In another round of Hollywood remaking a movie that should be left alone, Paramount and High School Musical 3 director Kenny Ortega want to put High School Musical star Zac Efron in the role of Ren McCormack in a musical remake of Footloose.

After “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”, Hollywood newest hunk Zac Efron is likely to step into another musical role. Words are circulating in the media that “Senior Year” director Kenny Ortega wants the 20-year-old to take the lead role of the modern version of “Footloose”, insisting that Efron would be “perfect” for the role.

Revealing his desire to re-team with his Troy Bolton’s depicter, Ortega told BBC, “I think he’d be the perfect, perfect, perfect candidate to step in. I mean he’s got this global excitement, this wonderful know-how.” Further hinting that Efron may take the role once belonging to Kevin Bacon, the filmmaker then added, “He’s the perfect age, so versatile, and talented and dynamic. You know it’s hard for me to even imagine anybody that I think would be more perfectly suited.”

[From AceShowbiz]

I don’t have an issue with the casting.  When it comes to musicals for the younger set, Efron certainly seems the go-to guy of the moment.  He has the right look, and could, on his own, probably make the movie a hit.  Even Suri Cruise is rumored to have a crush on Zac Efron.  Efron is very into being the Ren for a new generation, and in keeping musicals alive in general, and I’m all for that.

About the possible part in “Footloose” remake, the Nikki Blonsky’s co-star in “Hairspray” commented, “I’ll always be open to more musicals. I think they’re fun and I think it’s our responsibility as performers to try and keep them alive. I love Footloose - it’s a great movie.”

[From AceShowbiz]

I’m not excited, however, about the trend of remaking movies that were hits only 20 years ago.  I’m equally unimpressed with Footloose going the way of High School Musical.  As far as movies go, Footloose would probably translate to the musical format well, it was a Broadway musical that was successful.  But there’s a huge musical leap between, say, Chicago and High School Musical 1, 2 or 3.  One is genuine musical genre, the other is kids bouncing around singing adsurd lyrics to unfortunate tunes.  It has it’s place, but that place is the Disney channel, and needs to be kept away from classic teen movies of the 80’s. 

Stay away from The Breakfast Club, Hollywood, I’m warning you.

Note by Celebitchy: Zac recently admitted that he’s been approached to take over for Daniel Radcliffe in the Broadway production of Equus. This would mean that Efron would have to get fully nude on stage, too.

Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu are shown at the UK Premiere of “High School Musical 3 Senior Year” in London on 10/7/08. Credit: Lia Toby / WENN and Solarpix / PR Photos

Johnny Depp is reason enough for many people to look forward to a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  He’s classic as Captain Jack Sparrow and men, women and children will sit through a barely adequate script just to watch Depp become the charismatic pirate.  Now rumor has it there may be two more reasons to anticipate the upcoming Pirates movie.  Jack may have a brother, and Tim Burton may be directing!

Our proven informant (who we’re forced to keep anonymous) wants you to know the following info should be taken with a “grain of salt and a dose of pepper,” things are still in motion, but here goes anyway. Wondering how they’re going to make a whole Pirates movie with just Jack Sparrow? Or who else might return? Read on!

Most excitingly, there are talks of Captain Jack having a brother in the next movie, possibly to be played by Sacha Baron Cohen (perfect!) or Russell Brand (even more perfect!) Of course, that’s probably just fantasy casting, but why would either of those comedians turn the role down? As we’ve mentioned before, the new movie might kick off a trilogy, which would revolve around Captain Jack’s search for the Fountain of Youth.

Geoffrey Rush and director Gore Verbinski are apparently both planning to return, but… and this is a big maybe… Tim Burton might direct instead. Tim Burton! If there is a single director who could make people excited for a fourth Pirates movie, it has to be Burton.

