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Mark Wahlberg Knocking On The Door For Fox Comedy ‘Avon Man’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday April 19, 2012 @ 5:45pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Hugh Jackman, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Wahlberg is in talks to come aboard Avon Man,the 20th Century Fox comedy that once had Hugh Jackman ready to star and Kevin Lima to direct. I’m told that Wahlberg and partner Stephen Levinson will board the projects as producers alongside Krasnoff Foster’s Gary Foster and John Palermo, and it will be developed as a potential star vehicle for Wahlberg. Lima is no longer involved.

Michael McCullers will come aboard and write a new draft of a script originated by Kevin Bisch. Jackman stepped out because he expected to do The Wolverine and had a schedule clash before that project was pushed back. In the film, a group of guys are laid off from an auto dealership, and one reluctantly becomes an Avon salesman. He survives the emasculation, relies on his charm and becomes a top seller. He then tries to save his town and help his struggling family by pulling in his macho unemployed pals to hawk beauty products so they can win a regional contest. Wahlberg and McCullers are repped by WME and Wahlberg is managed by Leverage.

Wahlberg has been mixing dramas and comedies and will soon be seen starring in the Seth MacFarlane-directed Ted. He wrapped the drama Broken City opposite Russell Crowe and is now starring with Dwayne Johnson in the Michael Bay-directed Pain and Gain. He then stars with Denzel Washington in 2 Guns and the Peter Berg-directed Lone Survivor, both of which are being made by Emmatt/Furla and Universal.

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Catherine Zeta-Jones Heads To ‘Broken City’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday October 20, 2011 @ 2:52pm PDTTags: Adam Shankman, Alec Baldwin, Brian Tucker, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Mark Wahlberg, Randall Emmett, Russell Brand, Russell Crowe, Stephen Frears, Stephen Levinson, Tom Cruise, Vince Vaughn
Mike Fleming

Catherine Zeta-Jones has closed her deal to star in Broken City, joining Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe in the Allen Hughes-directed drama. Zeta-Jones will play the philandering wife of the mayor of New York (Crowe).  When a Brooklyn detective (Wahlberg) … Read More »

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Mark Wahlberg Sets Sights On ’2 Guns’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday August 10, 2011 @ 11:52am PDTTags: Allen Hughes, Andrew Cosby, Baltasar Kormakur, Brian Tucker, David O. Russell, George Furla, Marc Platt, Mark Wahlberg, Randall Emmett, Russell Crowe, Stephen Levinson, Vince Vaughn
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Wahlberg is in negotiations to star in 2 Guns for Universal Pictures. The pic is based on a Steven Grant graphic novel, and has a script written by Blake Masters. The graphic novel is published by Boom! Studios. … Read More »

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Russell Crowe Signs On For Mayoral Run In ‘Broken City’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday August 8, 2011 @ 11:10am PDTTags: Allen Hughes, Brian Tucker, Broken City, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Curtis Jackson, David Ayer, George Furla, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Cusack, Josh Duhamel, Mark Wahlberg, Nicolas Cage, Randall Emmett, Rebecca Hall, Russell Crowe, Scott Walker, Stephen Frears, Stephen Levinson, Vince Vaughn
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Russell Crowe is set to star alongside Mark Wahlberg in the Allen Hughes-directed independently financed noir drama Broken City. Production begins in November. Wahlberg plays an ex-cop-turned-private detective who is hired by the mayor (the role Crowe will play) to see if his wife is cheating on him. The private eye confirms those suspicions, and when the mayor’s wife’s cheating partner ends up dead, the private eye immerses himself in the mayor’s business and uncovers a real estate scandal that involves the pol dealing himself choice city-owned properties. The script by Brian Tucker made the 2008 Black List. The $60 million film will be financed by Emmett/Furla Films.

