This Week:
The Hunter Games: Mockingjay cast continues to grow; the other LEGO movie finds a director; Paul Greengrass departs The Trial of the Chicago 7; a forthcoming Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy finds a director; and Adam Sandler may take on The Cobbler.
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Lily Rabe (American Horror Story: Asylum) and Broadway actress Patina Miller have been cast in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.
Rabe will play Commander Lyme and Miller will be playing Commander Paylor. Both roles are relatively small in the books, and there is no word yet on if they will be expanded for the films.
Mockingjay, as most already know, will be split into two films so as to preserve the breadth of Suzanne Collins' final book. The series' key cast members (e.g. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson) have already signed on for the final two films, and Francis Lawrence will once again direct.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 releases November 21, 2014 and Part 2 releases November 20, 2015.
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Ninjago, the other LEGO movie in production at Warner Bros., has found its director in Charlie Bean. The Ninjago brand features teams of ninjas and samurais fighting against dragons, snake men, and other mystical creatures.
Bean has worked on dozens of animated series from SpongeBob SquarePants to Samurai Jack, both as a writer and in the animation department. His most recent work was directing the short-lived animated series Tron: Uprising, which was set between the first Tron and Tron: Legacy.
While the Ninjago movie and The LEGO Movie are completely different properties, they share a good deal of talent. LEGO directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are serving as producers on Ninjago, and Dan & Kevin Hageman, who created the story for The LEGO Movie, are writing the script for Ninjago.
Source: THR
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It's been less than a month since he signed on, but director Paul Greengrass has left The Trial of the Chicago 7 after failing to agree on a budget.
According to Variety, DreamWorks was looking to make the film for around $30 million, but balked when Greengrass came in with a $40 million budget. And so, after the two couldn't come to an agreement, the Captain Phillips director decided to walk away.
When DreamWorks approached Greengrass to direct The Trial of the Chicago 7, they seemed ready to try again with the project after it sat in limbo for more than five years. We're unsure if this slight road bump will deter them, so we will just have to wait and see if they start pursuing potential replacements.
Source: Variety
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Screenwriter Etan Cohen has signed on to direct Get Hard, a new comedy starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart.
Although Cohen has made a name for himself writing comedies like Tropic Thunder and Men in Black 3, he is looking to break into feature directing. Aside from a little seen feature in 2007, Get Hard will be his first major directing gig.
Get Hard's story follows a bank manager who is sentenced to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Regardless of his guilt, though, the man enlists the help of a car wash attendant to toughen up for prison. The premise certainly sounds like a film we've seen before, but with top talent like Ferrell and Hart it could work.
Source: Variety
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Adam Sandler is in early talks to star in The Cobbler for director Tom McCarthy (Win, Win).
McCarthy also wrote the script for the film, which reportedly follows a shoemaker who can step into other people's lives by wearing their shoes. On paper, The Cobbler sounds like yet another Adam Sandler comedy with a fantastical premise, but with McCarthy at the helm we can assume the tone will be much less goofy.
After starring in films like Grown Ups 2 and That's My Boy, this will be a steep departure into the world of the indie drama for Sandler, not unlike his turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love. And shortly after finishing work on this film, Sandler will then begin work on another indie film, Men, Women, & Children for Jason Reitman.
Source: THR