Christopher McQuarrie's 'One Shot' Wants Tom Cruise to Star

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Director of the upcoming film One Shot, Christopher McQuarrie, is a name that’s been around Hollywood for quite a while, though he’s not yet household. Primarily he has worked as a screenwriter on things like The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie, but he also directed the 2000 film The Way of the Gun.

This new project he’s working on will be an adaptation of a pretty popular novel by Lee Child of the same name. Child’s official website describes the book by saying, “There’s deadly trouble in the corn country of Nebraska … and Jack Reacher walks right into it. First he falls foul of a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved case of a missing child, already decades-old, that Reacher can’t let go.”

While it’s not known who might play the role of Reacher, Deadline Brookfield is reporting that Tom Cruise is in negotiations to play a small role as the Reacher character’s driver. 

Okay, no, that was a lie. Cruise is in negotiations for the starring role. Duh. I haven’t read these books myself, but word on the street is that a lot of fans of the Jack Reacher character are probably going to be up in arms about the possible Cruise casting, because Reacher is known for his gigantic size. 

Dude is like 6’5” and 250 lbs. It doesn’t really make much sense that they’d cast the world’s most handsome midget in the role. Despite the physical disparity, however, Child has gone on record as supporting the decision to cast Cruise. He says, “Reacher’s size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way.” Yeah, not really; sounds like a pretty big cop out to me. 

More likely Cruise’s brand name represents an unstoppable force of box-office dollars that Child and company are hoping to generate. Are there any fans of the Jack Reacher books out there on this site? Please feel free to use the comment section to spew hate.

'Super 8' off to super start

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Hollywood's summer box-office streak has cooled a bit with a $37 million opening weekend for J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg's sci-fi tale "Super 8."

"Super 8" bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 movie, 20th Century Fox's comic-book prequel "X-Men: First Class," which slipped to second-place with $25 million. "First Class" raised its domestic total to $98.9 million.

After a string of blockbuster debuts in May and early June, Hollywood's overall revenues dipped for the first time in a month. Domestic receipts totaled $140 million, down 7.5 percent from the same weekend in 2010, when "The Karate Kid" led with $55.7 million.

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The weekend's other new wide release, Relativity Media's family flick "Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer," opened weakly at No. 7 with $6.3 million. The movie follows a young girl's wacky summer adventures.

Two sequels passed the $200 million mark, including "The Hangover Part II," which came in at No. 3 with $18.5 million. It became the year's top-grossing domestic release at $216.6 million.

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Disney's action tale "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was No. 5 with $10.9 million, raising its domestic haul to $208.8 million.

"Fast Five" finished at No. 10 with $1.7 million, lifting its domestic total to $205.1 million.

Aaron Johnson in-kick-ass-wallpaper

Aaron Johnson in-kick-ass-wallpaper

Hop 2011 Movie

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Hop 2011 Movie Wallpaper

Hop 2011 Movie Wallpaper

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The Hangover II 2011 Movie

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The Hangover II 2011 Movie Wallpaper

The Hangover II 2011 Movie Wallpaper

The Hangover II 2011 Movie Wallpaper

Rango 2011 Movie

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Fast Five 2011 wallpapers

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International Hollywood Box Office Results

International Box Office: ‘Fast Five’ sets Universal record with US$86.6M

Universal Studios Fast Five roared to the Top of the foreign theatrical circuit’s box office chart on the weekend, grossing US$86.6M from 6,979 locations; for a per-screen average of more than US$12,000 in 58 overseas territories.

Opening in 44 new markets and almost doubling its $45.9 million gross from the pastr week, Fast Five’s take was described by Universal as the biggest International weekend in the Company’s history, besting the previous weekend record, US$84.3M grossed by Y 2005’s King Kong update.

Fast Five, has been playing overseas for three weeks no, and has taken US$184.8M offshore, lifting its Worldwide total to date to US$324.7M.

The film’s Mexico opening, US$8.6M from 500 spots, was a market record for a Universal title. In Brazil, Fast Five was # 1 with US$5M from 310 locations.

Market opening records for Universal were also set in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Uruguay. Fast Five is also # 1 in Italy, US$7.4 million at 420 spots, and in France US$8.8M from 500 sites.

The 5th sequel in the Turbo-charged Car action franchise, directed by Justin Lin and co-Starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker, has 5 territories yet to play with 3 opening this week including China.

The Top foreign grosser in the Action Car franchise is Y 2009’s Fast & Furious, drawing US$208M offshore.

