From Deadline]

This is pretty exciting and a vast improvement on the season two guest stars, Amy Schumer and Cara Delevingne. Meryl is actually likable and obviously she can actually act! As usual, character details are being kept under wraps to preserve the surprise and mystery. Deadline thinks, for some reason, that her character wears braids… Um, like pigtails or box braids? If the latter I’m getting a very specific picture of some out-of-touch UWS therapist type. Anyway, in the video she and Paul Rudd are on set at the same time, I wonder if that is a clue. Obviously his now dead character will be shown in flashbacks of the year we jumped past, so maybe she plays someone significant to his life. Like his therapist with braids. I’m sure the ultimate explanation will be just as specific and recognizable and funny as every other character we’ve seen on this series. This is the best show and I’m so glad it’s coming back for another season and seems to be upping its game each time.

Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, and- MERYL STREEP. Only Murders in the Building Season 3 🎬 #OMITB pic.twitter.com/kO1wGvLsMv

— Only Murders in the Building 🕵🏻‍♀️ 🕵🏻‍♂️ (@OnlyMurdersHulu) January 17, 2023

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Categories
casting Henry Cavill Liam Hemsworth Netflix The Witcher

Liam Hemsworth is replacing Henry Cavill in The Witcher season four

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It took me a second to get the timeline on this news straight. Henry Cavill is the lead in the Netflix limited series, The Witcher, which is based on a book series. It’s a supernatural story and he plays a monster hunter. The first season aired in 2019, the second in 2021, and the third will air sometime in 2023. However, they’ve already announced a casting shakeup for the fourth (2025, then?) season. Liam Hemsworth will replace Henry Cavill in the lead role. Hm.

Netflix has renewed The Witcher for a fourth season with a twist.

Liam Hemsworth will replace Henry Cavill in the epic drama series, taking the reins as Geralt of Rivia.

The move comes ahead of the third season of the series, which will return in summer 2023. A four-part prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin launches December 25, 2022.

Cavill, who revealed earlier this week he will return in the role of Superman, played the grim Geralt of Rivia, the bane of supernatural beasties in the first three seasons of the drama series.

Hemsworth, who is best known for starring in the Hunger Games franchise, recently starred in Quibi drama Most Dangerous Game. He will take over as Geralt of Rivia in what is believed to be a rich deal.

According to sources, Cavill had made a short-term deal for The Witcher and felt it was time to move on after three seasons on the show, which films overseas and has a demanding production schedule. He already has film and TV projects lined up, including the just announced The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, in addition to the Superman return. Cavill’s Witcher co-stars renegotiated their contracts heading into Season 4, sources said.

Cavill said, “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for season 4. In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

Hemsworth added, “As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure. Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world.”

[From Deadline]

So sources are blaming the switch on Henry’s schedule. They say production on The Witcher is demanding, he had a short-term deal, and he is super busy and felt it was time to move on. And the latter is at least partially true, since Henry recently confirmed he’s returning as Superman. Because of all that, I was honestly surprised that he was in a Netflix series (not a movie, a series) to begin with, but it turns out he lobbied for the role because he loved the source material. Henry was so into the source material that it became a source of conflict between him and the showrunners because he wanted to stick to it and they did not. Apparently, he wanted more dialogue to keep his character consistent with the books/games and they had a different vision for the character. Like, perhaps a vision of a strong, but silent hottie who doesn’t make waves? Liam Hemsworth definitely fits the bill; he’s probably just happy to have a job. Henry had previously said he was committed to the series’ seven-season plan so something must have happened to push him out and it probably wasn’t just Superman. (And it’s not the House of the Dragon wishful thinking casting either.)

photos credit: Jay Maidment and Susie Allnutt for Netflix and via Instagram