Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant are tuning up a project together. The pair are in negotiations/talks to join as an yet untitled film directed by Stephen Frears regarding awful American opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins who "had legions of fans who filled her concerts, but it was never clear whether they genuinely enjoyed her piercing screeches — or were just going along for a laugh." Streep will play Jenkins, with Grant as her manager. [Baz Bamigboye]
A project that has been in the works for a few years and once had Armie Hammer attached, "2:22" is moving ahead with Teresa Palmer. Paul Currie will direct and has drafted a script based on an original concept by Todd Stein and Nathan Parker ("Moon"), about "a woman who gets involved with a guy who is drawn by a bizarre pattern of events to Central Station every day at 2:22pm and discovers this is the time and location of a murder 27 years ago." Filming will begin in early 2015. [IF]
Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords") is going indie with "People Places Things." James C. Strouse ("Grace Is Gone") directed the film about "a newly single, under-employed graphic novelist navigating life, his young twin daughters, a case of writer’s block, a classroom full of students, and a new love while letting go of the woman who left him." Production has already wrapped, so see you at Sundance? [Deadline]
Alexandra Daddario, Tom Welling, Maggie Grace and Tom Wilkinson have joined Benjamin Walker in the Nicholas Sparks adaptation "The Choice." Ross Katz will direct the film that centers on "Travis Parker and Gabby Holland, who meet first as neighbors in a small coastal town and end up pursuing a relationship that neither could have foreseen. Spanning a decade and tracing the evolution of a love affair that is ultimately tested by life’s most defining events, this story features an ensemble of friends and family in Sparks’ beloved North Carolina setting, culminating in the question that every couple must ask themselves: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?" Bring the Kleenex. [The Wrap]
Due to "A Million Ways To Die In The West" tanking and budget issues, Warner Bros. has bailed on Adam Sandler‘s western comedy "The Ridiculous Six." But now the actor has that four film deal over at Netflix, so maybe he can resurrect it there? [THR]
Billy Crystal will star in the The Jim Henson Co.’s animated film "Which Witch." Brian Henson will direct with production starting in the new year. [Variety]
Florence Foster Jenkins was one of the world\’s worst singers. She was also one of the greatest.
I just read that Grant was quitting the acting biz. What story is accurate, this one where he is being cast in a film or the one where he says he is quitting acting.