Tinfoil Babies and Going for the 'R' ...

In part one of our coverage of the press conference for "The Change Up," Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds -- who play an uptight family-man lawyer and a too-loose layabout who swap lives -- talked about their mutual respect and breaking up on set, In part two, they chat about their leading ladies Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde, as well as special-effects babies.
There's a few ways to do a body-switching movie: You can do it the way you guys did it, where you play the other part, or you can do it where the actors continue playing their roles and the gimmick is that the other characters see that differently. Was part of the fun taking on each other's mannerisms, or would you have preferred to do it the other way?
Reynolds: I wouldn't have. Every actor loves a challenge like that where you get to play two different people in the same film. For me, I think the only way to do it was that. Plus, it allows you to inhabit the bodies these guys are in, to really experience their world. The fact that basically if the film where two drunk idiots piss in a magic fountain, great, but they switch bodies, great, and then what happens after that is what to me was the reason to do the film. To have this mentally unhinged lunatic be looking after your children was very appealing. There's something fantastic about that setup and that payoff and vice-versa. This conservative guy is basically inhabiting the world of a guy who, unbeknownst to him, is working in porn. It's absurd, but that's what it's all about. If you're seeing it all through the perspective of other people, I don't think it would be as rewarding.
Bateman: Ditto.
Reynolds: Thanks for weighing in.
Kristen Wiig's passion project is coming together with some unexpected choices
We’ve known about Kristen Wiig’s passion project “Imogene” for only a few weeks now, but with filming set to start this month in New York City, casting news is rolling out fast. The film, written by Michelle Morgan, sees Wiig starring as a playwright who fakes a suicide attempt in order to catch the attention of her beloved ex-boyfriend. The plan backfires quite terribly, however, as the stunt lands her in the custody of her mother. The film previously added Annette Bening to play Wiig’s mother, a sassy Jersey mom with a gambling problem. Darren Criss is (somewhat inexplicably) on board to play Wiig’s character’s ex-boyfriend.

Now Variety and The Playlist report that Natasha Lyonne and June Diane Raphael have joined the cast, rounding out some of the film’s supporting roles. Lyonne will play a “Jersey Shore girl named Allyson who works on the boardwalk.” She is also the reported love interest of Christopher Fitzgerald’s character in the film. Few people can play adorably brassy the way Lyonne can, so this sounds like a perfect fit for the raspy-voice actress. Raphael’s role has not been announced yet, but you may recognize her from small roles in “Year One” and “Going the Distance.” She also co-wrote “Bride Wars,” a sin that may be absolved by her continued work in actually good films, which “Imogene” should be.
Wiig will also executive produce the project, which she has long been trying to get to the screen. “Imogene” looks to work from a sort of “you can’t go home again” sensibility, as Wiig’s character has to deal with both her own problems, her mother’s gambling, and the issues that arise when a slightly hip New York playwright gets stuck back in Jersey.
“Imogene” is set to be directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (the pair have previously directed such varied fare as “Cinema Verite,” “American Splendor,” and “The Nanny Diaries”).
Kenneth Lonergan's long-troubled follow-up to 'You Can Count on Me' now has a release date

This fall's adaptation of John Le Carre's classic espionage novel looks promising
I greatly admired Tomas Alfredson's chilly approach to Swedish vampire tale "Let the Right One In," and judging from the first international trailers for his upcoming "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," his direction is a smart fit for John Le Carre's story of a mole hunt within the ranks of British intelligence during the Cold War. And no, it's not a trilogy
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Gracy—a commercials director with a noted fondness and formidable facility for special effects—has landed the unenviable job of ushering Disney's "Order of the Seven" to the silver screen. Previously known as "Snow White and the Order of the Seven," the flick will (presumably) be the third Snow White film to reach theaters, after the Lily Collins/Julia Roberts "Untitled Snow White Project" and the Kristen Stewart/Charlize Theron "Snow White and the Huntsman." Film hailed by animal rights group, critics alike
PETA—the notable, widely influential animal rights advocacy group—has, perhaps unsurprisingly, come out in support of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Applauding more the film's use of CGI simians rather than its overt "animal testing is bad" moralizing, PETA has gone so far as to bestow their heretofore unheard of but presumably prestigious Proggy Award upon "Apes" director Rupert Wyatt. Up-and-coming actor would play Archangel Michael to Cooper's Lucifer
Although the quick description of Alex Proyas’ “Paradise Lost” project is, at first glance, not very intriguing, the large-scale project has been slowly layering on new elements that make it sound both interesting and intelligent. The short story on the film is that it’s based on John Milton’s epic poem of the same name and will star Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, with a heavy emphasis on visual effects. And while that sounds a bit silly, Proyas’ dedication to solid effects (not ones that feel overstylized or that slip into Uncanny Valley territories), plus a commitment to installing a talented cast in the film show that “Paradise Lost” might far exceed expectations. That all said, every Lucifer needs an Archangel Michael to battle, and that’s where Proyas has again made a sage step – as
Deadline reports that Benjamin Walker is negotiating for the role.

Don’t know Benjamin Walker? You will. The up-and-coming thespian just wrapped up his first major starring role as Abraham Lincoln in Timur Bekmambetov’s film adaption of Seth Grahame Smith’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Booking the role of Michael in Proyas’ film will only further show that Walker’s star is on the rise.
The film will be an “action epic battle between good and evil” that revolves around a series of battles the cast-out angel Lucifer wages against heaven and the other angels. Proyas has promised “to say as faithful as possible to Milton's text, particularly its focus on Lucifer's evolution and the birth of evil.” In Proyas’ mind, the story is “a family saga, about a group of brothers, two in particular, who are on divergent paths.” The director also reports that there are three major battles set for the film – one in Heaven, one in Hell, and one in Eden.
Even Proyas acknowledges the difficulty of the production ahead of him, saying that he’s “thought that only an insane person would want to make this movie, because it's visually audacious and has to live up to a classic poem that is so beloved.” But Proyas is also very excited about the technology now available, and believes that it, combined with the talents of Cooper and Walker, will make the film work, and work well.
Like Marvel, Hasbro will now produce its own movies
When Sony made billions off of its "Spider-Man" franchise, an envious Marvel made the wise decision to produce its own films from then on. Now, with Paramount enjoying even broader success with Hasbro's "Transformers" movies, it seems the monolithic toy and board-game manufacturer has seized upon Marvel's lead. Deadline is reporting that, after Universal unceremoniously dropped the project, Hasbro will entirely self-fund its proposed "Clue" remake for director Gore Verbinski.
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