After a bit of rumor-mongering and no-fun back-and-forths, it would appear that Jurassic World has found its next adult in Josh Brolin. According to first, detail-derived reports, the actor — seen next month in Spike Lee‘s Oldboy — is about to sign for the Colin Trevorrow-directed sequel to / potential light reboot of the dino-themed trilogy, which has already tapped Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3), Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer), and, potentially, Jake Johnson (Drinking Buddies, New Girl).
Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (Safety Not Guaranteed) are behind the screenplay for Jurassic World, about which we (probably) know nothing and will likely remain in the dark on for some time. All will be revealed, however, when the film opens on June 12, 2015.
Let’s assume this next title will be of a different shape: according to Variety, director Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli is compiling an ensemble for his drama, Last Summer, with Rinko Kikuchi headlining an international cast that also includes Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The New World), Lucy Griffiths (Winter’s Tale, True Blood), and Laura Bach. As scripted by Japanese authors Banana Yoshimoto and Igort, the narrative follows Naomi (Kikuchi), a mother whose six days left with her son — before a lost custody battle sees him go off to “a wealthy Westerner” — are spent aboard a yacht owned by her father-in-law. During this time, she’s “treated more like a prisoner than a guest by the boat’s four-person crew as she tries to forge a long-lasting maternal bond.”
Cinema Undici, Jean Vigo, Essentia, RAI Cinema will produce Last Summer, which is currently shooting and expected to reach out for sales at Berlinale — and, with any luck, a premiere at Cannes next year.
In other news, TheWrap tell us Olga Kurylenko is planning to board The Water Diviner, Russell Crowe‘s directorial debut that had been announced back in June. The directing newcomer will star in the 1919-set tale sparked when two boys are without a trace following brutal conflict in Gallipoli. Hoping to make a recovery, their father travels from Australia to Turkey — on his trip meeting a hotel owner, who the To the Wonder actress will play — and, naturally, it’s this search which likely comprises much of The Water Diviner‘s central conflict.
Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight have scripted the film, while Hopscotch Features and Crowe’s Fear of God Films are producing for a December production start.
This story began with Jurassic Park IV, and we end it with news regarding Dr. Ellie Sattler. According to Deadline, Laura Dern (as she’s also known) will take a part alongside Reese Witherspoon in Wild, a star vehicle penned by author Nick Hornby (An Education, A Long Way Down) and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club). Based on memoirs by Cheryl Strayed, it follows the woman’s hike across the Pacific Crest Trail — a 2,663-mile journey from the Mojave Desert to the Washington-Canada border — after both her mother has passed away and own marriage ends poorly. Dern will portray that parent, most likely in flashback and, hopefully, not as some sort of phantom spirit haunting this lengthy trip.
Fox Searchlight are behind Wild, which is currently underway and one can check out the first still below.
Here's first pic of me as Cheryl Strayed in WILD. So excited to play @cherylstrayed in a movie! http://t.co/t00BFeR5nX
— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) October 18, 2013
Do you like the shape Jurassic World is taking? What do these additional casting rumors tell you?