Update: The Wrap reports that Jonah Hill is also in talks to join Hail Caesar, reteaming with Tatum. There’s no details on his role yet, but one can see the original story below.
No, the Coens aren’t taking on a follow-up to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes with their next feature. Rather, Hail Caesar! centers on Eddie Mannix, a ’50s Hollywood fixer that gets involved with whatever the directing and writing pair are concocting. Led by George Clooney, the project has already amassed the talents of Josh Brolin, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, and Channing Tatum, and now we have another addition. Coming off a streak including Under the Skin and Her, Variety reports Scarlett Johansson is in talks to play an actress who becomes pregnant and it interferes with her next film. With production kicking off later this year, expect a 2015 release for what’ll easily be one of our most-anticipated of next year.
Next up, after completing the Before trilogy and finally putting the finishing touches on his 12-year-long project Boyhood, we’ve been wondering exactly what Richard Linklater will take on next. It looks like it will be the gestating remake of The Incredible Mr. Limpet and with Zach Galifianakis on board we’ve now got word on the rest of the cast. The Wrap reports Jon Hamm, Danny McBride, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele are all lining up for roles in the project that will mix live-action with animation.
The story concerns a nebbish man who wishes he were a fish, comes pretty close to it, and sets out to save his town and the underwater world. Hamm is reportedly lining up to play the businessman villain who is out to mine the ocean, while Hart, Key and Peele would provide voices for sea creatures and McBride and Silverman would take unknown live-action roles. It sounds fairly wild and we can’t wait to see the results. Production kicks off this fall for a likely 2016 release.
After writing Zodiac and some Sony tentpoles that are best left unnamed, James Vanderbilt is embarking on his directorial debut. Deadline reports that Truth will follow Robert Redford as CBS anchor Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as producer Mary Mapes in the adaptation of the true 60 Minutes II scandal surrounding the Killian documents. Adapted from Mapes’ 2005 memoir, it will track their flimsy story that George W. Bush got the upper hand from his father to avoid the draft. With compelling source material, production is expected to kick off this fall.
Dan Trachtenberg has found a star for his feature debut with Valencia, a $5 million thriller coming from Bad Robot and Paramount Insurge. Variety reports John Goodman will take the lead in the production that kicks off this fall. Scripted by Dan Casey, the film mostly takes place in an underground cellar occupied by a teenage girl and her caretaker, played by Goodman. With the former waking up there after a car accident, the latter tells her a nuclear attack has devastated society and she attempts to escape.
Lastly, in a minor update, Alec Baldwin is in talks to join Christopher McQuarrie‘s Mission: Impossible 5. According to Deadline, he’ll play the head of the CIA, but no other details are known. The project is set to open Christmas Day 2015 and Paramount is currently looking for a female lead after Jessica Chastain declined to star
The actor has also come on board the Ridley Scott-produced, Peter Landesman-directed NFL concussions drama following Jeanne Marie Laskas‘ article, Game Brain. Led by Will Smith, it follows Dr. Bennet Omalu, whose discoveries in the science behind concussions sent shock waves through the game.
Which project are you most looking forward to?