Paramount’s release of Marvel Entertainment’s Thor, last weekend # 1 title on the foreign circuit, finished 2nd this time with $46 million drawn from 12,476 locations in 60 offshore markets. That was a about a 50% drop from the $87 million gross marked in the 1st round.

Director Kenneth Branagh’s 3-D interpretation of a Stan Lee comic book about an otherworldly Warrior defending Planet Earth opened in 4 markets, the biggest was China where “preliminary indications” put the debut gross at $2.3 million from the film’s 1-day Sunday opening, said Paramount.

In 11 days, Thor has grossed $176 million offshore.

Rio, 20th Century Fox’s family-oriented animation title, finished # 3 on the weekend with $16.2 million from from 8,706 screens in 67 markets, raising the film’s take after a month of overseas playtime to $292.3 million.

Opening in 23 markets on the weekend, Fox’s Water for Elephants, the Depression-era drama costarring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, grossed $11.1 million from 3,764 screens in 45 markets for an offshore take of $21.3 million. Water finished # 4 overall.

Sony opened Priest, a SYFY thriller in 3-D co-starring Paul Bettany and Cam Gigandet, at 1,460 sites in 4 markets for a weekend take of $5.5 million. The biggest debut was Russia, where the take was $2.9 million from some 700 locations. Priest finished # 5 on the weekend.

Summit International’s Source Code opened # 2 in South Korea, and grossed an estimated $4.3 on the weekend overall from 1,350 screens in 39 markets. The thriller starring Jake Gyllenhall has a foreign take of $40.8 million.

Warner’s period Werewolf fantasy Red Riding Hood pushed its foreign gross total to $50 million thanks to a $2.6 million weekend at some 2,400 screens in 44 markets. Its Arthur update starring Russell Brand, drew $2.3 million from 1,100 screens in 17 markets for an international take of 12.7 million.

Other International takes: Sony’s Just Go With It, $109.8 million; Warner’s Hall Pass, $36.4 million; Universal’s Hanna, $1.9 million in opener in the U.K. at 413 sites; Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, $6.6 million; Universal’s Paul, $50.4 million; Fox’s Gulliver’s Travels, $194 million; and Universal’s Hop, $61.9 million.

Johnny Depp speaks out on 'Pirates' franchise

Johnny Depp opens up to the Hollywood Reporter on his hands-on role behind the scenes of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise ("On Stranger Tides" hits theaters May 20) and why he admires the principles of the plunderers.

Q: It's been four years since the third "Pirates." What happened?

A: Had I had a little more control at the wheel early on, I would have spaced them out more. One of the reasons "On Stranger Tides" took this amount of time was to really focus on what we could do to make it interesting and new and fresh and not just rehash the same old jokes.

Q: Was it right to shoot the previous two back-to-back?

A: The second and third parts were tacked on, in a way. It wasn't initially written as a trilogy, so the writers had to find the mathematics to connect all three — and in doing that, there were subplots and sub-subplots, and it got confusing and a bit complicated. I said, "Look, let's make it very simple and to the point."

Q: Is that why you worked so closely with the writers? And when did you all start?

A: I was doing "Public Enemies" at the time we had our initial talk. And then we would sit down and go: "What do you think of this? What do you think of that?" And I'd throw my two cents in. I can't help myself! Just in terms of the character, there are bits and bobs that come as you are going through the story meetings, or as late as when the camera's about to roll.

Q: Did you continue researching real-life pirates?

A: I'm always doing research. It's a lifelong fascination. In a weird way, pirates had an ethic that was infinitely more agreeable than [that of] the government and the British military. For example, when you became a pirate, even if you were just press-ganged and chucked on ship, there were equal shares; you got a certain amount of rations of rum each day. In the British military, they could be awful: "You'll do this, and you won't like it, and it'll be tough."

Q: Speaking of tough, what was the toughest part of the shoot?

A: I had a little bit of a physical ailment. I must have done something to my back during a stunt and ended up with this bad sciatic situation. It was this horrible, grinding electricity going through me. I kept shooting; there was no choice. I'd just limp on set. It was monstrous, man — so horrible that I actually started to like it! It was bad, and I had it a good three weeks to a month. But I got used to it and kind of missed it when it was gone.

Q: Would that make you think twice about a fifth "Pirates?" A script is in the works.

A: I've seen nothing yet. It boils down to story, script and filmmaker. But it's not something where I would say, "Let's shoot it next month to get it out by Christmas 2012." We should hold off for a bit. They should be special, just like they're special to me.