[From CinemaBlend.com]

Russell Brand and Johnny Depp could be magic.  They have a general resemblance, especially with the eye makeup.  They’re both fearless and could certainly dial up the comedy playing off each other.  My personal preference would definitely be Brand over Sacha Baron Cohen.  It goes without saying that Geoffrey Rush is essential to any sequel, but it might be time for Verbinski to consider other projects and let new blood take over the Pirates franchise.  I think most people agree that the movies’ magnetic charm has weakened as the series has progressed.

Depp and Burton have proven time and time again how well they work together.  Tim Burton is a prolific hit movie maker and has capably handled everything from stop-motion animation to musicals.  He brings a depth of color and scenery to his movies that would serve him well in a Pirates movie, too.  If anyone could make a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie truely interesting again, beyond Depp and Rush, it’s Burton.

Header photo is of Burton and Depp at the Sweeney Todd premiere in Paris on 1/16/08. Credit: Solarpix / PR Photos. Photos below are of Burton on 1/23/08 speaking to fans in Rome Credit: Insidefoto / PR Photos

Susan Sarandon and Kevin Costner really heated up the screen as a veteran minor leaguer and his oversexed lover in the 1988 baseball classic Bull Durham. Tim Robbins also starred as a doofball pitcher that was sleeping with Sarandon and getting unwanted coaching from Costner’s character. Bull Durham went on to become a box office hit and a classic. Sports Illustrated even ranked it the number one Greatest Sports Movie of all time. The NY Post reports that there may be a sequel in the works twenty years later and that Kevin Costner had a meeting with the director to talk about it. Real-life couple Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, who met on the set of the film and have two sons together, are also said to be interested:

THE long-awaited sequel to “Bull Durham” is finally getting off the ground. A spy tells us Kevin Costner recently met with director Ron Shelton at Trader Vic’s in LA to discuss reprising the role of carousing catcher Crash Davis from the 1988 baseball flick. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon are also expected to return as pitcher Nuke LaLoosh and baseball groupie Annie Savoy, who are now married and owners of a Major League team that Costner manages. Kristen Kerr, recently seen on “Dexter,” is being eyed as one of Crash’s love interests, our insider said.

[From The NY Post]

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand a sequel with the original characters could be funny and well-made, but there’s also the potential to ruin an amazing film with a crappy follow-up. There’s money to be made with it, though, and a new Bull Durham is likely to attract the older people who saw it in the first place along with baseball lovers from the younger generation. You can see how they would be interested in making a sequel, but in these uncertain financial times there’s a lot less investment capital in Hollywood and we’ll have to wait and see if this ever gets to first base.

[Some details from Wikipedia]

This story comes from Star Magazine, so it could be wishful thinking, but supposedly Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are talking about filming a sequel to their 2006 movie The Breakup. Aniston’s salary for the film is said to be nearly $20 million:

[Aniston and Vaughn] are in talks to film a sequel to the 2006 hit movie The Breakup. “The ending left a lot of people craving more,” says an insider. And Jen has been offered close to $20 million to give the people what they want!

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 13, 2008]

I’ll believe this is actually in the works once I read it in Variety or People. The film did well at the box office, with a domestic take of $118 million, and a foreign box office of $86 million. You can see how producers would be motivated to put out a sequel. We’ll have to wait and see.

In related news, Star reports that Vince Vaughn’s mom still tries to control him and has been nagging him about his career and even his wardrobe. Vaughn’s mom is said to be interfering in his relationship with his new girlfriend, Kyls Webber, 29. Star claims that Mrs. Vaughn even brings up Vince’s ex, Jennifer Aniston, all the time, maybe in an attempt to scare Kyla off:

Not only does Sharon Vaughn tell her 38-year-old son what to wear, she even dictates what movies he should work on, says a source. “She also keeps bringing up Vince’s ex, Jennifer Aniston. She just loves Jennifer! She talks about her beauty, her warm heart, her generosity.” Kyla, a 29-year-old commercial real estate agent, is “wondering when Vince will finally stand up to his mom,” says the source.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 13, 2008]

