New ‘J. Edgar’ Title for Eastwood’s Hoover Biopic; Casting Rumors

Armie Hammer pulled off a tricky double-act when he played the Winklevoss twins in David Fincher’s The Social Network. He may follow that performance by taking on a role in another real-life project from a high-profile filmmaker – namely, Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic.

Hoover has been officially retitled J. Edgar and will star Leonardo DiCaprio as the controversial FBI founder. The well-respected leading man could be joined by both Hammer and Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, who is in talks to play Hoover’s longtime secretary.

EW has the scoop on the title change and the news that Hammer is in negotiations to play Clyde Tolson, a lawyer-turned FBI official – and loyal confidante to Hoover himself. Tolson has historically been rumored as having also been Hoover’s secret lover, an issue which will surely be addressed in Eastwood’s biopic – though, as the director himself put it, “[Hoover] was a very complex person. The [closet] homosexual aspect is just one of many. I would say that’s the least of his problems.”

Word of Theron joining J. Edgar comes from Vulture, who is reporting that the actress is up for the part of Justice Department file clerk Helen Gandy, a woman that ended up working for Hoover for over 54 years. Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black’s screenplay will likely pick up several years after Gandy and Hoover first met, since the former was 21 when the FBI head hired her, and (as lovely as they both are) neither DiCaprio nor Theron look like people in their early 20s any more.

DiCaprio will play Hoover in Eastwood's 'J. Edgar'.

Hoover was a fascinating individual who developed quite the intimidating reputation over the course of running the FBI for half a century (there’s a reason Bill Murray makes a crack about him destroying New York in the original Ghostbusters). Few would argue that DiCaprio won’t make for a more handsome Hoover than his real-life counterpart, but the actor should also be able to communicate the complex, and conflicted, nature of a man who will likely always remain a bit of a mystery.

Black crafted a solid script for Gus Van Sant’s acclaimed Harvey Milk biopic that examined a variety of aspects in the fellow’s personal life – while addressing his influence and behavior as a public figure. He’ll likely take a similar approach in his J. Edgar screenplay as well.

Filming on J. Edgar is scheduled to begin in early 2011 and the film could potentially arrive in theaters by the end of next year.

Source: EW, Vulture

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Superman Reboot Plot Rumors; Anne Hathaway As Lois Lane?

The rumor mill for Zack Snyder’s reboot of the Superman franchise, The Man of Steel, keeps chugging along, even now that speculation about a middle-aged Clark Kent or General Zod as the villain in the film has been laid to rest.

Additional (possibly even accurate) information about the film’s plot has been discovered, while another 20-something, A-list actress is now being rumored as a top contender to play Clark Kent’s object of affection, Lois Lane.

Word is that a character description for Man of Steel has been sent out to a variety of casting agencies, who are currently searching for an unknown, 28-32 year-old actor to play the iconic superhero. What’s Playing claims that Snyder’s Clark Kent will be “a young journalist, traveling the globe, who would rather solve problems and help people without resorting to using his special powers,” and provided the following information about the reboot’s plot:

When he is compelled to use his secret powers to intervene in a crisis in West Africa, Clark returns to Smallville to learn more about his origins and the hero he was born to be.

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Recall that while Superman reboot “godfather” Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was the origin story of the Caped Crusader, it also plumbed the psychological depths of Bruce Wayne and sent him (literally) on a journey to understand himself and his purpose in life. These possible Man of Steel plot details should definitely be taken with a sizable grain of salt, but the proposed storyline would very much pave the way for Nolan and Snyder to examine the Superman character in a fittingly complex fashion.

Allowing Clark Kent to venture out and explore the world would also be an effective means to modernize the character, who would find himself in new territory by actually confronting, head-on, the global issues and crises that afflict the world – outside of Metropolis, that is. Nolan’s Batman films have benefited from shifting the setting beyond that of Gotham City – will the Superman reboot do the same?

Just about every young, established actress working in the biz right now has been (and likely will be again) floated as a possibility to play the role of Lois Lane in Snyder’s Superman reboot. While Warner Bros. was interested in Natalie Portman a while ago, the new gal rumored to be a serious contender for the part is Anne Hathaway.

The Oscar-nominated Hathaway would be a decent choice for the role of Miss Lane, though we agree with The Playlist that someone like Rebecca Hall (The Town) seems like a better fit to play the character, who has more than her share of beauty, brains, and focus on her career – especially when Superman is in the picture.

The Man of Steel is expected to begin shooting by June 2011, so it’s a bit early to expect any concrete information about the film’s plot or casting decisions to leak out just yet – but what do you make of these new rumors?

Source: What’s Playing

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‘Avatar’ Producer Addresses Sequel Rumors

Only months after the release of Avatar, director James Cameron was already dropping hints about what fans could expect from the inevitable sequels. One of his earliest declarations was that Avatar 2 would take audiences into a region of Pandora unexplored by the original film – the oceans.

It’s been confirmed that Avatar 2 will be Cameron’s next project and that it will be shot back-to-back with Avatar 3. Although screenplays for the sequels have yet to be written, there are some factions of the Internet rumor mill that seem to believe the first sequel will take place entirely underwater.

Empire recently caught up with Jon Landau,  one of the Avatar franchise’s producers, while he was out promoting Avatar‘s upcoming Extended Collector’s Edition. Landau revealed that the oceans of Pandora will indeed be featured in Avatar 2, but they won’t be the focus of the film:

“Water will be a part of the movie, but it won’t be all of the movie … There’s been a lot of rumours that it’s an underwater movie – it’s not. Just like the Floating Mountains, and the Na’vi’s interaction with the mountains, were a part of Avatar, it’ll be the same type of thing.”

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since Cameron previously stated that Avatar 2 would definitely expand the scope of the first movie, but not at the expense of revisiting established locations. Yet, the innovative filmmaker clearly has a larger story in mind – one that goes beyond Pandora and involves other planets in the Alpha Centauri AB system.

If the franchise does indeed wind up traveling to other worlds, it won’t be until the third film. Landau indicates that Avatar 2 will likely take place entirely on Pandora:

“I think the next movie will stay on Pandora. That’d be my guess. Not all the answers are there yet, but I think we’re happy with Pandora.”

James Cameron and Jon Landau

Landau also insists that even though the sequels are shooting back-to-back, it’s important that they stand on their own. So don’t expect Avatar 2 to end with a cliffhanger à la Back to the Future Part II or The Matrix Reloaded:

“The next [film] will kick off where the  last one ended, but just like Avatar resolved itself and doesn’t feel like a set-up to another movie, you don’t want Avatar 2 to feel like a set up for 3.”

Not only does that decision seem creatively stronger, in my opinion it also shows more respect for the audience. The majority of Avatar fans are already passionate and no one needs to be baited into seeing another film. Franchise or not, I think each film should tell a contained story – even if there’s a larger arc in place.

Finally, Landau touches on two other long-gestating Cameron projects – The Dive and Battle Angel. While they’re obviously a ways off, it doesn’t sound like interest has waned:

They’re further-out projects … Neither one has that shooting script yet and both are really worthy projects to make.”

My list of criticisms for the first Avatar is largely the same as everyone else’s, but I really do have high hopes for the follow-ups. Landau previously discussed Cameron’s successful track record with sequels and the pressure that created for  Avatar 2. Here’s hoping they knock it out of the park.

Source: Empire.

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