This week in movie news:
UFC fighter Ronda Rousey will star in her own biopic; a film based on Pez candy is in development; the Coen Bros. will adapt crime novel Black Money for the big screen; Sony picks up Don Cheadle's Miles Davis biopic; Woody Allen announces the cast of his next film; Laurence Fishburne joins the cast of Passengers; Jenn Murray has been cast in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; and Macbeth secures a December U.S. release date and Amazon streaming deal.
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Paramount Pictures has acquired the movie rights to UFC fighter Ronda Rousey's best-selling autobiography My Fight/Your Fight. Rousey is set to play herself in the film, which will be adapted for the big screen by Mark Bomback (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).
The announcement comes on the heels of Rousey's 34-second victory over Bethe Correia in Brazil. The UFC fighter has previously made film appearances in The Expendables 3 and this year's Furious 7. At this early stage, no production date has yet been confirmed.
Source: Variety
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Envision Media Arts is developing a film based on Pez candy and its iconic dispensers. Cameron Fay - who wrote the upcoming comedy Brother in Laws - will write the film, though no plot details or anticipated release date have been revealed for the project.
In the past few years, EMA has financed and produced five films, including the 2012 Andy Samberg/Rashida Jones romance Celeste & Jesse Forever. The production company's next release will be Henry Joseph Church, starring Britt Robertson and Eddie Murphy.
Source: Pez
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Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) will adapt the Ross MacDonald crime novel Black Money for Warner Bros. At this point, they are only writing the film, though they may ultimately end up directing as well.
Originally published in 1966, Black Money is part of a series of novels centering on private investigator Lew Archer and centers on his investigation of a Frenchman who's run off with his client's girlfriend. His case becomes even more complicated when Archer discovers that his subject is tied to a suicide and a history of gambling debts.
Source: THR
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Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Miles Ahead, the Miles Davis biopic that will mark the directorial debut for Don Cheadle. Cheadle will also star in the film alongside actors like Ewan McGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Keith Stanfield.
Written by Cheadle and Steven Baigelman, the film focuses on a few lost days in Davis' life and will involve the musician's attempt to steal back his music. Miles Ahead has been selected as the closing night film at the upcoming New York Film Festival.
Source: Sony Pictures Classics
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Woody Allen has revealed the cast of his next film, which is currently untitled. Listed in alphabetical order, the film will feature Jeannie Berlin (Inherent Vice), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Stephen Kunken (Still Alice), Sari Lennick (A Serious Man), Blake Lively (Age of Adeline), Parker Posey (Best in Show), Paul Schneider (Water for Elephants), Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga), Corey Stoll (Ant-Man), Ken Stott (The Hobbit Trilogy), and Bruce Willis (Moonrise Kingdom).
Filming begins on location in New York and Los Angeles. It marks the second Allen film to feature Eisenberg and the third time the actor will share the screen with Stewart, including this month's American Ultra. Stoll and Posey have also previously starred in Allen productions, having appeared in Midnight in Paris and Irrational Man, respectively.
Source: Woody Allen
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Laurence Fishburne (Man of Steel) is in negotiations to join the cast of romantic sci-fi drama Passengers. Jennifer Lawerence and Chris Pratt are already onboard to star in the film, which will be directed by Oscar-nominated director Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game).
The film centers on a spacecraft transporting thousands of people to a distant planet. One person is awakened by a malfunction, and this single passenger wakes up a second person. Michael Sheen (The Twilight Saga) is also attached to the film, which is set to hit theaters on December 21, 2016.
Source: THR
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Jenn Murray - who has starred in Dorothy Mills and the upcoming period drama Brooklyn - has joined the cast of Warner Bros.' Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. No character details have been revealed, though Murray is expected to share screen time with the character played by Ezra Miller.
David Yates is directing the film, which is written by J.K. Rowling. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne will lead the film as Newt Scamander, with a supporting cast that includes Miller, Colin Farrell, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is scheduled to be released in 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.
Source: The Wrap
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The upcoming big-screen adaptation of Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, will be released theatrically on December 2015 and will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime two to three months later. The deal is limited in scope, though the duration of Amazon's exclusive streaming has not been announced.
The Weinstein Co. is likely aiming to position the film - directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Jacob Koskoff and Todd Louiso - to maximize its potential for recognition during awards season. Kurzel and Fassbender are already set to collaborate again on the film adaptation of Assassin's Creed, which is expected to hit theaters in late 2016.
Source: Deadline