A Bunch of Amateurs Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Charles Durning Joins 'A Bunch of Amateurs'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
I was already taken with the idea that Burt Reynolds was going to star in an upcoming theater film called A Bunch of Amateurs, which I told you about earlier this month. The film focuses on aging action star from Hollywood (Burt) who joins a Shakespearian theater company thinking that its the Royal Shakespeare Company. Instead, he's surprised to discover that it's a group of amateurs in Stratford St. John. Due to marketing and charity, he has to stick with it and be King Lear on the amateur stage.Now the film has just gotten 100% irresistible. Variety reports that Charles Durning (who got a hugely-deserved lifetime achievement award from SAG recently) has joined the cast as "a sleazy Hollywood agent" who tricks Burt's character into the theatrical company. I wish he was going to be one of the players, so we'd get more screen time and Charles doing Shakespeare, but I'll take what I can get.
The character actor is a total scene stealer, as Jette Kernion blogged about back in 2006. He has been in a slew of great films, but to me, he'll always be the angelic Charlie from Two of a Kind. Yes, I realize I have weird tastes sometimes. So... What's your favorite Durning role?
Burt Reynolds Joins 'A Bunch of Amateurs'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
What kind of amateurs could Burt Reynolds be joining? He's had a lot of roles in his almost 50 years in the business. Considering his past career, perhaps it would be an amateur group of cops, football players, bandits, porn professionals, judges, or even thieves. Nope! The reality is so very much better. Believe it or not, he's going to be joining some amateur Shakespearian actors. Variety reports that he's heading to Blighty this February to star in A Bunch of Amateurs. To be helmed by Andy Cadiff, from a script by Jonathan Gerschfield, John Ross, Ian Hislop, and Nick Newman, this is the first movie to come from the new production shingle, CinemaNX.The film is being described as a fish-out-of-water comedy about "an aging Hollywood action star who accepts an invitation to play King Lear at Stratford, in the hope of reviving his career. When he arrives, he discovers that the play is not being staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon, as he thought, but by an amateur dramatic society in the rural village of Stratford St. John." I am a man. More sinned against than sinning! He wants to back out, but it's a charity performance with lots of marketing, so he has to stick with it. Yes, that's right, he's going to be King Lear. I have to say, that's something I never thought I'd see. Reynolds' amateur co-stars will include the likes of Samantha Bond (Goldeneye), Derek Jacobi (The Golden Compass), and Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). Are you ready for the Bandit to take on Lear?
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