First, 20th Century Fox has come onboard George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men,” which the multi-hyphenate is set to write, direct, and star in. We’ve been hearing about this project for a while now, but due to financial constraints, Sony Pictures has had to call for a little help from Fox to back the picture. Set in World War II, the film involves a plot to protect stolen art from destruction at the hands of Nazis. Cate Blanchett is attached as the female lead, with Bill Murray apparently circling a role as well. Yeah, that’s a great cast, but none of them are exactly box office guarantees with material like this outside of Clooney – and thankfully he likes to pick edgier adult fare akin to this for his mainstream endeavors. The deal will see Fox co-finance the picture with Sony and distribute internationally. [THR]
Things aren’t slowing down for Tom Cruise despite any misfortunes in his personal life, with actioner “Jack Reacher” set to arrive on December 21st, the sci-fi flick “Oblivion” set for next spring, and lensing on another sci-fi pic in Doug Liman’s “All You Need Is Kill” currently taking place. We heard just a short while back that Paramount was circling Cruise’s next sci-fi picture titled “Our Name Is Adam," and now its confirmed that Paramount is indeed in the Cruise business once again. The script by T.S. Nowlin will see Cruise playing an astronaut who pulls a “Back to the Future” when he travels back in time and works with his younger self. They’re partnered with Skydance Productions on this one, which will give them yet another Cruise property following their work on the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, the upcoming “Top Gun” sequel (if that’s still happening), and of course “Jack Reacher.” So now comes the important question: who will be the Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Cruise’s Bruce Willis? Or will “Our Name Is Adam” forgo the heavy prosthetics of “Looper” and CGI a younger version of Cruise a la Jeff Bridges in “Tron: Legacy”? That could be creepy…[Deadline]
Finally, speaking of Cruise, it looks as if blockbuster megalith Legendary Pictures will not be co-producing Liman’s “All You Need Is Kill” along with Warner Brothers as originally planned. Apparently the production shingle was “never officially” in on the film, yet Legendary seemed to be on board when Warner Bros. announced their 2014 slate October 1st – but apparently WB “anticipated their involvement but was never firm” according to a WB insider. Based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and adapted into an excellent (and well circulated) screenplay that has a handful of writers credited on it, the picture sounds right up Legendary’s alley – it centers on a futuristic world packed with army-vs-alien fighters, in a mix of “Pacific Rim” and “Source Code." Maybe Legendary doesn’t want any competition with their own “Pacific Rim,” but aside from all negative speculation surrounding this bit of news, we’re pretty sure the relationship that’s birthed films like “The Town,” Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, and the upcoming Zack Snyder-directed “The Man of Steel” will be just fine. [Deadline]
