Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks to Join Kathryn Bigelow’s Next Film
Aspiring filmmakers listen up: All you have to do is win an Oscar for Best Picture, and you’ll be able to get anyone to star in your next movie. Case in point: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) is beginning to line up one heckuva cast for her ensemble drama Sleeping Dogs (also known as Triple Frontier – we’re not sure which title they’re going with).
So far Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp are both said to be circling roles in the film, which will follow five men of various ages who all work in and around the border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, which is known to be a highly dangerous area full or organized crime and terrorist operations. Nothing is official yet since Depp may have scheduling conflicts with this and Dark Shadows, but here’s hoping they figure it out somehow. [Deadline]
Sandra Bullock In Talks for ‘Gravity’
We’ve gone back and forth a number of times so far with the film Gravity, that sci-fi epic from director Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men). The movie takes place on a space station after an entire crew is killed in an accident, leaving one lone female to fend for herself and try to get back home. Problem is, they’re having trouble casting that female, with both Angelina Jolie and Natalie Portman passing up the chance to star in what, on paper, looks to be a nice, juicy role for any actress.
Now Sandra Bullock (who was rumored previously to be interested in the role) is apparently in talks to star, though until she signs on the dotted line I wouldn’t go getting your hopes up. Bullock doesn’t do many sci-fi dramas, so this would be a first for her. Do you think she has the chops to handle this kind of material? [THR]
Robert Downey Jr. to Star in Yucatan
Never the one to slow down his workload, Robert Downey Jr. is now set to star in Yucatan, which is based on an original idea that actor Steve McQueen conceived of decades ago. Sherlock Holmes writer Anthony Peckham will write the script, which follows a “renegade deep-sea salvage expert hired to steal a mysterious hidden treasure hidden deep underwater in the Mayan ruins of Yucatan.
The film was never made by McQueen, though he compiled 1500 pages of notes and storyboards that filled 15 notebooks. The project was set up back in 2005 after McQueen’s son discovered the notebooks in an old trunk. This is just one of many upcoming projects Downey Jr. is attached to, including Sherlock Holmes 2, The Hangover 2, The Avengers and Oz: The Great and Powerful. He’ll probably have to clone himself if he wants to get it all done in a reasonable amount of time. [Deadline]
