Steve Carell Signs On For Action-Comedy Conviction

So far, The Office has managed to get by and still be funny even without Steve Carell’s Michael Scott serving as the bumbling boss at Dunder Mifflin. And judging by Carell’s growing list of upcoming projects, it appears as though he’s getting by just fine without the popular NBC series. Among the actor’s upcoming roles is a starring part in Silver Pictures’ Conviction.

According to Deadline, Carell is set to star and produce in heist film Conviction. The film, which was written by Jonathan Herman, “follows a mastermind bank robber who serves five years in prison following a botched heist who is forced by an FBI agent to entrap his protege as the upstart pulls off a multimillion-dollar job.”

Deadline states that the script originally had a “Heat tone,” but the project stalled from there. Since then, it was reworked into an action comedy similar in tone to films like 48 Hours and Ocean’s Eleven. Joel Silver is set to produce the film alongside Carell and Andrew Rona of Silver Pictures.

Steve Carell sounds like a great fit for a movie like this. The role is stacked on top of a growing list of film credits, including the Despicable Me sequel (2013), and the title role in Burt Wonderstone.

Colin Farrell Joins Noomi Rapace And Niels Arden Oplev For Dead Man Down

It would seem that director Niels Arden Oplev knows that when you find the gold in the mine, you stop digging. In 2009 the Danish filmmaker blew up after directing the Swedish-language version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But while the story was solid, the pace was great and the visuals were beautiful, the best part of the movie was the performance by Noomi Rapace, who played anti-social hacker Lisbeth Salander and became a star in her own right (she'll next be seen this December in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows). Now the two are set to work together again, and they are bringing in another high-profile actor for the ride.

According to THR, Oplev and Rapace will be teaming with Colin Farrell for the recently announced project Dead Man Down. Unveiled at the American Film Market, the project is described as a mob drama about a hitman (Farrell) who falls in love with a "disfigured former beauty" (Rapace) and goes on a killing spree. The script was written by J.H. Wyman, who is best known for his work on the Fox series Fringe. Wyman is also producing the project along with Neal Moritz and Ori Marmur.

While Oplev has been attached to American titles before, such as Marcus Sakey's Good People and The Last Photograph (which he is no longer doing), none of them have made it into production yet. In fact, the director hasn't made a movie since The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The plan is to start shooting Dead Man Down in early 2012.

Taylor Lautner's Acting Career May Continue Thanks To Gus Van Sant

The release of Abduction may in September proved an interesting and important part: Twilight fans may gush over every actor that appears in the Stephanie Meyer adaptations, but that doesn't mean that they have any appeal beyond it. The example here, of course, is Taylor Lautner. While some girls go nuts for the teenage shirtless wonder and have even established camps against those that love co-star Robert Pattinson, Abduction was a total flop at the box office, arriving in at number four during its opening weekend). The film was absolutely torn to shreds by critics, who largely took aim at Lautner's performance, which was truly godawful. Many predicted that the movie would mark the end of Hollywood's great Taylor Lautner experiment, but it would seem that Gus van Sant didn't get the memo.

Olivia Wilde Romancing Steve Carell, Jim Carrey In Burt Wonderstone

Recently we told you that Tron Legacy beauty Olivia Wilde sat atop a short list of actresses contending to play the female interest in Burt Wonderstone, a comedy about feuding Las Vegas magicians starring Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. Today we’re learning she got the role.

Wilde, seen over the summer in Cowboys & Aliens and The Change Up, has been cast as Carell’s love interest, his former assistant who eventually goes to work for Carrey’s up-and-coming illusionist, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But she’s not the only casting note. THR says James Gandolfini is in negotiations to play a casino owner, while Steve Buscemi has joined the ensemble as Carell’s longtime friend and partner who has quit the magic business. I hope he dies on screen so we can add that clip to his death reel.