If Vince’s mommy loves Aniston so much, she’ll definitely approve of a sequel in which he plays her love interest on screen again. If any of this is true, that is.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made their first public appearance together last night after the birth of their boy and girl twins, Knox and Vivienne, in France on July, 12, 2008. The famous good-looking couple attended the premiere of Angelina’s new Clint Eastwood-directed film, The Changeling, in New York on Saturday night. Angeline wore a strapless Atelier Versace black dress, Sergio Rossi shoes and pearl jewelry by Mikimoto, according to People. She also showed off two new identical latitude and longitude coordinates tattooed on her left upper arm for her twins. She has four other tattoos there that represent the coordinates of each of her children’s birthplaces, from Maddox to Shiloh.

Jolie told People that her growing family is doing “great,” and says she’s breastfeeding the twins, which “is part of your body’s recovery.” She looks to have recovered well:

Asked if she felt nervous to be back in the spotlight, Jolie told PEOPLE, “Not nervous as much as I just took a deep breath because it¹s been so long. It felt a little strange.”

The Manhattan visit marks the first time since the birth of their twins, Vivienne and Knox, that Jolie and Pitt have been in the city with their children.

“Everybody’s great,” she told PEOPLE. “The babies are getting big and healthy and developing personalities.”

As for being in the city that never sleeps, Jolie, 33, said, “We are a little bit [sleep deprived]. We have some help a couple of nights a week, so on those nights we catch up on our sleep.”

Still, as ever, she looked ravishing – decked out in an Atelier Versace dress, Sergio Rossi shoes and Mikimoto pearl earrings and ring – after a day of taking her three eldest kids (Zahara, Maddox and Pax Thien) to Lee’s Art Store midtown, while Brad went downtown to see photographer Jerry Spagnoli at his studio.

“I run around with all the other kids, and I’m breastfeeding, which I think is a part of your body’s recovery,” Jolie said. “I feel great [and] feel very happy that they’re healthy.”

[From People]

Here are plenty of photos of the premiere last night. Angelina seems to have taken the time to sign autographs and give interviews on the red carpet. She seems very relaxed, happy and more than a little flirty with Brad.

The first few photos are of Angelina out at an art store on Saturday in Midtown Manhattan with Maddox, Pax and Zahara, and of Brad and Angelina leaving the pre-party for the premiere at Nobu last night.

Photo Credits: WENN, Fame and PRPhotos.

Fans at tonight’s Burn After Reading premiere in Berlin. Credit: my husband

Pitt disappoints fans at Berlin Burn After Reading premiere
We waited for three hours at the premiere of Burn After Reading in Berlin tonight, but Brad Pitt was a no show despite the fact that he’s in Berlin with his family. Pitt was not listed as an attendee on the handout given by the company handling press, but it was thought that he might show up at some point since he’s living here. Fans waited and looked for him for well over two hours, and advance buzz was all about Pitt, but he just didn’t come. It was mostly German celebrities. Tilda Swinton was included on the list of expected attendees, and she wasn’t there, either. The disappointment was palpable at the end of the night.

Last Tuesday it was reported that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had moved to Berlin while Brad was filming Inglorious Bastards in nearby Potsdam. Photos of the large estate where they had moved were posted online, and it was reported that the entire family was seen arriving Tempelhof airport on Tuesday and that they’d employed a large staff.

