Quickhits: Trio Signs Up for Igor, New Line Says I Love You Again and Malkovich Enters the Gardens of the Night
Filed under: Animation, Drama, Casting, Deals, New Line, The Weinstein Co., DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
Odds and ends from Thursday:
- After already lending their voices to the animated short film Igor: Unholy Frijoles, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater and John Cleese have signed on to reprise their roles for the feature film based on the same character. This past winter, The Weinstein Co. picked up all North American distribution rights for the animated film which follows the hunchbacked lab assistant of a mad scientist who dreams of winning the Evil Scientist Fair. Slater will, once again, voice the lead role of Igor, with Buscemi playing an intelligent, sarcastic lab rabbit and Cleese taking on Igor's evil master.
- New Line is attempting to pump some life back into its remake of the classic 1940 comedy, I Love You Again. The original, which starred Myrna Loy and William Powell, tells the story of a business man who, after building a nice life for himself, realizes he's been suffering from amnesia for the past seven years and used to be a con man. Studio has now tapped the writing team of Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir to pen the script, after striking a deal for the remake back in 2004 and assigning it to scribe Andrew Bergman. With Adam Sandler's Happy Madison involved, unfortunately, I'd look for Rob Schneider's name to pop up soon.
- The always reliable, yet often spooky John Malkovich will star alongside Jeremy Sisto in Gardens of the Night, to be directed by Damian Harris. Pic will delve deep into the world of child abduction following an 8-year-old boy and girl who are taken from their homes and told their families do not want them anymore. After being held hostage for nine years, the two are suddenly set free and must find a way to survive on the streets. Production will begin next month in San Diego and Los Angeles.