Ocean's Eleven trilogy veteran Carl Reiner is returning for the next installment in the Ocean's franchise. Steven Soderbergh made the heist movie cool again with his Ocean's films, beginning with Ocean's Eleven in 2001 (a remake of the Rat Pack film from the '60s) and continuing up to Ocean's Thirteen in 2007. Soderbergh has since moved away from making heist films about handsome, elegantly-dressed men robbing casinos in Vegas and on to making heist films about quirky, badly-dressed men robbing race tracks in NASCAR country, but the Ocean's series itself will live on in rebooted form with the all-women Ocean's Eight set for release in 2018.
The cast for Ocean's Eight will feature an all-star roster of actresses, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Awkwafina, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Katie Holmes, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling and Sarah Paulson. Among the male cast members confirmed for the film is Matt Damon, a hold-over from the original Ocean's trilogy, along with Richard Armitage, Damien Lewis and James Corden.
Matt Damon's appearance in Ocean's Eight is really a cameo (about which Damon has provided some details), and Damon won't be alone in bridging the gap between the old Ocean's movies and the new one by making a brief appearance. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Ocean's Eleven actor Carl Reiner let it drop that he too is along for the ride, and that being in the new Ocean's gave him a chance to work with an actress he greatly admires:
Yeah, Ocean’s Eight, I think they’re calling it. And I got to work with my favorite actress, Sandra Bullock. I did one little scene with her, and it was such a pleasure. She’s a work of nature.
Reiner appeared in all three original Ocean's films as the character Saul Bloom, an old journeyman thief who becomes a member of Danny Ocean's team. In the first film, Bloom was brought out of retirement to pose as an arms dealer who needs access to the hotel's vault, which allows the team to smuggle explosives inside. In the next two films, Bloom participates in the capers by playing a Swiss doctor and a hotel reviewer. His description of his appearance in Ocean's Eight makes it seem like he doesn't have time to be too involved in the plot, but at least he gets a scene with Bullock.
Plot details about Ocean's Eight are being kept under wraps, but director Gary Ross has indicated that the film will be faithful in tone to Soderberg's Ocean's films. Set photos have teased the roles played by Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna and others, while an official full-cast photo shows all of the members of the new Ocean's team together on a train. It's also been confirmed that Damien Lewis is playing the Ocean's Eight villain.
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Source: Vanity Fair
