Casting News: Jennifer Aniston and Dennis Quaid in Jackie Brown Prequel, Laurence Fishburne Goes Sci-Fi Again, and Community Star Finds Magic
Posted 02.17.12 by Ryan
For those wondering what we mean by a "Jackie Brown prequel," let's recap, shall we? Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel Rum Punch served as the source material for writer-director Quentin Tarantino's 1997 adaptation, but it wasn't the first time Leonard had written about the characters of Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara, respectively played by Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown. Previously, Leonard had used the characters for the first time in his 1978 novel The Switch, which indie writer-director Daniel Schechter (Goodbye Baby) had used for a spec script adaptation that eventually won Leonard over.
With Elmore on board to produce, Schechter moved forward with The Switch earlier this month, casting John Hawkes (Winter's Bone) and Yasiin Bey (Be Kind Rewind), formerly known as Mos Def, in the roles of Louis and Ordell, respectively. Ty Burrell (ABC's Modern Family) was cast in a supporting role last week, and now Deadline reports that Jennifer Aniston and Dennis Quaid are in talks to join the cast as well.
Set 15 years before the events of Jackie Brown, The Switch follows Ordell and Louis as they kidnap the wife (Aniston) of a crooked real estate developer. When the husband (Quaid) doesn't want to pay, the wife teams up with the criminals to get all of her husband's money. The report claims that the deals for Aniston and Quaid aren't a lock yet, but that everything looks good. Production is set to begin in May.
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After spending a couple seasons on CSI, appearing in the ensemble thriller Contagion and playing Perry White in the upcoming Superman reboot, Man of Steel, Laurence Fishburne is heading back to the sci-fi genre.
THR reports that Fishburne is in final negotiations to join the Canadian indie The Colony, a sci-fi thriller that will see the Matrix actor lead a group of survivors against feral cannibals after the next Ice Age has forced them to live underground. Director Jeff Renfroe (He Loves Me) also co-wrote the script.
Production on The Colony is set to begin on Feb. 22 in Toronto and will continue until March 30th. Canadian actor Kevin Zegers (Frozen) is also close to joining the movie, but the rest of the cast is being kept under wraps until the movie starts production.
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Gillian Jacobs (NBC's
Community) is the
latest addition to the cast of New Line's upcoming magician comedy
Burt Wonderstone,
THR reports.
Steve Carell plays the title character, a Las Vegas magician who must learn to love magic again after he loses his longtime partner (Steve Buscemi) and a rival street magician (Jim Carrey) dethrones him. Olivia Wilde co-stars as Carell's former assistant and love interest, and Jacobs will reportedly play a woman who meets Carell at one of his shows and has a one-night stand with him. Jacobs also appears with Carell in the upcoming comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.
Currently in production under the direction of Don Scardino (30 Rock), Burt Wonderstone co-stars James Gandolfini and Brad Garrett. Set photos featuring Carell, Wilde and Buscemi were released last month.