Jolie-Pitt family visits an indoor playground, buys toys
It’s been over a week since they arrived and we were beginning to doubt that Angelina and the kids were here because the only evidence was this grainy faraway video that only showed Brad and Zahara and a figure that may or may not have been Angelina. We visited the house and spoke to one of the paparazzi, though, and he seemed pretty certain that Angelina and the kids were there. The Morgenpost reports today that the whole family visited an indoor playarea in Prenzlauer Berg and later bought toys for their kids. (The story is in German and there aren’t more details. Here is a link to the only indoor playplace we found in that district.) They only say “recently” in the article and don’t give a specific date, so I guess we can’t assume that Brad went out with the fam during the day and then blew off his film premiere that night. Brad, Angelina and the gang went almost completely unnoticed and it’s clear they evaded the 6-8 paparazzi we saw waiting outside their estate over the weekend. Morgenpost also reports that a private jet is waiting at the airport to take them to NY for the premiere of Jolie’s film, The Changeling, at the NY Film Festival on Saturday. Maybe that’s why Pitt couldn’t be bothered to make it to his film premiere in Berlin.

Brad Pitt is next expected to start filming this weekend in Saxonia, (link is to German language article) which is in the east of Germany near the border with Czech Republic. If Angelina goes to NY for her premiere he may have to stay here to work. How hard would it have been for him to blow in and out of the premiere in Berlin? It’s not even a half hour drive from his house.

Here are some photos from tonight’s premiere. Thanks to my husband for taking them.

Germany’s Next Top Model Winner Season 1, Lena Gehrke [thanks Antje]

Olympic figure skater Katarina Witt

German actor Wilson Ochsenknecht

Director Volker Schlondorff

The National Federation for The Blind takes offense at the portrayal of blind people in the upcoming thriller Blindness, starring Julianne Moore and Marc Ruffalo. Blindness portrays a breakdown in society after a virus starts wiping out everyone’s vision, turning them into savages who compete for meager resources. Blind people think it’s outrageous that they’re portrayed so negatively and plan a protest of the film, which is out in limited release in the US this Friday, October 3.

Blind people quarantined in a mental asylum, attacking each other, soiling themselves, trading sex for food. For Marc Maurer, who’s blind, such a scenario _ as shown in the movie “Blindness” _ is not a clever allegory for a breakdown in society.

Instead, it’s an offensive and chilling depiction that Maurer fears could undermine efforts to integrate blind people into the mainstream.

“The movie portrays blind people as monsters, and I believe it to be a lie,” said Maurer, president of the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind. “Blindness doesn’t turn decent people into monsters.”

The organization plans to protest the movie, released by Miramax Films, at 75 theaters around the country when it’s released Friday. Blind people and their allies will hand out fliers and carry signs. Among the slogans: “I’m not an actor. But I play a blind person in real life.”

The movie reinforces inaccurate stereotypes, including that the blind cannot care for themselves and are perpetually disoriented, according to the NFB.

“We face a 70 percent unemployment rate and other social problems because people don’t think we can do anything, and this movie is not going to help _ at all,” said Christopher Danielsen, a spokesman for the organization.

[AP via Huffington Post]

Seven staff members of the National Federation for The Blind, including three people who are not blind, attended a screening of the film last week. They’re not simply responding to the trailers and have a legitimate beef with the film.

The film was not received well at Cannes, with the jury giving it a 1.3 average out of 4. Blindness has a 41% aggregate critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it seems like people either love it or hate it. It’s criticized as being too self-important and negative in tone. The film also features Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here are two trailers.

Thanks to AllMoviePhoto for these pictures.

If you were a performer that was generally considered so atrocious that an interviewer actually asked if you’d be willing to stop singing for the right amount… you’d think a person could take that as a hint. James Blunt seems to have possibly gotten the point, but says people will really have to pay up if they want him to shut his whiney mouth. The horse faced singer, known for atrocious tunes and romancing the ladies, gave a recent interview to Uncut magazine, where he said he’s not so stupid (or so proud, apparently) to say no to a decent offer.

HERE’S the news a lot of people have been waiting for… James Blunt has promised to quit singing if we stump up enough cash.

Despite his success, Blunt has been dogged by criticisms of his cheesy tunes and his “posh” military background.

And now he has finally been worn down by the opposition to his brand of melodic pop.

