Streep and De Niro, Together Again
Today in show business news: Two acting royals team up once more, some early looks at The Counselor, and a glimpse of James Gandolfini in one of his last performances.
.Today in show business news: Two acting royals team up once more, some early looks at The Counselor, and a glimpse of James Gandolfini in one of his last performances.
Acting juggernauts — powerhouses, forces of nature, phenomena — one a bit faded, the other never hotter, are teaming up for the fourth time. Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep have just signed on to costar in an adaptation of the novel The Good House, about a boozy New England realtor (Streep) whose life is thrown out of whack — or into whack? — by the return of an old flame (De Niro). So that sounds like a good project for them, doesn't it? In Streep's case, she might not have to do a somewhat predictable accent (though, that New England aspect could mean some clam chowdah-ing), while De Niro doesn't have to kill anyone grizzledly because, as far as I can tell, he's not a grizzled hitman/cop in this one. A welcome change of pace for both. Let's look forward to this. And then let's hope that we can get Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin in something again and all the good old couples will be together again. [Deadline]
Bravo continues its campaign to get some scripted shows on the network, having just ordered a pilot for Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, an hourlong dramedy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice alum Marti Noxon. The show is described as such:
a best-selling author of a self-help book series who is secretly hiding her separation from her husband as she starts to navigate her life as a single woman in her 40s in Los Angeles. She starts to side with and take advice more from her divorced friends rather than her married ones, and it leads her to some unexpected and life-changing experiences.
So... Hm. See, that sounds like a lot of the women who are on Bravo reality shows, right? But I'm just not sure that's what the network's audiences want to see from something scripted? That's maybe a weird or silly distinction to make, but I feel like, if they're making a scripted series, it should be more about the audience than the subjects of the reality shows. Like, reality should be about weirdo people you'd never meet in real life, whereas scripted should be more relatable? Meaning, for Bravo, twenty- and thirtysomething gals and gays doing silly things while drinking cocktails. That's maybe what their scripted shows should be? Maybe I'm completely off about Bravo's demographic and what that demographic wants to watch, but to me, it seems that way. But who knows. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Harrison Ford has been cast in Sylvester Stallone's Expendables 3, after Bruce Willis dropped out. Stallone tweeted out the news himself, seemingly angry at Willis, saying "GREEDY AND LAZY ...... A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE" after announcing the Willis/Ford swap. Uh oh! Old action dudes fighting! Hide your flower pots and umbrella stands. These guys are going to be knocking some things over. [Deadline]
In preparation for tomorrow's release of the first full trailer, here are two just-released clips from Ridley Scott's The Counselor, the crime thriller starring Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, and Rosie Perez, and written by Cormac McCarthy, his first-ever original screenplay. Looks dark and moody and talky, just as we expected.
And here, rather bittersweetly, is a trailer for the great Nicole Holofcener's new movie Enough Said, which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus (I love, love, love that she's got a lead role in this) and, in one of his last performances, the late James Gandolfini. It looks like a sweet, gentle romantic comedy with just that little bit of wise sourness that Holofcener always brings to her movies. It's nice to see Gandolfini getting to operate as a regular, sensitive guy rather than some hulking brute. But of course it's sad, too, because we know it's one of the last new things we'll see him do. Anyway, the movie looks good and features a great supporting cast, including Holofcener regular Catherine Keener and Nick Falcone, doing something without his wife, Melissa McCarthy, which must be a welcome change of pace. We should all go see this!