People are going to come to Wonderstone to see Carell play off of Carrey, but it’s encouraging that director Don Scardino is going out of his way to surround the comedians with solid character actors and eye candy (I mean Buscemi, of course). Tyler Mitchell came up with the story, though the Wonderstone screenplay is credited to John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein. Carell has a pretty solid track list of picking above-average scripts recently, from Crazy Stupid Love to Date Night, which Carrey could use a shot in the arm after Yes Man, Mr. Popper’s Penguins and The Number 23. We’ll see where Wonderstone falls in 2013

Bill Paxton Could Bring Kung Fu To The Big Screen

I always thought that if anyone was going to bring Ed Spielman's Kung Fu to the big screen it would have been Quentin Tarantino. From Jules proclamation that he would "walk the Earth like Caine from Kung Fu" at the end of Pulp Fiction to the casting of David Carradine as the titular character in his Kill Bill movies, it always seemed as though Tarantino was foreshadowing a future announcement that he would be making a feature film from the 1970s television series. If that actually is true, it looks like he may have waited just a touch too long, as now it looks like another director is looking to take the gig.

Deadline reports that Bill Paxton is looking to return behind the camera and is now in talks to direct Kung Fu for Legendary Entertainment. While Paxton doesn't have the longest directing resume around, his two films - the crime thriller Frailty and the golf drama The Greatest Game Ever Played - were both given warm receptions by critics. John McLaughlin, whose work ranges from Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan to the dismal Tommy Lee Jones comedy Bringing Down The House, is writing the script. The studio is looking to have the film in production by next summer and the plan is to shoot part of the film in China. The series was about a Shaolin Monk named Kwai Chang Caine who fled to America after killing the Chinese Emperor's nephew. While there, he searches for his brother and attempts to stop evil whenever he comes across it.

What I'm really curious about is the pitch that Paxton gave to make Legendary think that he is the right man for the job. The material doesn't resemble anything in the actor-director's filmography, but he must have something up his sleeve. What do we think, folks? Is Paxton the right guy to direct Kung Fu? Should this project even be made at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

John Goodman May Be Reuniting With The Coen Brothers For Inside Llewyn Davis

John Goodman has a lot of amazing movies and performances on his resume, but without question his best work comes when he's working with Joel and Ethan Coen. From his turn as serial killer Karl “Madman" Mundt in Barton Fink to the Vietnam-obsessed Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, every time the actor works with the Coen brothers it's pure gold. Of the filmmaking duo's 15 films, Goodman has had a role in five, but they haven't worked together since 2000's O' Brother Where Art Thou? Thankfully, it looks like that awful streak is coming to an end.

Showbiz 411 reports that Goodman has joined the ranks of Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen brothers' newest project. Should the story be true, the actor will be joining Oscar Isaac (who is playing the titular role) and Carey Mulligan. Just this past weekend it was also said that Justin Timberlake had been offered a part in the movie. Set in Greenwich Village during the 1960s, the film is loosely based on the life and times of Dave Van Ronk, who was a central figure in the folk music scene that produced Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs and many others. Goodman has three films set to come out later this year, as he has parts in George Miller's Happy Feet Two, Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist and Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

I can't even tell you how excited I am by this news. It's a crime that it's taken so long for Goodman to work with the Coens again and I really pray that this story is true.

Olivia Wilde Romancing Steve Carell, Jim Carrey In Burt Wonderstone

Recently we told you that Tron Legacy beauty Olivia Wilde sat atop a short list of actresses contending to play the female interest in Burt Wonderstone, a comedy about feuding Las Vegas magicians starring Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. Today we’re learning she got the role.

Wilde, seen over the summer in Cowboys & Aliens and The Change Up, has been cast as Carell’s love interest, his former assistant who eventually goes to work for Carrey’s up-and-coming illusionist, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But she’s not the only casting note. THR says James Gandolfini is in negotiations to play a casino owner, while Steve Buscemi has joined the ensemble as Carell’s longtime friend and partner who has quit the magic business. I hope he dies on screen so we can add that clip to his death reel.

People are going to come to Wonderstone to see Carell play off of Carrey, but it’s encouraging that director Don Scardino is going out of his way to surround the comedians with solid character actors and eye candy (I mean Buscemi, of course). Tyler Mitchell came up with the story, though the Wonderstone screenplay is credited to John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein. Carell has a pretty solid track list of picking above-average scripts recently, from Crazy Stupid Love to Date Night, which Carrey could use a shot in the arm after Yes Man, Mr. Popper’s Penguins and The Number 23. We’ll see where Wonderstone falls in 2013.

