There’s a lot of breaking news in Hollywood happening every minute. In the age of the blockbuster, it’s easy for some smaller movie and television news to slip through the crack. Last Week in Hollywood is our new weekly series highlighting all the interesting news from the last week that we thought didn’t warrant its own post, but was still worth mentioning. It’s less personal opinions and more a hearty roundup of what you might have missed.
Knight Rider Movie in the Works
James Wan (Aquaman) is producing a movie reboot of the popular ’80s action series Knight Rider. David Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight, a mysterious agent for the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG), who drove KITT, a technologically advanced Pontiac Firebird Trans Am voiced by William Daniels. The series ran for 90 episodes over 4 seasons (1982 to 1986).
Wan will produce through his Atomic Monster production company with Michael Clear. TJ Fixman is writing the screenplay. No word yet on if Hasselhoff makes a cameo, but it’d be foolish for Wan not to give him an open invitation to appear.
Hulu Cancels High Fidelity After One Season
Hulu has just given fans of its High Fidelity remake a new top 5 heartbreak. The streaming service has cancelled the series, which starred Zoe Kravitz, after one critically acclaimed season.
According to Deadline, Hulu cancelled the show after “lengthy deliberations” as the streamer was reluctant to let go of a show that had top talent and rave reviews. However, I guess they chose to cut it loose. No word yet on if the creatives will shop High Fidelity to other networks or streamers, but fans online have expressed interest in seeing the show end up on HBO Max.
Joey King to Cameo in Bullet Train
Joey King (The Kissing Booth) is in talks to join Brad Pitt in Bullet Train, an action thriller from director David Leitch (Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2) that focuses on a group of assassins who find themselves aboard the same high-speed train.
Deadline reports that the role for King would be “a supporting part on the cameo level.” There’s still not many details about the film, but Deadline states the role “would be her most action-heavy part to date.” Filming is hoping to get underway in L.A. this fall.
Chad Stahelski to Produce The Man From Nowhere Remake
Chad Stahelski will produce the upcoming New Line remake of the 2010 South Korean Pic The Man From Nowhere. Derek Kolstad will pen the script making this a John Wick reunion of sorts.
The Man From Nowhere was the highest grossing film in South Korea during its year of release making $42 million. The film centered around “a quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past who takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.”
Ben Affleck to Direct Making of Chinatown Film
Ben Affleck (Argo) will direct The Big Goodbye, based on the recently-published book about the making of 1974’s Chinatown. Affleck will also write the script. Lorne Michaels is producing.
Sam Wasson’s The Big Goodbye tells the story behind the making of Chinatown, the 1974 neo-noir from director Roman Polanski. The book covers every aspect of the production, from inception, to release, to the legacy thereafter. The project is set up at Paramount, the same studio that released Chinatown.
It will be interesting to see who gets cast as legendary Hollywood figures Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, Faye Dunaway, Robert Evans, etc.
Martin Scorsese to Shoot Killers of the Flower Moon in 2021
Martin Scorsese is supposedly gearing up to shoot Killers of the Flower Moon in February 2021. The upcoming film is based on the true story of a series of murders of wealthy Osage people in the early 1920s. It was supposed to shoot earlier this year but that didn’t happen (for obvious reasons). The project was originally set up at Paramount, but after they got cold feet at the $200 million budget (classic Scorsese, classic Paramount), Apple TV+ swooped in to rescue the film. Now, Apple has the production and distribution rights to the film, and the plan is to release Killers of the Flower Moon theatrically via Paramount before heading to streaming on Apple TV+. Killers of the Flower Moon will star Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
So how do we know when the film will start shooting? Well, while speaking with the Osage News, Geoffrey Standing Bear, Principal Chief of the Osage Nation headquartered in Pawhuska, Oklahoma in the Osage Hills – the location where Scorsese plans to film – stated:
“My latest information is that they would start filming, subject to Coronavirus, February 2021. And, they will be here for about 16 weeks. They’re going to start moving in here quietly, I’m not helping that very much, but quietly around November and December. So, they’re coming.”
It’s likely that the film could be ready in time for Christmas 2021, but if not it will come out in Fall 2022. You got to release a Scorsese film during the height of Oscar bait season after all.
Tom Hanks May Star in Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio
Tom Hanks is once again in talks to play Geppetto, the man behind Pinocchio, for Disney‘s live-action remake of Pinocchio. Hanks was once attached back when Paul King (Paddington) was signed on to direct. King later departed the project and Robert Zemeckis signed on to direct. Now Hanks is back in the mix and if he signs on it will be a reunion for the actor and director. Hanks and Zemeckis previously worked together in Forrest Gump and Cast Away.
Negotiations are still in the early stages, but Hanks reportedly liked the script and “reached out to Zemeckis to let him know he wants to do the film.”
Whitney Houston Biopic Hits Theaters Thanksgiving 2022
Sony TriStar Pictures has acquired a planned biopic about the late superstar Whitney Houston titled I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Anthony McCarten, who wrote Bohemian Rhapsody, will pen the script as well as produce alongside Houston’s estate. Stella Meghie (The Photograph) has signed on to direct.
Sony won the biopic in an auction that included a total of six streamers and movie studios. They have set teh film for a Thanksgiving 2022. Head of Sony TriStar Pictures Nicole Brown praised the upcoming biopic, and said that it will be “the ultimate celebration of Whitney’s incredible life and musical achievements.”
All-Star Cast Signs on for Musical Cyrano
Joe Wright (Atonement, Hanna, Pan) has lined up one heck of a cast for his first musical. MGM hired the director for Cyrano, based on a stage play by Erica Schmidt which was adapted from Edmond Rostand’s famous Cyrano de Bergerac. Now four of the major roles have been cast. Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Haley Bennett (The Magnificent Seven, Swallow), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) are all set to star. As well, the Grammy-winning rock band The National is handling the music.
Cyrano de Bergerac is about a man with an exceptionally large nose who is self-conscious about his appearance, so he uses another man to help him woo the girl of his dreams. Yup, that premise has been adapted countless times in Hollywood (most notably Roxanne), so it will be interesting to see what Wright does to help differentiate the material.
Naomi Scott, Anthony Ramos to Star in Distant
Naomi Scott (Aladdin) is set to star alongside Anthony Ramos (Hamilton) in Distant, an upcoming science-fiction comedy from Amblin Partners. Scott replaced actress Rachel Brosnahan, who had to withdraw from the project due to scheduling conflicts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Distant tells the story of “an asteroid miner who, after crash-landing on an alien planet, must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings, while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.” Will Speck and Josh Gordon (Blades of Glory) will direct. Spenser Cohen penned the spec script.
That’s it for last week. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us down in the comments!
