Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting

Remember that upcoming movie about the guy who is the first person to lie, and “harnesses its power for personal gain?” That’s the Ricky Gervais comedy The Other Side of Truth, which is now called This Side of the Truth. Gervais wrote the script with Matthew Robinson, and the two will share helming duties this spring, when the flick jumps into production. In November, he picked himself a cute love interest in Jennifer Garner, and now Variety reports that Rob Lowe has also jumped into the mix. Uh oh. Could Ricky really compete with Robby?

As it’s being described now, the comedy focuses on Gervais, who is “a storyteller whose job is to ramble on about the 1300s. Faced with losing his job because his terrain is a boring period in history once he gets beyond the Black Death, he invents lying as a way to save himself.” I’m really loving this latest description of the film, as I can’t help but be interested in spastic premises from entertaining comedians. So through lying, Gervais’ character becomes a success and woos a looker out of his league (Garner), but I wonder how Lowe fits in. Will he ultimately get the girl when Ricky’s lies are revealed? Or, will he have charmed her so much that not even Lowe could rip her away? We’ll find out some time in 2009.

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Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, New Line

Forget those rumors you heard last week about Robert Englund possibly reprising his role as Freddy Kruger (a franchise re-launch of A Nightmare on Elm Street was confirmed last week). They may not be true. But also forget what you might have read today about Kruger not returning. According to an interview with Englund by Bad Taste, the actor has not been approached … yet. (Moviehole had said he would be approached). Of course, he may still be asked to suit up in the striped sweater and razor glove (Englund mentions needing to speak to his agent about it), but the actor doesn’t seem to think it a good idea. He says he’s too old to play Freddy — apparently he hasn’t been following the geriatric casting trends in Hollywood lately — and joked that the new film’s title would have to be “Freddy vs. Viagra” (har har). He did, however, mention that he’d be down for a cameo.

Englund spoke to Bad Taste from Italy, where he’s prepping his next directorial effort, The Vij, in which he will also star alongside Christopher Lee and Russian actress Olga Shuvalova. According to Englund, the film is based on a short story by the Russian author Gogol, and will involve, “The Viji [sic], the guardian of the purgatory, who came to Earth.” He also stated that it should be in black and white, but it will actually be in color (to appeal to a larger audience) and will be a mix of Kafka, German expressionism, the cinematography of Vittorio Storaro and classic stories like The Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Snow White. According to Variety, the film will be a “dark gothic fantasy” with a plot revolving “around an evil genie who conditions the actions of a young priest, leading him to commit murder and fall in love with an old witch who is actually not what she seems.” The evil genie part makes me think of Wishmaster, which also starred Englund and which actually makes The Vij sound better than it probably will be considering Englund also directed 976-EVIL.

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Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting

The pieces have now fallen into place for the upcoming Mark Waters romcom The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Back in September, Jennifer Garner was circling the long-gestating project, which already had Matthew McConaughey so surprisingly attached as the lead womanizer. (Fun note: Jen’s hubby was originally attached to the film, but now she gets to run around with another guy instead.) Now The Hollywood Reporter has laid out the plot and main players. Matt and Jenn will be joined by Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Anne Archer, Amanda Walsh, and Emma Stone.

So, McConaughey is “Connor, a womanizer who attends the wedding of his younger brother (Meyer) and bride (Chabert). There, he’s haunted by several old flames, including the bride’s best friend (Garner).” I have to say, it’s strange to think of Meyer as an adult and not a Clueless skater, or to think of Chabert getting married. Man, I’m getting old. Anyway, by “womanizer,” they’re not meaning just a deluge of sexy women who are Connor’s age — Archer, who will play Chabert’s mom, is also “a potential Connor conquest,” while Walsh will be the one “bridesmaid he hasn’t conquered.” (Canadian audiences will recognize her as the ex Much Music VJ.) This suggests that Garner is definitely the school sweetheart, since she’s Chabert’s best friend, but not the one girl who hasn’t gotten it on with Connor. (Unless, for some reason, her best friend isn’t in her wedding party.)

Stone, finally, will lead Connor through his womanizing wasteland. A move from Superbad paramour to supernatural guide isn’t bad at all. Production begins this month in Boston.

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Filed under: Action, Casting, Deals, Fandom, Newsstand

While we may not be looking at another Rambo sequel, Sylvester Stallone has made it known that he’s definitely not ready to give up the action roles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone has struck a deal, along with his Rambo producers over at Nu Image/Millennium Films, to star and produce two action films, neither of which appear to be sequels to Sly’s very lucrative Rambo and Rocky franchises. So what are the films and what will they be about?

Well, we don’t know right now — HR says that several scripts are being considered, and that “the first script is expected to be locked and loaded by the fall, with production set to begin shortly thereafter.” Seeing as the guy is fastly approaching his mid-60’s, I imagine both films will revolve around an aging (something) who, in order to save (someone or something), must wage a private war against (these people) and save the day. I know Sly had previously talked about remaking Death Wish, so there’s a chance one of the two projects will indeed turn out to be Death Wish. The other one, however, is completely up in the air. If it were up to you, what type of film would you like to see Stallone take on? (Perhaps he’ll take notice of our list of seven characters Sly Stallone could sequel-ize.)

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Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting

To some, she’s the florist who stole away Piper Perabo, while to others, she’s Queen Gorgo, or one tough Sarah Connor. For the latter group, Lena Headey has got another dark piece of cinema on the way, one that deals with death and necromancy.