Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

Blake Lively might not be taking her planned trip down the Yellow Brick Road. Lively, who won critical acclaim for her role in Ben Affleck’s ‘The Town,’ is now first in line for the female lead in Oliver Stone‘s ‘Savages,’ a story about two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who are forced to work for a Mexican drug cartel after the free-spirited girlfriend they share is kidnapped, according to Variety.

Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch have been in talks to play the two male leads, with Benicio del Toro negotiating to be one of the cartel enforcers. If Lively is in fact offered the part, she may have to give up the role of Glinda the Good Witch of the East, which she was considering, in Sam Raimi’s ‘Oz: The Great and Powerful’ for Disney. ‘Savages,’ which Stone will write and direct for Universal, is being eyed for a June start date.

‘Wolverine’ may be coming off hold soon. According to TheWrap, Fox has shown an interest in having Duncan Jones direct the film and Jones, in turn, is interested. As you’ll recall, Darren Aronofsky was originally going to direct, but he pulled out in March because of scheduling issues. And since the film was to shoot in Japan — the story line has Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, traveling to Japan to learn from a Samurai master — the production was further delayed by the earthquake and tsunami that shattered that country. Jones, the son of David and Angela Bowie — directed the recent ‘Source Code’ and cult film ‘Moon.’

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Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Lorax’ — a cautionary tale about a strange creature, the Lorax, who tries to save a forest of colorful, wooly trees from a capitalist who cuts them down to make “Thneeds,” odd-looking but versatile garments that become a huge success — is being made into a 3D-CGI feature by Universal, with the voice talent of Taylor Swift, Zac Efron, Betty White, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms and Rob Riggle. The studio will alter the story by adding in a romance in the form of “a boy who searches for the one thing that will help him win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it, he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.” The film has a March 2, 2012 release date. [TheWrap]

The Man of Steel’s Earth dad has just been revealed: Kevin Costner will play Jonathan Kent in the Warner Bros.’ Zack Snyder-directed reboot of Superman. Costner joins Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. [HeatVision]

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Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

‘Dancing With the Stars’ winner and country singer Julianne Hough hardly had time to take off her ‘Footloose’ dancing shows before being cast opposite Tom Cruise in New Line’s big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical ‘Rock of Ages.’ According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hough will play Sherrie, a small-town girl who goes to Hollywood to join the 1980s glam music scene and catches the eye of an arrogant and charming star at the top of his career. She rejects him and ends up a stripper before finding true love. Cruise — who just joined the production in February and triggered off a spate of casting — will play the rocker, Stacee Jaxx. Also cast is Mary J. Blige, who will play Justice Charlier, the owner of the Sunset Strip’s exotic dance venue the Venus Club. Rumored to now be interested in the film are Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand, but no deals have been set. Adam Shankman is directing from a script by Chris D’Arienzo, who’s responsible for the Broadway book.

George Clooney just can’t stay away from political thrillers. His latest, ‘The Ides of March’ — which he directs and stars in — has just been scheduled for an October 14 release date (with an eye to the next awards season) by Sony. The film, based on the play ‘Farragut North,’ which took as its base the 2004 Democratic primary campaign of Howard Dean, follows a young press secretary who falls prey to dirty backroom politics as he works to get his candidate elected in a tight race. Clooney has already begun shooting the production, which stars Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. [THR]

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