Janis Joplin Biopic in the Works; Michelle Williams Eyed to Star
Michelle Williams (Certain Women) is reportedly in talks to play Janis Joplin in a new biopic from Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene). Currently titled, simply, Janis, the film will follow the legendary singer’s rise to fame before her tragic death in 1970 at the age of 27. Joplin has long been an influential figure in the world of rock and roll. With her bluesy voice and down home sensibilities, the singer spearheaded a musical scene, and her impact can be felt to this day. It seems fitting that the she would finally get a biopic of her own. No word yet on when the film is looking to begin production.
(Variety)
Disney May Snatch Guy Ritchie for ‘Aladdin’ Remake
It seems that Disney has no plans to stop remaking their classic animated movies into live action films. With Beauty and the Beast set for release early next year and Jon Favreau officially at the helm for The Lion King, the Mouse House is currently eyeing director Guy Ritchie to lead a remake of Aladdin. John August (Big Fish) has penned the script as Disney sets its sights on beginning production. Ritchie seems an odd choice to director the film, given his penchant for crafting adult oriented action-heist films, but he’s certainly no stranger to putting his own stylistic stamp onto old classics. His two Sherlock Holmes movies revitalized the classic image of the character and gave BBC’s Sherlock a run for their money, and his take on the classic 1960’s series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. played out well enough despite underperforming at the box office. It’ll be interesting to see how it brings Aladdin to life, should he sign on, but the deal is reportedly only in the very early stages.
(Variety)
‘Bad Moms’ Studio Plans Father Focused Spinoff
STX apparently missed the entire reason behind the success of their surprise summer hit Bad Moms and has greenlit a spinoff for next year titled Bad Dads. Whereas the original film delighted audiences by depicting moms in true to life situations and became a source of empowerment for moms of all sorts—a demographic that’s sorely underrepresented in cinema today—the prospect of men flocking to theaters in droves to bond over fatherhood seems, well, kind of remote. Despite not yet having a script—another sign of poor things to come—Bad Dads is aiming for a release date of July 14, 2017.
‘Fraggle Rock’ Returns in HD
HBO is once again encouraging you to dance your cares away. The classic Jim Henson series Fraggle Rock is set to return to HBO on their streaming services, complete with an HD remaster, sometime before the end of this year. Though available on DVD for a brief period in the aughts, parents today have had little opportunity to share this series with their children, despite its clear effects on pop culture. In this age of nostalgia, it’s almost weird that Fraggle Rock hasn’t been available until now, but hey. At least we get another opportunity to revisit a classic from our youth and hopefully the series finds a new audience with kids of today.
Kevin Smith Begins Shopping ‘Mallrats’ Sequel TV Series
Director Kevin Smith announced the he’s officially shopping a TV series sequel to his 1995 comedy Mallrats to Showtime, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon beginning this week. While little is known about how the planned series will play out, Smith name dropped original movie stars Jason Lee and Shannen Doherty in his post on Facebook, leading to the belief that the series will follow their life two decades after the original movie. Smith has been making his way into TV pretty steadily over the last couple of years, directing two episodes of The CW hit The Flash as well as developing a TV series remake of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. No word yet on when, or if, Mallrats will make its debut.
(Facebook)
