– David Lynch muse and dinosaur stalkee Laura Dern has joined the cast of “Meet the Fockers” follow-up “Little Fockers” (a title which the Hollywood Reporter states might end up changing – are the studio nervous about advertising, like with Kevin Smith’s “A Couple of Dicks?”). The actress, last seen in HBO’s excellent “Recount,” will play the headmistress of the school that Ben Stiller and Teri Polo’s kids go to. Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson are all returning to the franchise, being joined by Jessica Alba, and Paul Weitz (“Cirque Du Freak”) is directing. From what we hear, neither Dustin Hoffman or Barbara Streisand are returning. Good for them.
– The picture editors at Variety, like most right-thinking people, must have really hated the remake of “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” because they keep re-using the same picture of director Scott Derrickson, the one which makes him look like a long-lost MTV-hosting brother to Matt and Kevin Dillon. This time, it’s to accompany the news that he’ll direct the supernatural thriller “The Living,” for Lakeshore Entertainment, the pitch for which is being kept top secret.
– Almost a decade ago, comic book writer Brian Lynch sold his spec “Nightcrawlers,” about a international group of children who fight monsters under beds. The project has stayed in development all that time, with writers like Michael Arndt (“Little Miss Sunshine”) on board, and at some stage the title changed to “Monster Squad,” although the project isn’t a remake of the 1980s kid’s favorite. Now, writer Brad Copeland, a former “Arrested Development” staffer who besmirched the name of that programme by also writing “Wild Hogs”, has delivered a draft, and director Mike Mitchell has signed to direct. Mitchell’s track record, including “Deuce Bigalow” and “Surviving Christmas”, is pretty poor, but he was behind “Sky High,” which was kind of a pleasant surprise, so this isn’t a total write-off. He’s currently finishing “Shrek Forever After” for Dreamworks.
– Screen Gems has picked up a spec script entitled “The Black Phantom,” from first time writers Dave Lease and Megan Hinds. Described as a comedy, it focuses on a mob hitman who is double crossed by his employers, and turns for help from the man who tried to kill him – an African-American hitman named “The Black Phantom.” Yeah, if we were an African-American hitman, we’d definitely call ourselves The Black Phantom, that would really help you blend in to the crowd. Doug Aarniokoski, second unit director on the upcoming “Takers,” will direct, which is a stamp of quality right there.
– Derek Mears, the former stuntman, and current occupant of the Jason mask in “Friday the 13th,” has confirmed that he will be embodying another horror icon, as he’ll be playing one of the titular “Predators” in Nimrod Antal’s action thriller, according to Shock Til You Drop. He’ll square off against Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Oleg Tartkarov and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. Good good, I love that last name.
– Writer Sam Laybourne, whose credits include “Cougar Town” and “Worst Week”, has sold his spec “Rehab” to 20th Century Fox. It follows a man who fakes going to rehab in order to see his high school sweetheart, a rock star with drink and drug problems. It’ll be directed by Will Gluck, who was behind the cheerleader comedy “Fired Up!” We say no no no.
– Finally, British paper The Times have exclusively premiered the trailer for “Bunny and the Bull,” the new comedy from the team behind “The Mighty Boosh”, which we’ll be catching at the London Film Festival next weekend. There’s no embed, curses, but head over there to have a look.