Bill Paxton Could Bring Kung Fu To The Big Screen

I always thought that if anyone was going to bring Ed Spielman's Kung Fu to the big screen it would have been Quentin Tarantino. From Jules proclamation that he would "walk the Earth like Caine from Kung Fu" at the end of Pulp Fiction to the casting of David Carradine as the titular character in his Kill Bill movies, it always seemed as though Tarantino was foreshadowing a future announcement that he would be making a feature film from the 1970s television series. If that actually is true, it looks like he may have waited just a touch too long, as now it looks like another director is looking to take the gig.

Deadline reports that Bill Paxton is looking to return behind the camera and is now in talks to direct Kung Fu for Legendary Entertainment. While Paxton doesn't have the longest directing resume around, his two films - the crime thriller Frailty and the golf drama The Greatest Game Ever Played - were both given warm receptions by critics. John McLaughlin, whose work ranges from Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan to the dismal Tommy Lee Jones comedy Bringing Down The House, is writing the script. The studio is looking to have the film in production by next summer and the plan is to shoot part of the film in China. The series was about a Shaolin Monk named Kwai Chang Caine who fled to America after killing the Chinese Emperor's nephew. While there, he searches for his brother and attempts to stop evil whenever he comes across it.

What I'm really curious about is the pitch that Paxton gave to make Legendary think that he is the right man for the job. The material doesn't resemble anything in the actor-director's filmography, but he must have something up his sleeve. What do we think, folks? Is Paxton the right guy to direct Kung Fu? Should this project even be made at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

John Goodman May Be Reuniting With The Coen Brothers For Inside Llewyn Davis

John Goodman has a lot of amazing movies and performances on his resume, but without question his best work comes when he's working with Joel and Ethan Coen. From his turn as serial killer Karl “Madman" Mundt in Barton Fink to the Vietnam-obsessed Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, every time the actor works with the Coen brothers it's pure gold. Of the filmmaking duo's 15 films, Goodman has had a role in five, but they haven't worked together since 2000's O' Brother Where Art Thou? Thankfully, it looks like that awful streak is coming to an end.

Showbiz 411 reports that Goodman has joined the ranks of Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen brothers' newest project. Should the story be true, the actor will be joining Oscar Isaac (who is playing the titular role) and Carey Mulligan. Just this past weekend it was also said that Justin Timberlake had been offered a part in the movie. Set in Greenwich Village during the 1960s, the film is loosely based on the life and times of Dave Van Ronk, who was a central figure in the folk music scene that produced Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs and many others. Goodman has three films set to come out later this year, as he has parts in George Miller's Happy Feet Two, Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist and Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

I can't even tell you how excited I am by this news. It's a crime that it's taken so long for Goodman to work with the Coens again and I really pray that this story is true.

Catherine Zeta-Jones Signed On For Broken City

Catherine Zeta-Jones hasn’t been around much over the last few years, but it looks as though she has a flurry of projects in the works, one of which puts her opposite Russell Crowe. The No Reservations actress has been signed on to star in the Allen Hughes directed Broken City.

Deadline reports that Zeta-Jones is set to play Russell Crowe’s character’s wife in the upcoming Broken City. The film, which is in pre-production, stars Mark Wahlberg as a detective who’s hired by Russell Crowe’s character, who also happens to be the mayor of New York. Zeta-Jones plays the mayor’s wife, who also happens to be cheating on her husband. When her secret-boyfriend ends up dead, Wahlberg’s character does a bit more digging and uncovers a conspiracy that may involved the mayor.

Broken City begins shooting in New York next month. Zeta-Jones may have been laying low for a few years, but she appears to be making up for lost time as she has a number of other films in the works, including Rock of Ages, directed by Adam Shankman, Playing the Field, which stars Gerard Butler, Judy Greer, and Jessica Biel, and Laying the Favorite, which stars Bruce Willis.