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Alex Pettyfer In ‘50 Shades Of Grey’? Tom Hiddleston In ‘The Crow’? Dont Dress For Either

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday April 29, 2013 @ 4:14pm PDTTags: Alex Pettyfer, Alexander Skarsgard, Fifty Shades Of Grey, The Crow, Tom Hiddleson
Mike Fleming

The fast pace of digital-age reporting means a lot of half-truths and half-baked conversations being reported as fact. First, I’ve gotta call bullshit on these recent reports (sorry, PMC-owned sister publication Hollywood Life) that Alex Pettyfer has been set to play Christian Grey in the eagerly awaited Universal Pictures adaptation of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades Of Grey. That book is selling faster than Harry Potter, another novel series about a guy with a magic wand. There hasn’t been a shred of discussion at the studio about Pettyfer playing Grey. The actor filmed the “deflowering” scene from the book for Gus Van Sant, who did that on spec in an attempt to get himself the helming job. A lot of major directors have been discreetly approached, but everyone is waiting on a script by Kelly Marcel. They would not set any cast without input from a filmmaker.

Also not happening is Thor and The Avengers antagonist Tom Hiddleston starring in Relativity Media’s reboot of The Crow. A simple conversation has been overhyped and reported like it was going to happen. The guy to keep an eye on here is True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgard, who is getting numerous offers since his plans to star for David Yates in Tarzan died on the vine when Warner Bros halted the project over budget. No formal offer yet, but it sounds to me like it’s Skarsgard’s role if he wants it in the F. Javier Gutierrez-directed film series relaunch.

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‘Tarzan’ Dying On The Vine At Warner Bros?

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday April 10, 2013 @ 1:02pm PDTTags: Alexander Skarsgard, David Yates, Jessica Chastain, Tarzan, Warner Bros
Mike Fleming

Alexander SkarsgardEXCLUSIVE: Things are not looking very good right now for Tarzan, the re-imagining of the Edgar Rice Burroughs tale that has Harry Potter helmer David Yates preparing to make it this year, with True Blood‘s Alexander … Read More »

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Will Alexander Skarsgard Or Benjamin Walker Scale ‘The Great Wall?’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday June 4, 2012 @ 10:17am PDTTags: Alexander Skarsgard, Benjamin Walker, Ed Zwick, Legendary Pictures, The Great Wall
Mike Fleming

The co-lead of the Ed Zwick-directed The Great Wall is between True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgard and Benjamin Walker, who stars in the upcoming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The Legendary Pictures … Read More »

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Paula Patton Joins ‘Disconnect’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday September 21, 2011 @ 7:45am PDTTags: Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, Andrew Stern, Disconnect, Frank Grillo, Henry Alex Rubin, Jason Bateman, Marc Forster, Mickey Liddell, Paula Patton
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Paula Patton has joined the cast of Disconnect, the indie drama that’s being directed by Murderball‘s Henry Alex Rubin. She joins Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, Frank Grillo and Jason Bateman in the Andrew Stern-scripted drama about disparate lives that … Read More »

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Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson Re-Upped Through 2014

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday September 19, 2011 @ 12:37pm PDTTags: Aaron Johnson, Adam Fogelson, Akiva Goldsman, Alexander Skarsgard, Benicio Del Toro, Blake Lively, Brian Grazer, Carl Rinsch, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Espinosa, Denzel Washington, Don Winslow, Guillermo Del Toro, Hugh Jackman, Jeff Bridges, Jeremy Renner, Joseph Kosinski, Keanu Reeves, Kristen Stewart, Liam Neeson, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Bay, Mila Kunis, Oliver Stone, Peter Berg, Rihanna, Robert Schwentke, Ron Howard, Ron Meyer, Rupert Sanders, Russell Crowe, Seth MacFarlane, Shane Salerno, Stephen King, Steve Burke, Taylor Kitsch, Tom Cruise, Tom Hooper, Tony Gilroy, Universal Pictures
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: NBCUniversal’s new owners at Comcast have given a vote of confidence to the studio’s feature film operation. They’ve exercised an option on Universal Pictures’ Chairman Adam Fogelson and extended his contract through 2014. I’m told that Fogelson is, in turn, in the process of exercising the option of Donna Langley and she will continue as the studio’s co-chairman. They will also keep their executive team intact. Fogelson will continue to have full day-to-day operating responsibility for the Motion Picture Group, reporting to Universal Studios President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer (whose contract was recently re-upped through 2015) and will now also report to NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Steve Burke.

While Universal has had its ups and downs, higher-ups are clearly convinced that Fogelson, Langley and their team are making progress. They’ve had recent hits –Bridesmaids, Hop! and Fast Five– but also had some recent misses that include The Dilemma, Change-Up and Cowboys & Aliens. In the latter case, the studio was on the hook for one-third of the film, and shared that third with Relativity Media. It has also been a year in which Fogelson and his team have made some painful decisions and let pricey productions go. That began with the Guillermo Del Toro-directed At the Mountains of Madness, which Universal developed for years and which was ready to go with Tom Cruise, until the studio made a late decision not to go forward because of the possibility the $150M film could carry an R-rating. Universal also dropped two projects that were in advanced  stages of development: The Dark Tower, the Akiva Goldsman-directed adaptation of the Stephen King novel series that was to be made into three feature films and two limited-run TV series, with the first film and TV segment directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer and Goldsman; and Oiuja, the Hasbro board game that had McG directing and Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners producing with Hasbro. The moves were surprising because Howard and Grazer are cornerstone filmmakers for Universal; and Del Toro and Hasbro have overall deals there. Ouija is one of several Hasbro properties the studio dropped, the others being the Gore Verbinski-directed Clue, the Ridley Scott-directed Monopoly and Magic, The Gathering. These were part of a groundbreaking deal the studio made with the toymaker several years ago, but the studio and Hasbro have re-focused their attention solely on Battleship, Stretch Armstrong, and Candy Land. Read More »

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Toronto: Anchor Bay Acquires Thriller Remake ’13′

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday September 9, 2011 @ 4:39am PDTTags: Alexander Skarsgard, Anchor Bay Films, Curtis Jackson, Jason Staham, Kevin Kasha, Michael Shannon, Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Anchor Bay Films just acquired U.S. distribution rights to 13, Gela Babluani’s remake of his 2005 thriller 13 Tzameti. The film isn’t playing here at Toronto, but it will be one of a flurry of titles being … Read More »

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Hot Teaser Trailer: ‘Battleship’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday July 27, 2011 @ 10:22am PDTTags: Alexander Skarsgard, Battleship, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, Peter Berg, Rihanna, Taylor Kitsch, Universal Pictures
Mike Fleming

Finally, Universal Pictures has released a teaser trailer for Battleship, the Peter Berg-directed film that takes the popular board game and mashes it up with a science fiction alien premise. The movie has been the subject of heightened cynicism for the longest time, partly because of its tie-in to the … Read More »

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Brooklyn Decker Boards Berg’s ‘Battleship’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday August 17, 2010 @ 12:17pm PDTTags: Alexander Skarsgard, Battleship, Battleship Casting, Brooklyn Decker, Movie Casting, Rihanna, Taylor Kitsch
Mike Fleming

Brooklyn Decker has been set by director Peter Berg to join the cast of Battleship, Universal’s tentpole film based on the Hasbro game. Taylor Kitsch stars, along with True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard and Rihanna.  The film starts production around Labor Day in Hawaii, and will be released May 18, 2012. Scripted by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, Battleship’s a big scale action adventure that pits that crew of a battleship again alien invaders. Brian Koppelman and David Levien are working on the most recent draft.   Read More »

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