More Film News ...

Originally posted on www.thefancarpet.com

New Thriller in Affleck's Line of Sight

Ben Affleck is looking to direct, produce and star in new thriller film Line of Sight.

Affleck who is currently shooting his latest film Argo, a drama film based on a real life hostage situation, is currently in talks with film studio Warner Bros. about the film.

The film’s plot follows an elite commando squad who, whilst transporting cargo have to deal with a huge global threat. The film is currently being back by Joel Silver and was originally written by F Scott Frazier.

So far the film sounds like your traditional type of thriller movie, but the film’s unique selling point and a major hook for this film is that the story will mainly be told from the point of view of one of the main characters, almost in the first person. Which I’m assuming may not being Affleck considering he’s in talks to produce and direct the feature film.

There has been no confirmation yet about when the film will be shooting, but considering Affleck is only in talks at the moment then it could be some time, and it may not even be Affleck in the movie when all comes to fruition.

Hill Joins Neighbourhood Watch

Sci-fi comedy Neighbourhood Watch just entered a whole new realm of funny, as Jonah Hill has been confirmed as the latest cast signing.

Already on board for the comedy feature are Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Rosemarie DeWitt.

The comedy will see Stiller moving form the city to the quiet suburbs hoping to find some peace and quiet, and hoping hat everything will now become more dull. But things soon change when he joins a group of bored married men to form a neighbourhood watch group. Thing turn slightly weird and Stiller gets much more than he bargained for when the newly formed group discover an alien invasion plot. Expect some laugh out loud moments there then!

The new film is being overseen by the director of Hot Rod Akiva Schaffer and the script has been written by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg.

From the sound of the cast and the writing team behind the film, this is a sure fire comedy hit, that I expect will be packed to the brim with laugh out loud moments.

Some Film News ...

So recently I've been doing some writing for thefancarpet.com where I've been writing about some of the latest news in the film business. So here's the first few:

Nicole Kidman in talks to join the paper boy

Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman is in talks to take over the Sofia Vergara role in the Lee Daniels directed film The Paperboy.

The film has been plagued with drop outs as stars attached to the project such as Toby Maguire and Sofia Vergara have both left for different reasons. Now that Kidman is in talks to play role previously assigned to Vergara things are beginning to look back on track.

Actor Matthew McConaughey is still tipped to play the films lead role, a reporter who investigates the events surrounding a murder, along with his brother, which could lead to a prisoner on death row walking free.

Kidman’s character (if she signs to the film) is a woman with a sinister side to her and has a penchant for writing letters to inmates on death row, and initially brings the case to McConaughey’s characters attention.

With teen heartthrob Zac Efron also on board it appears as though the only cast member in need of replacement is Maguire. The film plans to begin filming in the late summer if the casting switch is successful.

Affleck set to star and direct!

Ben Affleck set to direct and star in his next film, Argo.

The political thriller set in 1979 will see Affleck play Tony Mendez, a CIA in disguise expert who, in order t help six American diplomats escape from Iran, creates a fake Hollywood production.

The film will be working from a script by Chris Terrio that had previously appeared on 2010s Black List.

Affleck has previously stepped behind the film camera and proven his abilities as a director with film such as Gone Baby Gone and The Town, but Argo will be his first ‘period’ film with a whole new set of challenges, but given his previous record it shouldn’t prove to be a big issue.

Other news surrounding the film is the talk that actors Alan Arkin and John Goodman are very close to signing up for Affleck’s latest venture on the big screen.

Given Affleck’s previous track record and the talk of the new signings, he looks set to prove why this film shouldn’t have been on the Black List.

Scarlett Johansson joins Judd Apatow/John Carney film

The Sunday Business post online has reported that screen siren Scarlett Johansson has been added to the cast of Can A Song Save Your Life?

The film is a musical picture that will be directed by Carney and will follow a “a washed-up A&R man who forms a passionate bond with a younger singer/songwriter (Johansson) from out of town.”

The film has been in the works for some time with writer/producer/director Judd Apatow stated way back in the summer of 2009 that he was working a movie with John Carey.

After two years the two men have finally cleared their busy schedules and began work together and the film is finally shaping up.

Carney said “I’ve been writing it for a year and a half.” He later added ‘I went out to Los Angeles to meet Scarlett a couple of months ago. She was everything you could imagine – very hot, elegant and she’s really smart.”

It comes as no surprise that Johansson will be singing in the new film after proving her worth as a vocalist over the past few years, with an album on Tom Waits covers and she collaborated with Pete Yorn on his album Break Up.

The film has a budget of $10 million and is planned to begin shooting next year in New York.

Madonna's W.E sent into Oscar race

Madonna’s narrative feature directional debutW.E will be released on December 9^th, during the heart of the awards season.

Following the stars critically panned directional debut Filth and Wisdom it appears that The Weinstein Company have some faith in her follow up feature.

“Madonna beautifully interweaves past and present in W.E. It’s a very smart film, and a stunning feature directorial debut,” said Weinstein. “I’m incredibly excited about this movie and I wanted to give it a prominent release date.”

The film looks at the fabled romance between American Willis Simpson and Britain’s King Edward VIII, who gave up the thrown to marry the woman he loved. More than six decades later, their story enthralls Wally Winthrop, a young woman who sees a stark contrast between her unhappy marriage and their devotion, an example she follows as she searches for true love.

Considering the film looks at what was happening off screen in The King's Speech, it makes perfect sense to release the film during award season given the success of the latter at this year’s award ceremonies’.

The films platform release will occur on the 9^th of December in New York and LA before going wide sometime in January.