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"James Bond" Daniel Craig & Rooney Mara: 'Tattoo' Twosome in Sweden

Daniel Craig and co-star Rooney Mara get back to work on their new film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, on Friday (May 6), in Stockholm, Sweden.

Rooney, 26, got into her character, Lisbeth Salander, with a cropped jet black hairdo and an all black wardrobe while shooting a motorcycle scene.

Daniel, meanwhile, was spotted in a pair of jeans and a black coat around the film’s set, which was sprayed with artificial snow to make it look like winter.

The 43-year-old British actor will also be lending his voice to the BBC Earth Films feature One Life.

Daniel will narrate the natural history documentary, which captures the Darwinian struggle for survival, highlighting the connection between human and animals, Variety reports.

Movie Review: Attack The Block

Attack The Block, or Attack Da Block, Yo, Innit, if we want to go for the full street effect, is a riotous blast of sci-fi with a quintessential British sense of humour. That doesn't mean its laugh-out-loud every step of the way, no, its comedy lies in the premise as much as offering visual gags and one-liners.

Despite the cast mixing up American and British slang (they our British bobbies 'Feds', for example) and dealing with outer space beasties, this is a very British affair. Forget Richard Curtis' smug Oxbridge rom-coms with their calculated international appeal and picture-postcard London.

Director Joe Cornish offers a more convincing portrayal of modern city and its inhabitants. It isn't some Broken Britain rant or a Ken Loach movie with aliens. Although that would be interesting to see. Instead it's a half-believable portrayal of kids lives on a council estate in south London. Basically they smoke weed, mug strangers and talk shit. Then some aliens turn up.

Moses, Pest, Jerome and the gang are little thugs who in the opening scene mug a young nurse walking home at night after work. The opener is highly convincing and even scary. It's depressingly accurate. The movie's origin lies in Cornish's own mugging six years ago. Instead of 'taking out the scum' and making Harry Brown, he made a fun sci-fi comedy where 'inner city meets outer space'.

Cornish plays a very neat trick as his central characters, at first, are very unlikeable. He coaxes out sympathy and understanding as the story goes on. It might not be totally convincing, but at least he tries to offer an emotional arc. Once the alien lands and the kids, naturally, kick the shit out of it and parade it around their estate like a trophy, the shit hits the fan and they learn - very quickly - that their actions have consequences.

In some ways Attack The Block is reminiscent of last year's French zombie actioner The Horde. The high rise council block is the locale for a fantasy event where different types of people come together in an uneasy alliance. When all hell breaks loose the young lads and gals stand up to the terror and slowly but surely open up as human beings. Moses has a troubled background and looks older than he actually is. Pest gets most of the film's big laughs whether he's trying to chat up the nurse they've come to rely on after mugging, or admitting the whole scenario is scary but "sick" at the same time.

Cornish's debut is an assured film and lots of fun. The street lingo is spot on and often bemusing. It also looks fantastic - and most importantly - cinematic. One scene involving aliens, a smoke-filled corridor and the gang is genuinely creepy. It stops being a comedy for a moment and enters the horror world. Amazingly, Cornish isn't above killing off the odd kid, either. This is a comedy, sure, but it's not Monster Squad or Goonie larks.

Hollywood Actor Will Smith is frontrunner for Tarantino's next film

Will Smith has emerged as the frontrunner to star in Quentin Tarantino's next film, a spaghetti Western about a slave in the Old South who teams with a German bounty hunter to search for his wife.

Tarantino stalwarts Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz also are circling key parts.

"Django Unchained," Tarantino's follow up to his worldwide blockbuster Inglourious Basterds, will be distributed domestically by the Weinstein Co. but Tarantino is in the process of selecting a studio partner to release the film internationally. Sources say he is meeting with Universal executives today, and similar meetings with Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros. and possibly others have been scheduled.

Sources prepped for those meetings say Tarantino would like Smith to star in the film, the script for which has been making the rounds in recent days to wide acclaim. No official offer has been made to Smith, and any deal would of course be subject to working out financials, which might be difficult given Smith's status as one of Hollywood's few sure-thing stars.

Indeed, although Smith has been out of multiplexes since 2008's "Seven Pounds," he is still considered among the top two or three box office draws worldwide.

Smith is being teed-up for the title role of Django, a freed slave who seeks to reunite with his slave wife, a journey which will see him team up with a German bounty hunter to take down an evil plantation owner.

Tarantino wrote the bounty hunter part with Waltz in mind, according to insiders. The German ends up training Django and helping him seek his wife.

Jackson would play the house slave to the bad guy, Monsieur Calvin Candie. The slave is an expert manipulator and will face off with Django.

