Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks, sent out a surprisingly cheery, personal e-mail update to his staff and of course Deadline heiress Nikke Finke “leaked” it and hoped for the worse. The leaked e-mail is actually pretty inviting and makes Katzenberg seem like a cool guy. Read the full story

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There’s never a moment in Noah Baumbach‘s new film in which we openly root for Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), the film’s narcissistic antihero. But then there’s never a moment in which we cannot relate to his actions. Roger’s a mean, selfish person with one friend (Rhys Ifans) who’s too good to him and a brother (Chris Messina) who thinks of him more as a burden (and then, hired help) than as family.

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The Playlist is reporting some pretty great news, in my opinion,  Michelle Williams is planning to take the lead role in Noah Baumbach‘s The Emperor’s Children, his adaptation of Claire Messud‘s 2006 novel. Other noteworthy actors, including Keira Knightley, Eric Bana, and Richard Gere, have also recently joined the project. Brian Glazer and Ron Howard, who were originally slated to bring Baumbach‘s script to life, will most likely stick with producing credits.

The film, set in post-9/11 New York, will track a group of Ivy League graduates who approach their 30′s having not quite reached the lofty aspirations they had for themselves during their college days. This storyline will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Baumbach’s 1995 debut Kicking and Screaming, which followed a handful of people struggling to deal with post-college life.

The report suggests that filming could start as early as this summer; however, it is worth noting that Baumbach also has Mr. Popper’s Penguins, starring Ben Stiller, in early development, which could take precedence if difficulties arise. Baumbach of course directed Stiller in what might be his best performance in this year’s Greenberg.

I for one would be delighted to see Williams join this project, and hopefully her reputation will continue to grow along with it. As far as this year goes, she stars in Derek Cianfrance‘s highly-buzzed Sundance romance Blue Valentine, for which Williams and co-star Ryan Gosling have received enormous praise.

Would you like to see Williams work with Baumbach? What do you think of the writer-director’s future potential?

Greenberg co-writer/director Noah Baumbach may re-team with his star Ben Stiller in a bigscreen adaptation of Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Variety reports. Most interesting to note is the script is written by Sex Drive, She’s out of My League and Hot Tub Time Machine writers Sean Anders and John Morris. The project is set up at 20th Century Fox. Read the full story

Focus Features | USA | 107 mins

There’s never a moment in Noah Baumbach‘s new film in which we openly root for Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), the film’s narcissistic antihero. But then there’s never a moment in which we cannot relate to his actions. Roger’s a mean, selfish person with one friend (Rhys Ifans) who’s too good to him and a brother (Chris Messina) who thinks of him more as a burden (and then, hired help) than as family.

The film, however, is only half about Greenberg. It actually opens on Florence Marr, played by the impossibly natural, impossibly tragic Greta Gerwig, of Mumblecore pseudo-fame (Baghead, Nights and Weekends, etc.). Gerwig’s Florence is who we root for: a female version of Benjamin Braddock in many ways. She’s graduated college and now “been out of school for as long as she was in school.” She’s still an assistant for a professional doing what she’s apparently not ready for yet (the pro is Messina).

Imagine her reassurance when she meets Greenberg, a 40-year old carpenter who’s come to Los Angeles to dog/house sit for his brother while he and his family go to Vietnam to open up a new hotel. Roger’s decided to “do nothing for a while.” Compared to this old man, Florence is just fine. She’s got plenty of time to do nothing before it becomes “doing nothing.”

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Noah Baumbach is easily one of my favorite directors. After delivering something bold and different with Greenberg and helping to write the smart Fantastic Mr. Fox screenplay, the director has lined up his next project.

Ron Howard was going to direct The Emperor’s Children, written by Baumbach, but he will now produce while Baumbach steps into the director’s chair. The Wrap reports Keira Knightley, Eric Bana and Richard Gere will star and they summarize the plot below.
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In front of Noah Baumbach‘s upcoming film Greenberg, a film that I am greatly anticipating [March 26th], the writer/director has announced that he is working on a new project with acclaimed auteur Wes Anderson, according to The Playlist . Baumbach worked with Anderson on both The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Baumbach said of this new project:

It’s becoming kind of an ongoing document of our friendship, it’s something we keep adding to every time we see each other. At least once or twice [when we meet up] they’ll be something that cracks us up that we’ll go, ‘Oh, that should go into the script,’ but I ‘m not necessarily sure if we’ll end up finishing it. In some ways it’s more fun to just add to it.

He also indicated that it is a project that they’ve had in mind since before Life Aquatic.

Baumbach was behind the camera for the fan-favorite Kicking and Screaming and the acclaimed The Squid and the Whale. The latter was produced by Anderson. I’m really looking forward to this collaboration, especially if its anything like Life Aquatic, which is my favorite Wes Anderson flick.

Will Bill Murray be nearby for this one? Are you for or against Wes Anderson?

Having taken a three-year hiatus from feature filmmaking after Rush Hour 3 to spend more time bragging about the models he’s slept with, Brett Ratner has finally decided to go ahead and make another movie. Only problem? This time he’s taking truly talented people down with him.

Tower Heist, which was supposed to be a star vehicle for Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, about two Trump Tower employees planning a heist of that particular building, has now evolved into something entirely different. It will now be rewritten by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Noah Baumbach and star Ben Stiller. The plot is being changed as to now focus on blue-collar workers robbing a Bernie Madoff-esque figure (who will likely be played by James Caan).

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The trailer for Noah Baumbach‘s new feature Greenberg has been released by Apple. The film stars Ben Stiller, Rhys Ifans, Juno Temple, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mark Duplass, Dave Franco and Chris Messina. Check it out below or on Apple in HD. Read the full story