Tuesday, November 13, 2007

New Directions

The latest three-fer-one post..

Tatiana Siegel of Variety:




Paul Verhoeven is set to helm "The Thomas Crown Affair 2" for MGM. Pierce Brosnan will reprise his role as the world's most debonair thief and corporate raider in the sequel, which is set to begin shooting in January.

Rene Russo will not return as Crown's love interest. Instead, the follow-up to the 1999 film, which was a remake of a 1968 Steve McQueen-Faye Dunaway starrer, will feature a character named Nadia Badri as the new female lead. That role is uncast.

Latest installment is set in Europe and the Middle East and centers on Crown, who becomes entangled in a centuries-old feud and must decide how much he's truly willing to risk for love.

Brosnan is producing alongside Beau St. Clair and Dino Conte.

Verhoeven's involvement signals that MGM has committed to a big-budget picture, which will be shot on location in Europe. The Dutch director most recently helmed the World War II drama "Black Book." His credits also include "Starship Troopers" and "Hollow Man."

2 things to wonder as Verhoven takes the helm of the franchise

-How much nudity will the film have?
-Which striking beauty will be cast as the female lead?

Michael Fleming has the next 2 items:

Fox 2000 has attached Ridley Scott to direct "Stones," a supernatural thriller scripted by Matt Cirulnick. Scott Free will produce.

Project is a big-scale supernatural thriller revolving around the mysterious destruction of ancient religious sites around the world. It turns out that Stonehenge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is the tie that binds together artifacts that still have primeval powers.

Cirulnick got the assignment after scripting "Elysium" for New Regency, a film that weaves Greek mythology into a drama. He fixed on the idea that Stonehenge, the great pyramids and other artifacts were built for a specific unified purpose.

Pic will resume development after the Writers Guild of America strike concludes. Scott is busy directing Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in "Body of Lies" for Warner Bros., and he is expected to follow by moving with Crowe right into "Nottingham".the Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris-scripted drama for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.

"Stones" is Fox 2000's second recent Scott Free deal involving a directing assignment for the sibling helmers. Tony Scott just set up to direct a biopic on the life and death of cigarette boat inventor Donald Aronow.

Stonehenge has always facinated me....I just hope that its used more effectively as a plot device than it was the last time I saw it on the big screen for Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Jada Pinkett-Smith (pictured) is making her directorial debut with the romantic comedy The Human Contract (2008)." Pinkett Smith wrote the script, and husband Will Smith will exec produce.

Pic will star Jason Clarke ("Brotherhood"), Paz Vega, Ted Danson and Idris Elba ("The Wire").

A highly successful but personally tortured businessman (Clarke) has his life turned upside down after meeting a free-spirited, mysterious beauty (Vega), who tempts him to explore reckless love.

Pic, which begins production this week in Los Angeles, is a co-production among Overbrook Entertainment, Tycoon Entertainment and Pinkett Smith's shingle 100% Womon. Tycoon is financing.

Dawn Thomas, Miguel Melendez and Mike Jackson are producing. In addition to Will Smith, Overbrook's James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz are exec producers, along with Tycoon's David Grasso and David Dinenberg.

Pinkett Smith recently wrapped the Diane English-directed "The Women," and Clarke completed the Paul W.S. Anderson-directed "Death Race" with Jason Statham.


I have the utmost respect and admiration for the talented Smith family. As to Jada's new gig All I can say is congrats and good luck--You go girl!! When's your hubby going to direct a flick?

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