Coming hot on the heels of his admission that he had been offered (and subsequently turned down) the role of a big time bad guy in one of the Marvel extravaganzas, Deadline is reporting that Alec Baldwin is actually accepting a role in a much more modest project: the new Cameron Crowe movie the filmmaker is about to start shooting for Sony. In other casting news, charming grouch Charles Grodin will make his long-awaited return to movies, playing Naomi Watts‘ father in Noah Baumbach‘s “While We’re Young” (according to the Wrap). This is a very exciting day for aging character actors.
It’s unknown what role Baldwin will play in the Crowe film, which is supposedly a reworking of a script Crowe wanted to make with Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon called “Deep Tiki,” but he’s in fine company. The new script follows a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) on a top-secret military launch mission in Hawaii who teams up with an Air Force pilot (Emma Stone) as they plan to sabotage the project. Rachel McAdams and Danny McBride will also star. It’s unclear if the original script’s memorable mixture of mysticism and goofy humor will remain, but it’s a new movie from Cameron Crowe with an all-star cast, and that should be enough to get anybody excited. The movie starts shooting in September, for release sometime next year.
Meanwhile, Charles Grodin’s performance in “While We’re Young” will mark his first feature film in over seven years. He was last spotted while trying to save face in the Zach Braff/Jason Bateman comedy “The Ex” back in 2006. (We had forgotten this movie ever existed until just now, thanks a lot, The Wrap.) In the movie, Watts and Ben Stiller star as a married couple that strikes up a friendship with a much younger, freer couple played by Adam Driver (“Girls“) and Amanda Seyfried (“Lovelace“). For some amazing reason, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys will also be in it.
Like the Crowe film, “While We’re Young” will start shooting this fall. It will be produced by Scott Rudin, which already makes it “very important” in some circles. Also keep in mind that Baumbach has already shot another new movie in between his wondrous “Frances Ha” and “While We’re Young.” Details on that one are scarce, but it was seemingly done in the same stripped down, below-the-radar style as “Frances Ha,” once again with his girlfriend/muse Greta Gerwig. Whatever Baumbach does next, we’re game.
Look for more details on both projects as they are revealed.
The return of Charles Grodin! Thank god someone did it