Gotham Journal

Scarlett Johansson may be playing Nellie Forbush in a planned 2008 Lincoln Center revival of South Pacific. Johansson and Reese Witherspoon are two of the superstars under consideration for what’s being described as a “sexy revival”. Scarlett has long expressed an interest in starring in a Broadway show and is said to be a big fan of the classic Rogers and Hamerstein musical. Johansson was recently in negotiations to star in the London revival of The Sound of Music and even went as far as to meet with producer Andrew Lloyd Webber, but the deal didn’t go through.

In movie news, Scarlett and director ::imdb(Woody Allen,Woody Allen):: will be teaming up for a third time in Allen’s upcoming Spain-set film project. This marks Scarlett’s third starring role in an Allen film, his most frequent use of one particular actress since Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton.

In the April edition of Vogue magazine, Johansson had nothing but praise for the 71-year-old film director, telling the publication “I’d sew the hems of his pants if he asked me to.” Allen, in turn describes his new muse as “criminally sexy”. He goes on to say “she is unlike anyone who has come before her, and while she is a much stronger actress in every way, there is a tiny bit of Marilyn Monroe in her zaftig humidity.” – got that Soon-Yi?

Scarlett and Woody’s untitled Spain project co-stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz and will be shooting for seven weeks in Barcelona and Asturias this July.

Sources: Broadway World, Variety, People

Casting news all around. ::imdb(Bryce Dallas Howard,Bryce Dallas Howard):: is in negotiations to replace Lindsay Lohan as the lead in Tennessee Williams’ “::imdb(The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond,The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond)::”. The recently uncovered screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning Williams, centers on Fisher Willow, a Memphis debutante with a distaste for narrow-minded people and a penchant for shocking and insulting her high society counterparts. ::imdb(Ann-Margret,Ann-Margret):: plays Willow’s spinster aunt and ::imdb(Chris Evans,Chris Evans):: co-stars as Jimmy, a handsome farm hand who may be Fisher’s way out of her personal hell. ::imdb(Ellen Burstyn,Ellen Burstyn):: and David Strathairn round off the cast.

Bryce is a natural for the part of Williams’ rebellious socialite, she’s an amazing actress and one of the very, very few young actresses working today who could pull the part off. Question is, what were they thinking when they originally cast Lindsay Lohan? Whoever made that decision should be fired. Lohan, of course, is known more for her substance abuse, partying, and personal life than for her so-called acting “career”.

Source: Production Weekly

In other casting news, ::imdb(Zac Efron,Zac Efron):: one of the stars of the Disney sugar rush phenomenon known as “High School Musical”, is apparently in talks to star as Speed Racer in the Wachowski brothers’ ( ::imdb(The Matrix,The Matrix):: ) big screen adaptation of the popular cartoon show. Efron, 19, has been “granted permission” by the Disney Reich to take a break from filming “High School Musical 2″ ( god help us ), in order to audition for the role. Efron already looks like an anime character, making it easier to create action figures and other paraphernalia which will no doubt be sold at Disney’s Speed Racer The Musical on Broadway – I can see it coming.

And finally – she’s not even a year old, but “it” girl Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is already a force to be dealt with. The newborn has taken over co-starring chores on daddy Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s upcoming film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. Seems Shiloh had to step in when “twin sisters hired to take turns playing Cate Blanchett’s character as a baby wouldn’t settle down”- amateurs.

Ever the consummate professional, Shiloh saved the day when “quick-thinking Brad realised his daughter’s happy and mellow disposition made her a quick fix for the role.” “Shiloh was swiftly put in costume” and a star was born – for the second time in under a year.

“::imdb(The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)::” is based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and is currently filming in New Orleans under the direction of ::imdb(David Fincher,David Fincher):: ( ::imdb(Se7en,Se7en)::, ::imdb(Zodiac,Zodiac):: ). Shiloh is pictured above with sister Zahara and brother Maddox, both of whom clearly need new agents.

Source: The New Zealand Herald

The film adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 opened this weekend with a box office grosses coming in way above industry expectations. The highly visual gladiator epic which cost $60 million to produce, brought in a better than expected $70 million, making it the biggest March opening of all time, and the third highest R-rated movie opening weekend since “The Passion of the Christ”.

While film critics have given the film mixed reviews ( nothing new there ), audience reaction and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Insiders are saying 300 could be the wave of the future, the film was shot entirely in Montreal using green screen backgrounds with sets and landscapes being added digitally in post production. It’s estimated the movie would’ve cost three times as much to produce had they shot on location, using actual sets. Thankfully, all of the nearly naked, beefy actors used in the movie are real.
Source: Dark Horizons

In casting news, it seems “ER” star Goran Visnjic may have locked in the part of James Bond’s next nemesis in the follow-up to last years highly successful “Casino Royale”.

According to a Croatian newspaper, while auditioning for the role of James Bond in “Casino Royale”, Visnjic impressed the producers so much that they kept him in mind and have offered him the role of Vesper Lynd’s French-Algerian former lover in the upcoming chapter. Goran, who was one of several actors being considered for the part James Bond at the time, lost the role for apparently being too young. The part of course went to Daniel Craig.
Source: MI16

From imdb.com

Yeoh and Li Go “Geisha”

Asian movie stars Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li have signed to appear alongside Zhang Ziyi in Steven Spielberg’s eagerly-anticipated film adaptation of Arthur Golden’s book Memoirs Of A Geisha. Malaysian star Yeoh, 41 and Chinese actresses Gong, 38, and Ziyi, 25, will be directed by Chicago film maker Rob Marshall in the drama, which starts filming in Japan in September.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon beauty Ziyi is set to play lead role Sayuri – a young woman who is sold by her poverty-stricken parents to a geisha house in Kyoto. Executive producer Spielberg bought the film rights to the 1997 bestseller many years ago and has been searching for the perfect actresses.

Superstar Madonna’s geisha look in her 1998 video ‚Äö?Ѭ¢???Nothing Really Matters‚Äö?Ѭ¢??? was inspired by Golden’s story and the singer always said she would love to star in the movie.