What is Casting Couch? Today it’s the casting roundup with news about a talking raccoon, a frog puppet, a famous dog, a beautiful woman, and David Hasselhoff’s shorts.
So far Marvel’s next big thing, The Guardians of the Galaxy, has been a great source of casting rumors, but not yet a generator of any casting confirmations. We’ve heard about a bevy of actors who might play Star-Lord, a handful who might be Drax the Destroyer, and now the Latino Review is reporting that director James Gunn and company are reaching out to both Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler to inquire about their availability for the film. What roles might they play? Perhaps they could provide the voices for either the big tree guy, Groot, or the little raccoon guy, Rocket Raccoon. I mean, it would just be too weird if either of them actually showed up playing a live action role, wouldn’t it? Definitely. Even hearing Sandler’s one goofy voice he uses coming out of a CG character’s mouth would just be too weird already. Let’s hope that rumor is completely off base.
It would behoove everyone—those in charge of the Muppet movies and Muppet fans alike—to just forget that the 1999 abomination Muppets From Space ever existed. As a matter of fact, anyone who got stuck appearing in the worst Muppet movie of all time should be allowed to get a do-over. Good news for Ray Liotta then, because he’s getting just that. Variety is reporting that the Muppets From Space veteran has just signed on to appear in James Bobin’s The Muppets sequel alongside names like Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Ricky Gervais, and Kermit the Frog. Next we need Bobin to sign on a couple of other From Space vets like F. Murray Abraham and Jeffrey Tambor, because man do those guys deserve better than what they got. Have a heart Mr. Bobin, give these guys another chance to hang out with Rowlf the Dog.
If you want proof that the US doesn’t have a patent on brainless television and empty trends, look no further than the show Britain’s Got Talent, which recently made Pudsey the dancing dog a big star. How big of a star? So big that he’s gone from doing Britain’s Got Talent and meeting the Queen and the Prime Minister, to getting flown overseas to make appearances on things like America’s Got Talent and Jay Leno’s awful talk show, to apparently getting his own movie. IGN reports that Pudsey the Movie is set to start shooting this spring, in hopes of being released next Christmas. You don’t have to wait all the way until next Christmas to see Pudsey dance though, because he’s next scheduled to show up at the National Television Awards where he will be performing—wait for it—Gangnam Style. We are a race of sad, stupid creatures.
Who deserves to have their own movie much more than a dancing dog? Rosario Dawson. This lovely lady has been producing strong performances for years, and rarely does she get the sort of meaty roles that she appears to be capable of pulling off. She does manage to keep getting steady work though, and news of her latest job comes courtesy of THR. Reportedly she’s the latest name to join Atom Egoyan’s child abduction thriller Queen of the Night, which stars Ryan Reynolds and also includes names like Scott Speedman and Mireille Enos. And herein lies the problem: It’s high time someone gives Dawson a chance to star in a movie of her own. No more of this co-starring in Ryan Reynolds movies crap. Has Ryan Reynolds successfully anchored a movie like, ever?
This sounds a little bit strange to type, but there’s been some recent disagreements regarding SNL star Bill Hader and the role that David Hasselhoff played on that 90s action-adventure-swimsuit show Baywatch. The basic quibble is that Reno 911 and The State vet Robert Ben Garant is going to be directing a big screen version of the action show about lifeguards that’s much more of a self-aware comedy than the TV version was, and while The Wrap claims to have a quote from Garant that Hader is going to be starring in the Hasselhoff role, Collider claims to have a quote from Hader’s representatives saying that he isn’t starring. Whether this means that Hader is still mulling over the option but hasn’t signed officially or that he doesn’t intend on doing the movie at all isn’t clear, but the one thing both sides seem to agree on is that the script for Baywatch isn’t even finished yet. So there’s still plenty of time to worry about the casting of this one later. I have to admit though, now I’m a little attached to the idea of seeing Hader don Hasselhoff’s little red shorts. How about you?