Smith and his representatives have received the screenplay, which could be a hot potato due to the themes of racism and the liberal use of the N-word. It's unclear whether Smith has read the script yet. The actor manages his image very carefully but the part is heroic and could be iconic. And let's not forget that Denzel Washington won his two Oscars playing characters who used the N-word.

Tarantino is aiming for a fall shoot in the South, possibly in Louisiana, but the exact locale has not been determined.

The best and worst summer flicks hollywood is coming, for better or worse

The summer of 2011 will bring some strange things to movie theaters:

Cowboys on horseback shot at by space ships.

Little blue men on a mission.

And Captain Jack Sparrow in pursuit of a mermaid.

But despite the oddities of the coming movie season, there's a cornucopia of films coming that will undoubtedly include some gems, some bombs and many, many movies somewhere in the middle.

Best Bets:

"Priest," with Paul Bettany. This tale of a retired priest who's been a veteran vampire hunter just looks fascinating in previews, and Bettany is one of the best action actors around.

"Larry Crowne," with Tom Hanks as a fired worker who goes to get a college degree, with Julia Roberts as his downer of a teacher. Hanks is perfect for his role as a positively upbeat guy who turns his teacher's world around.

"Bad Teacher" is about just that, but Cameron Diaz looks perfect as a shallow teach trying to win a contest and a rich suitor played by Justin Timberlake.

Could she recapture the crazy comedy of "Something About Mary"?

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" just has to end the series with a bang. The young actors have grown--literally and figuratively--and the story itself has everything you'd want to finish an epic series.

"The Help" has a great cast and is one of the most popular books of our time. Emma Stone and Viola Davis should become bigger names after this tale of African-American maids.

"Green Lantern" looks to be the best of the summer's comic-book flicks, a list that includes "Thor," an "X-Men" sequel, "Captain America: The First Avenger" and more.

"Lantern" has the appealing Ryan Reynolds, and previews have included some very cool special effects.

"Something Borrowed" has Kate Hudson as the spoiled gal she plays so well, and the under-appreciated Gennifer Goodwin as the friend she takes advantage of--this time, taking her man.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part-2 New Trailer:

Pirates of The Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides New Trailer

Priest New Trailer

Dakota Johnson Scores Roles In ‘21 Jump Street,’ ‘Five Year Engagement’ & ‘Goats’

Her face and name might not ring any bells but we’ve all pretty much seen her on screen and know who her parents are. Remember the girl who wakes up with Justin Timberlake‘s Sean Parker in his introduction in “The Social Network”? Well, she happens to be the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith and she’s apparently going places around Hollywood with the model-turned-actress now scoring roles in three upcoming film projects.

Johnson is firstly going to feature in the directorial debut of Christopher Neil with “Goats,” an adaptation of Mark Jude Poirier‘s 2000 novel of the same name that is set to star David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell, Keri Russell, Minnie Driver, Will Arnett and Graham Phillips, who’ll star as the teen protagonist. Story centers on “Ellis (Phillips) as he transfers to the East Coast prep school where his father (Burrell) made his mark as a student.”

The actress will then follow that with Nicholas Stoller‘s Apatow production “Five Year Engagement” which already boasts the talented cast of Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Alison Brie, Chris Pratt, Kevin Hart, Lauren Weedman, Mindy Kaling, Chris Parnell, Jim Piddock and Jacki Weaver. The film has been described by Segel as something in the vein of “Annie Hall” or “When Harry Met Sally” as it follows the rollercoaster relationship of a couple across their titular pre-wedding period.

Lastly and perhaps most excitingly, we’ll see Johnson feature in the remake of “21 Jump Street” to be helmed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (”Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs”). The Jonah Hill-championed and starring project has already began shooting in New Orleans with Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Johnny Simmons, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Jake Johnson and Brie Larson with former star of the television series Johnny Depp to cameo. The R-rated adaptation features a script by ‘Scott Pilgrim’ writer Michael Bacall who had previously and excitingly described the pic as “John Hughes meets ‘Bad Boys.’”

It’s not known what roles Johnson will play in any three of the films but, from this trio of casting alone, it’s fairly evident that this famous offspring is destined to make a decent sized splash in 2012. Here’s that ‘Social Network’ scene again.

Robert Pattinson: Arsenal is the one true love I miss most now I'm in LA

Despite currently going out with movie pin-up and Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart - and being the dream date of many millions of teenagers around the world - R-Pattz singled out the Gunners above all else as the thing he misses most about England.

