New Director for Hunger Games Sequel

Plus Iron Man 3 casting decisions, new George Washington biopic, and more

The biggest news this week is that Gary Ross, co-writer and director of The Hunger Games, will not be returning to write or direct the sequel Catching Fire. This is good news for all those who, like me, found the direction of Ross sub-par and the writing so-so. Lionsgate, the studio with the film rights to the franchise, has made an official offer to Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Water for Elephants). Lawrence edged out Bennett Miller (Moneyball) for the job simply because he was more available (more about why Bennett Miller is unavailable below). Don't expect award-worthy direction for Catching Fire but hopefully the camera won't be placed in the middle of a tornado for dialogue scenes, which would be a massive improvement from Ross. The problem that arises from this is the script. While Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, The Full Monty) has been hired to adapt the novel, Ross - an Oscar-nominated screenwriter - had intended to spend two months honing the script over this summer. Francis Lawrence is not a writer and the script may suffer for it. This could be a major problem since filming for Catching Fire needs to wrap by early January since star Jennifer Lawrence has an obligation to the X-Men: First Class sequel which starts filming in January and that commitment supersedes her contract with Lionsgate. The release date for Catching Fire is set right now for November 22, 2013. Also, in recent examples set by the Harry Potter franchise and the Twilight saga, the third of the trilogy of novels will be split into two parts, giving the film franchise four movies.

Did you like The Hangover? What if, instead of twenty and thirty somethings, it was cast with sixty and seventy somethings? Well that seems to be the premise of Last Vegas. It's The Hangover for your grandparents. Don't get me wrong, old people can be hilarious and fun to watch (see Venus starring Peter O'Toole for proof), but old guys in Vegas doesn't really do it for me so far. The cast does intrigue me though. Michael Douglas (Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct), Christopher Walken, and Robert De Niro are in talks to star. This is after talks with Dustin Hoffman fell through. The fourth role is that of an African American ex-military man so don't be surprised if Morgan Freeman or Danny Glover gets cast in that final role.

In other news, Guy Pearce has been cast as Dr. Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3. This casting decision comes right on the heels of Ben Kingsley being cast as the unspecified villain (though it was specified that his character was not named The Mandarin). In the comics, Dr. Aldrich Killian is the creator of a nanobot virus that is then sold to terrorists. This sets Kingsley up as a terrorist who gets his hands on the virus. Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) takes over director's duties from Jon Favreau with Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Scarlett Johansson all set to reprise their respective roles from Iron Man 2. Production will begin next month and the release date is set for May 3, 2013.

Steve Carell has been attached to play John du Pont, the murderer of Olympic wrestler David Schultz (to be portrayed by Mark Ruffalo) in the upcoming Bennett Miller film Foxcatcher. Channing Tatum is set to play Schultz's younger brother Mark. The script will be written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman (Capote). This is an interesting role for Carell, since Carell seems slightly young at 49 to play du Pont who was convicted of the murder at age 59. A minor point. The big point is that it seems to be a serious dramatic role with little to no opportunity for comedy. Will this signal a shift in Steve Carell's career? Who knows.

Director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler) has a lot to decide. Currently he is involved as the director of the biblical epic Noah about, you guessed it, the story of Noah's Ark with Russell Crow set to star as the lead. Beyond that, Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures made a deal with Paramount for a film entitled The General. General is said to be about George Washington more in the spirit of Clint Eastwood's award-winning western Unforgiven rather than a strict historical drama. The script will be penned by comedy writers Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (Accepted, Tower Heist) so I'm not sure how this one will end up turning out. Aronofsky himself is said to be eyeing the director's chair for the Weinstein Co.'s Judy Garland biopic, Get Happy, with Anne Hathaway set to star. Only time will tell which project the Oscar-nominated director will helm.

Warner Bros. is in development on a film featuring the DC Comics character Lobo. Lobo is a bad boy alien mercenary who has a penchant for imaginary swear words. This week, director Brad Peyton (Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) has been attached to the project. Seeing as his only experience to date is family-friendly movies and none were well-received by critics or audiences, this doesn't seem to be a good fit. If you're a fan of the Lobo from the comics, be prepared for cinematic disappointment.