This Week:
Billy Bob Thornton may join the Entourage movie; Forest Whitaker may join Taken 3; Jason Reitman will direct The Possibilities; Ian Ziering and Tara Reid sign on for Sharknado sequel; and Hot Tub Time Machine 2 nabs a Christmas release.
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Oscar nominated actor Billy Bob Thornton is in early talks to join the Entourage movie.
Although a deal has not yet been finalized, Thornton is in the early stages of negotiations to play a Texas billionaire in the film. His character will help finance a big budget version of Dracula that is said to feature Adrian Grenier’s Vincent Chase in the title role, and is the first major motion picture produced by Ari Gold’s new studio.
However, it is actually the billionaire’s son who is a focal point of the Entourage script, as both he and Vince pine after the same girl. Fans of the HBO series know that things usually work out in Vince’s favor, but we will have to wait see whether that’s true for the big screen version of Entourage.
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Oscar winner Forest Whitaker is in early negotiations to join Liam Neeson for Taken 3.
Nothing is confirmed yet, but Deadline reports that Whitaker is in very early talks to join the sequel. The second Taken film, which once again saw Brian Mills (Neeson) trying to save his family, made a decent chunk of change at the box office last year, and apparently that profit is going towards securing some top name talent.
Although it’s unclear at this point whether Whitaker will sign on for Taken 3, we do know that director Olivier Megaton will return to helm this third film. As well, early reports claim Taken 3 could shoot as early as March.
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Jason Reitman, whose latest feature film Labor Day didn’t do too well at this weekend’s box office, has signed on to direct The Possibilities.
The Possibilities is based on the forthcoming book from author Kaui Hart Hemmings, who also penned The Descendants. The Descendants was, of course, adapted into an Oscar winning film starring George Clooney.
However, while The Descendants featured the vibrant, sunny beaches of Hawaii, The Possibilities is set in a frigid ski town in Colorado and centers on a grieving mother who is visited by a strange girl with a secret. Anything Reitman does is worth keeping an eye on, but The Possibilities sounds like an intriguing concept.
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Ian Ziering and Tara Reid have signed on to reprise their roles as Fin and April in Sharknado 2: The Second One.
The Syfy and Asylum-produced film will feature yet another freak combination of weather and fish, only this time in the Big Apple. We couldn’t possibly imagine how Sharknado 2 will justify the repeat occurrence, or Fin and April’s involvement, but that’s really not the point is it?
Although the first Sharknado built up a tremendous amount of buzz through social media, it failed to actually deliver in the ratings. Syfy hopes that this second film, which premieres later this summer, will succeed where its predecessor failed.
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Paramount has set a Christmas 2014 release date for Hot Tub Time Machine 2.
The Hot Tub Time Machine sequel will reunite stars Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke, as well as newcomer Adam Scott, as they once again turn to their time-travelling hot tub for help. However, instead of a crazy trip to the past, this time the friends end up in the future.
While the Christmas holiday is extremely competitive when it comes to box office dollars, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 might serve as the perfect form of counter-programming against the more family-friendly fare. Whether the filmmakers can still make the concept feel fresh and exciting, however, is yet to be determined.
