Trying to replace Bryan Cranston is kind of a no-win situation but Robert Patrick? Sure, we can dig that.
The actor — best known as the killing machine T-1000 in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” or perhaps most recently for his stint on “The Unit” — steps into the role of Max Kennard, a Texas transplant to the LAPD with his own brand of justice. In case you’ve somehow been asleep or away from movie news for the past little while, the film is based on a series of articles in the L.A. Times by Paul Lieberman and was picked up soon after its publication in 2008 by Warner Bros. who, in turn, hired former L.A. cop-turned-novelist Will Beall to adapt. The major focus of Lieberman’s article was a specialized L.A.P.D. unit set up in the ‘40s to fight the growing influence of the East Coast Mafia, in particular Mickey Cohen, a mogul who started as muscle for Al Capone in Chicago. This thing is cast six ways to Sunday with Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Holt McCallany and Emma Stone all set to star.
Ruben Fleischer of “Zombieland” fame directs and we’re curious to see how he’ll do with his first real prestige and period pic. Oh, by the way, the image above comes from a movie called “Alien Trespass” which we’re going to have to watch now. Seriously. [Variety]