He told Uncut magazine: “If someone is prepared to pay me enough, I’ll stop.”

“There’s a good deal of inverse snobbery about all this. My background ought to be irrelevant. It’s bizarre that I should attract all this aggression. Any judgment made on that level is a form of prejudice. But, I’m travelling around the world and no one else seems aware of my very stupid speaking voice, which is all it is.”

[From the Daily Record]

The article is built around the premise that people are annoyed by Blunt because of his military service and how often he talks about it. While I suppose that could play a part in it, I think they’re really annoyed by Blunt’s music. And his face. There’s just something about that whine that makes me one to commit acts of violence I will keep to myself. But I think pinning it on military service is a convenient way to say “it’s not about me or my ‘talent,’ it’s about people’s issues with the military.” Um, no, you just suck.

Luckily the good people over at The Sun are trying to raise the necessary funds as we speak. I hope they open it up to the public - I will be making a record donation.

Here’s James Blunt on December 9th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Valkyrie - Theatrical Trailer
Tom Cruise starts as a Nazi higher up with a personal mission to kill Hilter in Valkyrie, a new movie out this Christmas. A new trailer is out and it cuts between scenes at a past that’s so dizzyingly fast that I had to look away at points. It paints Cruise as a hero with a mission. We all know how it turns out, though.

As I commented on JayBird’s coverage of the first trailer back in November 2007 why doesn’t Cruise have an accent? I know it’s not technically authentic if you’re not speaking the source language in an historical film, but the actors usually strive to mimic the accents of people from the country. It seems kind of outrageous that Cruise didn’t even try. Maybe they discussed it and decided they may as well just sound like themselves. Some of the “Nazis” even have British accents. At least they could make it consistent.

Cruise is very good at playing conflicted characters and he can probably pull this off. Whether the movie will be a success or not we’ll have to see. It’s had its release date changed several times, and there’s been negative advance buzz. The film was scheduled to come out in February, but right around the time that Cruise’s partner, Paula Wagner, stepped down from United Artists it was announced that Valkyrie would have a holiday release. It was perhaps part of Wagner’s negotiations for leaving UA.

Thanks to Geno’s World via Fark for the heads up.

The cast for the next Tim Burton movie, a 3-D live-action/CGI animated version of Alice In Wonderland, was announced today and in keeping with the perfect movie partnership they discovered 18 years ago, Johnny Depp will be playing the Mad Hatter. 

If any story for a movie is appropriate to be filmed in 3-D, it would be Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.  The live-action/CGI is the method used in the recent Angelina Jolie movie Beowulf and it’s a good combination of animation and live acting for the fantasy and allegory of the classic “children’s” book.  Disney is still the distributor, but you can bet with Burton at the helm, it won’t be your mother’s Alice!

Depp and Burton have been one of the best pairings in popular cinema since they teamed up for Edward Scissorhands in 1990.  Ed Wood, in ‘94, was the beginning of crazy, Depp brilliance, it just wasn’t quite appreciated yet and flopped at the box office.  Burton’s darkness and Depp’s quirky intesity played perfectly together in Sleepy Hollow, breathing new life and interest into a much played story.  And while Depp’s Willie Wonka was a little creepy, Burton’s dark but colorful rendering of his Chocolate Factory was captivating.  Sweeney Todd was just genius, from both of them.  Even Corpse Bride was intriguing and fun to look at, whether you’re into animated films or not.

It pretty much went without saying when Burton signed on for this project that Depp would take the Mad Hatter role, but now it’s official.  Also official is Mia Wasikowska, a Heath Ledger memorial scholarship recipient for up and coming Australian actors, as Alice, and Matt Lucas, of Little Britain and Little Britain USA, doing double as Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Alice in Wonderland is currently in pre-production and is scheduled for release in March 2010.

Information from IMDB and Reuters

Photo credit: Fame Pictures and Lenny’s Alice in Wonderland Site