Another week has passed here at Movie Morsels, but we’re not gonna let you start your weekend without one last blast of “Rock”-solid film news. That’s right, Dwayne Johnson is stepping into David Hasselhoff’s trunks in the Baywatch movie. While we learn a little about Terminator: Genisys‘s softer side (Awww…), check out a profile of Johnny Depp as his latest zany eccentric Mortdecai, and watch Bradley Cooper in the first trailer from Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper. Plus, Games of Thrones‘ King in the North celebrates Bastille Day with TV’s Luther and Twilight‘s vampires finally stop scaring us.
Terminator: Genisys
National treasure J.K. Simmons has announced that the fifth Terminator film (which is said to function as both a sequel and a reboot) will, like the original Terminator, be at its core a love story. The actor confirms that he has several scenes with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator: Genisys, but he’s quick to add, “I found the script to be really much more intelligent and fun and funny and well-rounded and heart-felt. It’s a love story. It’s a really interesting script. They got great actors. I wrapped that in August, so that was another movie that ended up being really satisfying on all levels.” The film, directed by Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), hits theaters on July 1 and stars Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes‘ Jason Clarke as John Connor, and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, along with the ultimate time traveler — the former Doctor Who himself Matt Smith. [Slashfilm]
Baywatch
In a move that will no doubt be welcomed by anyone nostalgic for the days when television kind of sucked, Paramount is moving forward with its plans for a big-screen adaptation of ’90s TV staple Baywatch. The best part is that The Rock is loosely attached to star (and with abs like his, who can blame him?). The studio has contracted Justin Malen to rewrite an existing draft of the script, and comedy filmmakers Sean Anders and John Morris (We’re the Millers) to direct. Now get The Hoff to cameo and you’ve got my ten bucks, Paramount! [Hollywood Reporter]
Mortdecai
It’s official — Johnny Depp’s next project is tailor-made for his brand of quirk. Depp plays the title role in Mortdecai, based on Kyril Bonfigliolidue’s novel Don’t Point That Thing At Me. Due out on January 15, 2015, the film features the chameleon-like actor as a debonair art dealer out to retrieve a stolen painting that holds the key to a fortune in Nazi gold. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Olivia Munn co-star in this David Koepp-scripted farce; and you can see all four actors in their roles (only partially obscured by the handlebar mustache Depp wears in the movie) in the character posters that Lionsgate has just unveiled.
Bastille Day
Games of Thrones‘ loss continues to be the world’s gain. After his turns in Discovery’s Klondike and Disney’s upcoming live-action Cinderella, Richard Madden will star in Focus Features’ Bastille Day. The former Robb Stark will appear opposite another red-hot former TV thesp from the UK — Idris Elba — in the tale of an American con artist blamed for an attack on the Paris metro, who’s paired with a CIA operative using him to sniff out the real terrorists. The film will be directed by James Watkins (The Woman in Black) and scripted by Andrew Baldwin, who’s also writing another espionage thriller — the upcoming Bourne Betrayal. [Variety]
American Sniper
Bradley Cooper plays a haunted U.S. Navy SEAL in Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper. Arriving on Christmas day, it’s based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle, who holds the record for most kills in U.S. military history — and the nickname “Legend.” Warner Brothers has just released the trailer for the film, which co-stars Sienna Miller as Kyle’s wife. [Movieweb]
Twilight
Believe it or not, there’s a Twilight project in the works that actually sounds pretty empowering for young women. Lionsgate and Stephenie Myer, along with Facebook and Women in Film, are sponsoring a Twilight social media campaign “to develop and produce short films by female filmmakers based on the characters in The Twilight Saga.” Called The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga, it will grant career opportunities to the director of the grand prize-winning film. In total, five winning shorts will be selected by judges, including Meyer, Kristen Stewart, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Jennifer Lee, Catherine Hardwicke, Julie Bowen, and Women in Film President Cathy Schulman. [Deadline]
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Have a great weekend, folks! And let me know what you think of today’s stories in the comments below or on Twitter (@jmacabre).
Images: HBO, Paramount, NBC, Lionsgate
