It’s Thursday, folks, so we must have some Marvel nuggets for you! And there’s no more hotly anticipated Marvel casting right now than Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. The actor has still not been officially confirmed for the role (apparently negotiations continue), but we’ve got a new video interview in which he discusses the Sorcerer Supreme in the most charmingly cheeky way possible. And who’s up for a Black Widow solo movie? One Marvel writer is sharing a script sample online. In non-superhero news, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reteam, as do Elvis & Nixon, Channing Tatum may join Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, and more!
Doctor Strange
Watching actors avoid questions about projects they can’t talk about it is usually a boring affair. But when said actor is Sir Benedict Cumberbatch (what, he’s not knighted yet?) — whose engagement my own wife is still crying over — such evasion can be downright adorable. As can be seen in the video below, when the Doctor Strange casting question that’s on everyone’s mind is posed. The fun starts at the 1:10 mark.
[IGN]
Black Widow
Like many fans, I considered the ending of Captain America: The Winter Soldier the perfect point from which to launch a Black Widow movie. To demonstrate how a scenario for such a movie could easily be concocted, Black Widow comic book writer Nathan Edmonson has whipped up the opening six pages of a script, and released it on his website, capturing the dry-witted Agent Romanov in all her stealthy glory. Here’s a sample page…
Elvis & Nixon
And speaking of undercover agents… Remember that time Elvis Presley made a surprise visit to the White House to request that President Nixon swear him in as a federal agent, even giving Nixon a Colt. 45 revolver as a sign of his sincerity? A long-in-development film based on the bizarre encounter is finally happening, with Kevin Spacey (no stranger to playing duplicitous politicians) and Michael Shannon set to play the Prez and Presley, respectively, and none other the Dread Pirate Roberts writing the screenplay. The film, which takes place over the course of one week, is at this week’s American Film Market in Santa Monica. “Written by actor Cary Elwes with Hanala and Joey Sagal, Elvis & Nixon centers on the historic 1970 meeting between King and the president that famously yielded one of the more curious White House photo ops in pop culture history. Liza Johnson (Hateship Loveship, Return) is directing Elvis & Nixon, which The Butler’s Cassian Elwes is producing with Holly Wiersma.”
[Deadline]
The Hateful Eight
Channing Tatum, currently drawing raves for his performance in Foxcatcher (pictured above), is in talks to star in Quentin Tarantino’s on-again-off-again-on-again The Hateful Eight. It’s unknown who the actor would play, but he’d join an already wildly impressive cast that includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zoe Bell, Bruce Dern, Walton Goggins, Dana Gourrier, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Denis Menochet, James Parks, James Remar, Tim Roth and Kurt Russell. Shooting is scheduled to begin December 8th in Chicago. “Set in snowy Wyoming a few years after the Civil War, the film focuses on the tension among a group of people trapped after a blizzard diverts a stagecoach from its route. The group includes a competing pair of bounty hunters, a renegade Confederate soldier and a female prisoner (Leigh) in a saloon.”
Daddy’s Home
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s pairing in The Other Guys (pictured above) resulted in one of the biggest hits either actor has enjoyed. Since the only thing everyone likes more than laughter is money, the two are reteaming for Daddy’s Home, in which Ferrell stars as a radio executive trying to become a good stepfather to his wife’s two children — when their real father (played by Wahlberg) reenters their lives. Sean Anders will direct the film, which Paramount “will distribute worldwide after production on Daddy’s Home gets underway later this year. Brian Burns wrote the film’s screenplay, with revisions by Anders, John Morris, Chris Henchy, Adam McKay and Etan Cohen.”
The Crucifixion
In just a few short years, the Hayes brothers — Chad and Carey — have written two films, The Conjuring (above) and its spinoff Annabelle, that have grossed well over five hundred million dollars, putting them among the hottest filmmaking teams in Hollywood. Now the two are developing a “religious drama”, The Crucifixion, for Hitman director Xavier Gens to direct. “The story centers on a priest being jailed for the murder of a nun on whom he was performing an exorcism — leading to an investigative journalist striving to determine whether the priest lost the battle with a demonic presence.” Lotus Entertainment is shopping The Crucifixion around at this week’s American Film Market.
[Variety]
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Images: Marvel, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
Technically the last known Dread Pirate Roberts was Mandy Patinkin, but that’s picking nits. Should be a fun movie. There needs to be a Princess Bride sequel where Mandy Patinkin gives over the title to someone else. Chris Pine maybe?