Keanu Reeves Will Be Taking On an Oscar Winner as His ‘John Wick 2’ Villain
Common, who recently took home an Academy Award for Best Song from Selma, has joined the cast of the highly anticipated sequel. He will the sequel’s main villain, the head of security for a female crime lord. Filming begins this week with Reeves reprising the title role and director Chad Stahelski returning to helm. Ian McShane will also return to co-star. (CS)
Disney Announces a Rather Impressive Voice Cast For Next Spring’s ‘Zootopia’
With Gennifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman and Shakira already cast, the trio has now been joined by Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Alan Tudyk, Tommy “Tiny” Lister, Raymond Persi, Katie Lowes, Jesse Corti, and John DiMaggio. The movie, in which animals live in the modern city of Zootropolis and must crack a major case, will hit theaters on March 4th, 2016. (BC)
Dan Stevens Lands Covered Anne Hathaway Boyfriend Role In Upcoming ‘Colossal’
Hathaway stars as a young woman down on her luck after losing her job and being dumped by her boyfriend in New York. Deciding to cut her losses, she moves back to her hometown, only to learn that she has a weird connection to a giant creature that has materialized over Seoul and is starting to destroy the city. Stevens joins the ensemble alongside Jason Sudeikis, Tim Blake Nelson and Austin Stowell. It’s scheduled to hit theaters March 17th, 2017. (EMP)
Hollywood Foreign Press Shows It Has a Sense Of Humor, Will Bring Back Ricky Gervais To Host the 2016 Golden Globes
The acerbic comic hosted the ceremony for three connectives years from 2010-2012 before Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took over the gig. Many have been wondering who the HFPA would choose to succeed the acclaimed turns of Fey and Poehler, and it looks like they’ve got a relatively safe and welcome route with the reliable Gervais. The show will air Sunday, January 10th, on NBC. (IW)
Reese Witherspoon & Laura Dern To Produce Drama Project For HBO Based On Book By ‘Wild’ Author Cheryl Strayed
Pay cable network has put into development Tiny Beautiful Things, a drama series based on Strayed’s bestselling 2012 book of the same name, a collection of essays compiled from Strayed’s Dear Sugar advice column. Strayed and her husband, filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, will write the TV adaptation, set to explore love, loss, lust and life through the eyes of a Portland family who live by the mantra that the truth will never kill you. (DH)
There Is a Very Good Reason Why the Netflix ‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival Is Only Four Episodes Long
Though details are sparse on the show’s rebirth, word has emerged that the four 90-minute episodes will take place over the course of one calendar year — meaning each episode will occur during a different season. That, and the eight-year time-jump between when the series ended and present day are the only known details. Series creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino will remain at the helm and cast members Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop and Scott Patterson have reportedly started negotiating their returns. (HP)
According To Producer Frank Marshall, Harrison Ford Is the Only Man Who Will Ever Play Indiana Jones
Marshall, who produces the series along with Kathleen Kennedy, said in an interview that the series will not do “the Bong thing and call somebody else Indiana Jones.” Steven Spielberg, who has directed each of the first four movies in the series, recently said that he is planning to do a fifth movie with Ford, though no script has been written and no details have emerged. (COL)
Michelle Pfeiffer, Kiefer Sutherland to Star in ‘Beat-Up Little Seagull’ for Killer Films
The actress will star opposite the 24 star in the indie drama Beat-Up Little Seagull for Killer Films and financier Great Point Media. Mother of George helmer Andrew Dosunmu is directing from a screenplay written by Darci Picoult. Story follows the life of a sensitive and fragile woman who struggles to find footing in a fast-paced world. When her mother dies, she faces a crisis in which she must find a means for survival, while hiding her struggles from her new lover. (THR)
Investigating the Sausage: How an Episode Of ‘The Simpsons’ Is Made
In 1996, The Simpsons passed The Flintstones as the longest running prime-time animated show. In the 30-year interim, the tenor of adult cartoons had shifted dramatically: The Simpsons was more caustic and puerile than The Flintstones, a shameless Stone Age remake of hit 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners. What had hardly changed was the creative process. (TV)
Online Film School: Ten Books Every Aspiring Filmmaker Should Read
Filmmaking is a tough gig. It might look glamorous from the outside, like directors and writers and producers spend their days cackling over champagne with Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, gliding down red carpets, and cashing fat checks. If you want to be a filmmaker, though, and that’s your vision of the future, it’s time for a reality check. (BC)