What is Casting Couch? It’s a news roundup that’s jam-packed with updates about big star doing big things. Look at this list of names! There’s barely a second-stringer on there.
When you shoot as many people in the head and blow as many things up onscreen as Sylvester Stallone, every once in a while it’s nice to take a break from all of the insanity and do a quiet little indie drama. So, according to Variety, that’s exactly what he’s doing with his next film, Reach Me. Written and directed by Stallone’s Cobra co-star John Herzfeld, Reach Me is an ensemble piece about a group of characters who were all touched by a self-help book that was written by a reclusive football coach. There isn’t yet any word on what role Stallone will be playing, but, for the sake of his old knees, let’s hope it doesn’t involve any running. Those hobbling away from the explosion scenes in the Expendables movies are starting to look pretty painful.
Benicio Del Toro
Given his lengthy career and all of the drug dramas that he’s been a part of, you might just assume that Benicio Del Toro has already played Pablo Escobar in a movie at some point. But, no, it turns out that he’s somehow avoided that eventuality. Until now. Variety is reporting that Del Toro has just signed on to play the drug lord in Paradise Lost, a movie about a surfer who goes to Colombia and ends up falling in love with Escobar’s niece. Presumably this is a situation that makes for awkward conversation at family dinners. Andrea di Stefano penned the script and will direct.
Jack Nicholson
Given Robert Downey Jr.’s radiant, one of a kind charisma, casting someone as his father and having the actor not come off as a disappointment is kind of a tricky proposition. How many older actors out there could be believable as the genetic stock that a presence like Downey sprung from? Well, the producers of The Judge are betting that screen legend Jack Nicholson is one guy who could get the job done. THR reports that he’s being recruited to join this dramedy, which stars Downey as a successful attorney who has to go back to his hometown after his Alzheimer-stricken father becomes a murder suspect. Downey is reportedly set to meet with Nicholson later in the week to try and get him to sign up, but these days the actor is pretty notorious for being reluctant to work. He’s only done a handful of films over the last decade.
Evan Rachel Wood
Here’s the story: it’s true that 10 Things I Hate About Life is coming from the writer/director of the 1999 teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, but despite their ludicrously similar titles, they’re not really connected in any way. Far from being a teen comedy, 10 Things I Hate About Life is actually a movie about a man and a woman who bond over suicide. Or bond during suicide. Or something. The point is, this is a movie about suicide. Seems pretty stupid to give it a title that invokes memories of a teen comedy then, huh? Whatever. The new news concerning the project is that Evan Rachel Wood is going to star. Deadline had the scoop.
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth is attached to star in a new movie called Candy Store. The film was written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, and is about an undercover operative who retires and becomes a Brooklyn beat cop only to discover that the evil global organization he used to combat has set up shot right there in his sleepy back yard. Given his Avengers success, this is one of a million movies that Hemsworth is currently attached to star in, so it will be interesting to see how they all end up fitting into his schedule. He might need to start having one of his brothers take some of them off of his hands. Kind of like how Gallagher franchised smashing watermelons by creating Gallagher II. [The Wrap]
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen has already been a busy, busy dude over the past couple of weeks, but Variety is reporting that he’s signed on to put yet another project onto his plate. The film is an untitled drama from Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro Alonso, and apparently Mortensen has come on board both to star and in a producing capacity. The story, mysteriously enough, is said to be about a man who travels with his daughter from Denmark to a secluded desert that exists beyond the confines of civilization. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me. Sounds pretty dangerous. But maybe something interesting happens in this desert? Shooting is scheduled for early next year in both Denmark and Argentina.
Alexander Skarsgard
Now that David Yates is officially on board to helm Warner Bros’ upcoming Tarzan movie, efforts to find the new Tarzan have begun in earnest. The guy who gets the job has to look good in a loin cloth, he has to be comfortable with heights, and he has to work well with chimpanzees. Who on Earth meets all of these requirements? Well, according to Variety, Yates and company are putting their money on True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard. An official offer has yet to be sent the 6’4” hunk’s way, but elements seem to be coming together in a way that points to it being just a matter of time. If Skarsgard gets the role, he’ll likely be acting alongside Samuel L. Jackson, who’s also being eyed to play ex-mercenary George Washington Williams.
Cameron Diaz
Though she’s not exactly the first name you would think of when trying to list the best comedic actresses out there, Cameron Diaz proved with Bad Teacher that she could take the lead in a comedy and not have it turn out to be a complete abortion. At the very least she’s game to act goofy. And, according to The Wrap, she’s about to get another chance to show her stuff. Apparently she’s just taken the lead in a Melissa Stack-penned comedy called The Other Woman, which is about a woman who finds out that she’s dating a married man, who then conspires with the guy’s wife in order to exact revenge on him. Kristen Wiig is also said to be being considered for the film, but that doesn’t really mean much, because Kristen Wiig is being considered for every female-centric comedy in development right now.