Wahlberg is producing through his Closest to the Hole banner; Stephen Levinson through Leverage; and Randall Emmett, George Furla and Hughes are also producing. Wahlberg and Levinson, partners on Entourage and Boardwalk Empire, just wrapped the drama Contraband. Crowe is costarring as Jor-El in the Superman reboot Man of Steel and just wrapped The Man With The Iron Fists. Read More »

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Mark Wahlberg, Allen Hughes Plot Trip To ‘Broken City’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday June 27, 2011 @ 9:46am PDTTags: Allen Hughes, Brian Tucker, Broken City, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Curtis Jackson, David Ayer, George Furla, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Duhamel, Mark Wahlberg, Randall Emmett, Rebecca Hall, Stephen Frears, Stephen Levinson, Vince Vaughn
Mike Fleming

Mark Wahlberg and Allen Hughes are in early talks to team on Broken City, a noir-style drama about an ex-cop-turned-private detective who is hired by the mayor to see if his wife is cheating on him. When the mayor’s wife’s … Read More »

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Justin Bieber Plans Street Hoops Film With Mark Wahlberg

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday April 27, 2011 @ 5:51pm PDTTags: Justin Bieber, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures is in negotiations for what could be the dramatic screen-starring debut of Justin Bieber. He will star alongside Mark Wahlberg in an untitled drama that will revolve around street basketball and will give Bieber the chance to show off his hoops skills. Deal comes after Bieber’s musical performance film Never Say Never minted money for Paramount. Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson will produce with Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun. The script will be written by Ian Edelman, creator of How To Make It In America, the HBO series that is exec produced by Wahlberg and Levinson, who hold the same titles on Entourage and Boardwalk Empire. The tone of the project is described as The Color of Money meets The Karate Kid, and it came out of Wahlberg and Levinson seeing Bieber play ball in February during a celebrity game held during NBA All-Star Game weekend. Bieber more than held his own against celebs and former players; he was named MVP. It’s understandable that Paramount would want to be in business with Bieber again. Made on a $13 million budget, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never grossed $97 million worldwide. Paramount immediately hired its director, Jon Chu, to helm its G.I. Joe sequel.

But can the 17-year-old Bieber make the transition to serious actor? Wahlberg was thought of as a hip-hop artist until gritty performances in films like Basketball Diaries Read More »

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Rob Riggle To Star In CBS Comedy Pilot ‘Home Game’ Produced By Mark Wahlberg

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday February 11, 2011 @ 7:31pm PSTTags: CBS Pilots, Home Game, Mark Schlereth, Mark Wahlberg, Rob Riggle, Rob Riggle CBS Holding Contract, Stephen Levinson, TV, TV Deals, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Home Game has won the Rob Riggle sweepstakes. Riggle is set to star in the CBS multicamera comedy, from Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson’s Leverage. The project, loosely based on the experiences of former NFL star Mark … Read More »

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PILOTS: ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Casts Bosley, Constance Zimmer To Star In ‘Home Game’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday February 10, 2011 @ 5:30pm PSTTags: ABC Charlie's Angels Remake, ABC Partners Pilot, Charlie's Angels Casting, Charlie's Angels Pilot, Charlie's Angels Reboot, Constance Zimmer, Home Game, Home Game Pilot, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, TV, TV Deals, TV Pilots
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: Ramon Rodriguez (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) has joined ABC’s Charlie’s Angels reboot as Charlie’s liaison Bosley.The new Charlie’s Angeles, from Sony TV, Flower Films and Millar/Gough Ink, stars Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh as the trio … Read More »

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UPDATE: CBS Picks Up Sports-Flavored Comedy Pilots Inspired By Colin Cowherd & Mark Schlereth, Mark Wahlberg To Produce

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 28, 2011 @ 5:45pm PSTTags: CBS Colin Cowherd Pilot, Home Game Pilot, Mark Schlereth, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, TV, TV Deals
Nellie Andreeva

CBS brass had sports on their minds today, with pilot orders to two sports-themed multicamera comedies – an untitled sitcom inspired by ESPN personality Colin Cowherd’s outspoken sports talk show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and Home Game, … Read More »

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HBO And Malcolm Gladwell Plot CIA Drama

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 19, 2010 @ 8:00pm PDTTags: Cable TV, HBO, HBO Development, Malcolm Gladwell, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, TV
Nellie Andreeva

After recreating Prohibition era Atlantic City in Boardwalk Empire, HBO is looking to resurrect Cold War era Berlin in a new spy drama project from Boardwalk executive producers Stephen Levinson and Mark Wahlberg, New Yorker writer/best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell and … Read More »

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