Pattinson now resides in Los Angeles, where his acting career has taken off since his starring role in the world-famous series of vampire films.

And speaking to Metro about what he misses most now he's based in the US of A, he said: 'I miss the newspapers - I still prefer English newspapers to US ones.

'I miss reading the sport section. I miss the football… Arsenal.'

R-Pattz has scooped more awards in the last few years than his football team, who look set to go another year without a trophy.

The 24-year-old will almost certainly have surprised many Londoners by saying he also misses the stench of the smoggy capital.

'I miss the light in London, which is different to anywhere, and also the smell of the city,' he continued, before predictably adding: 'I miss getting pints in pubs.'

He's probably one of the only ones who can afford them these days...

Hollywood Director Steven Spielberg to shoot Lincoln film in Va

A crew of Hollywood A-listers including famed director Steven Spielberg are coming to Virginia to shoot a movie about former President Abraham Lincoln.

An announcement about the production was made today by Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose administration worked to put together a $4.6 million incentive package of tax credits, in-kind contributions and other funds to lure the film.

The "Lincoln" motion picture helmed by Spielberg stars Academy Award winning actors Daniel Day-Lewis as the former president and Sally Field as his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.

It is based on the book "Team of Rivals," which examines Lincoln's political ascent and leadership in assembling a cabinet of political foes during a time of turbulence that resulted in a fractured nation.

Lincoln, a Republican, presided during the Civil War. He was assassinated during his second term.

Filming in Richmond and Petersburg is expected to begin this fall, with a planned movie release sometime next year.

“We are honored that Steven Spielberg, an award winning and visionary film maker, has chosen the Commonwealth for this important film. It is especially notable coming during the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and emancipation,” McDonnell said in a statement.

“Steven is an exceptional storyteller who brings historic themes to life on screen, resulting in such important and influential films as Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Munich and the mini-series Band of Brothers," the governor added. "I have no doubt that Lincoln will quickly join the ranks of those famous works.”

In the same statement, Spielberg said the state's "rich historic legacy, coupled with the remarkable period architecture found in Richmond and Petersburg, make Central Virginia the ideal location for this production.”

Hollywood Movie Thor opens “Superhero Season”

"Thor", the first of several superheroes debuting on movie screens this summer, hits US theaters with out-sized hopes resting on the Norse deity's expansive shoulders. 

Hollywood is praying that the God of Thunder and Marvel Comics staple will electrify a dismal 2011 box office, and squeeze more life out of a superhero genre that - with some of the most iconic characters already established franchises - is beginning to look tired.

"Thor" might seem an unlikely candidate to resuscitate the North American box office. The founding member of the original Avengers vanquishes his foes with a magical war hammer and the ability to call down thunder and lightning.

But with most of the marquee Marvel and DC Comics pantheon already committed to film, Hollywood is reaching ever deeper into the barrel to fish out new action hero franchises.

The challenge for classically-trained British film director Kenneth Branagh - more usually associated with Shakespeare - was to make sure his first venture into the world of the 3D action genre stood above the fray.

"It flips the usual superhero story. It isn't the ordinary man who's bitten by a spider and acquires supernatural powers," Branagh told.

"Here we have a superhero with those powers - a God indeed - who has to lose everything and engage with our audience," he said.

From the looks of things, "Thor" commands an edge in avoiding me-too status. It boasts Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, and fellow Oscar winner and fanboy favorite Natalie Portman.

It's also among the first out the gate, beating "Green Lantern", an X-Men prequel and "Captain America" to the punch, and is one of the few originals in a summer movie season packed with sequels like "Fast Five" and "Hangover 2".

"As Marvel said to me when I joined up: 'this is our most difficult property'. There's so many ways for this to go wrong: too kitschy, too campy, too broad comedy, too sci-fi," said Branagh, adding that he relished the challenge of doing a movie so completely out of his comfort zone.

Saoirse Ronan for Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host'

Saoirse Ronan will lead the cast of The Host, a film based on Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's novel.

The Host, published in 2008, centres on humans fighting against extra-terrestrials called Souls who invade bodies and wipe their victims' consciousness to erase their personalities.

Oscar-nominated Atonement and Lovely Bones actress Ronan will play lead character Melanie Stryder and the alien, called the Wander, who takes over her body, reports Deadline.

Andrew Niccol has written the script for The Host and is rumored to be in the running to direct the adaptation. Meyer reportedly counts Niccol's Gattaca and The Truman Show among her top five science fiction movies.

Ronan's latest movie Hanna, in which she plays a teenage assassin, opens in UK cinemas on Friday.