Stuntman and sometimes actor Nash Edgerton (yep, brother of Joel Edgerton and part of the Blue Tongue Films collective) has earned the most acclaim for his directorial efforts, fare such as 2008’s “The Square” or the recent short “Bear.” And now he’s lining up a project that could see him getting his biggest profile yet.
Charlize Theron has signed up to produce and star in the director’s “American Express.” Even more, Megan Ellison‘s Annapurna International is handling the international sales for the picture at Cannes, where financing is being sought. Oh, what’s it about? Your guess is as good as ours as plot details are under wraps, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Moving from indie fare to blockbuster material, Octavia Spencer has joined the cast of “Insurgent.” Yep, “Divergent” has created a new bonafide YA series, with Shailene Woodley returning as Tris to a dystopian Chicago, where Four and other characters with funny names await. The guy who made “R.I.P.D.” (Robert Schwentke) has been tasked to continue down the successful path of the first film, with a release date for “Insurgent” already set for March 20, 2015. So yes, they are cranking this out in less than a year. [Deadline]
Lastly, Warren Beatty‘s untitled Howard Hughes movie is currently shooting and has added Alec Baldwin to a cast that includes Alden Ehrenreich, Lily Collins, Martin Sheen, Matthew Broderick, and Annette Bening. The film will center on Hughes’ assistant (Ehrenreich) and his romance with a young woman (Collins). Beatty will play the reclusive billionaire, with Baldwin as his lawyer, Bob Maheu. [Deadline]
Not surprised to hear about the rush to do the sequel to Divergent, that's what studios do when they want a franchise to succeed. Which ties in with Charlize signing on to do another film, which will keep her too busy to film Snow White and the Huntsman2, should Universal ever decide to greenlight that.
Funny, it's been a long, long time in movie years since SWATH was released, going on two years now. It made money, but Universal is making no forward movement on a sequel. Hemsworth is on video saying they've never even approached him about his timetable. Things that make you go hmmmm.