Prodigy Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Is Jack Black replacing Matt Damon in the Bourne franchise? Thankfully, no, however The Hollywood Reporter tells us the funnyman has teamed back up with Kung Fu Panda writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger for a live-action comedic take on The Bourne Identity. In the film, Black will play some dude who washes up on the shores of Cuba with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Of course, he automatically believes he's a superspy (thanks Hollywood!), though nothing could be further from the truth. Sounds like a funny premise -- but is Black the right one for the role?

Meanwhile, Sky High's plant-loving sidekick, Danielle Panabaker, is going back to school. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she'll star in Chuck Russell's upcoming sci-fi action film called Prodigy. Based on Dave Kalstein's book, the film focuses on an elite prep school that takes teaching to the extreme -- they make students into geniuses with a "drug-and-diet regimen." Panabaker will play the smartie daughter of a senator who questions the powers that be. This might be particularly bad for those powers since, as Publisher's Weekly describes it, the conditioning makes these kids "ninja-assassin geniuses."

Last but not least, there's the talented Michael Sheen. Putting aside retro politics and The Music Within, Variety reports that the actor has picked up two new gigs. First, there's Sam Jackson's Unthinkable, which dips into the ethics of torture and terrorism, and then comes a little Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, there's zip-all on who he's playing in these films. At least that leaves us free to speculate -- who on Earth will Sheen be in the world of Mad Hatters and White Rabbits?! Not Tweedledee and Tweedledum -- that's Matt Lucas, it seems.

Here's some top casting news for Thursday, August 7:

• The office used to be the perfect prep work for a life of filofaxes, stale coffee, and covert games of freecell. Now it's the perfect training to become one of the Inglorious Bastards. The Hollywood Reporter posts that B.J. Novak is in talks to play one of the soldiers in Quentin Tarantino's long-in-coming film that suddenly got a jolt of caffeine. Should Novak's talks work out, he'll play PFC Utvich, "a soldier of slight build who comes from New York."
• Meryl Streep, meanwhile, is looking to get more romantic comedies under her belt. I guess she's really digging the lighter fare. Variety reports that she is in advanced negotiations to star in an untitled romcom that will place her in a romantic triangle with two men. This project comes from the pen of Nancy Meyers, who has brought us Private Benjamin, Irreconcilable Differences, Father of the Bride, Something's Got to Give, and The Holiday. But who will play the lucky leading men?
• Finally, Max Thieriot has scored the title role in a new sci-fi action film called Prodigy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Playing a kid named William Cooley, he gets to be "a rebellious student at an elite boarding school producing world leaders with the help of pharmaceuticals. Three days before graduation, several of its alumni are murdered, and William is implicated." The valedictorian begins to investigate the poor kid, and the two become reluctant allies in the fight against the bad guys. Dave Kalstein adapted the story from his own novel, and production is slated to begin in October.

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• After finally admitting the only way he can bring in box office numbers is if everyone except him in the film is dead, Wesley Snipes signed on to play the lead role in Gallowalker, to be directed by Andrew Goth. Pic follows the mysterious gunman (and son of a nun) Kaos. After a curse is placed on him making it so his victims rise from the dead, Kaos must fend off a ton of these creatures if he wants to survive. Shooting is scheduled to begin In South Africa ... after people finally stop slipping in Blade references. Like me.
• Intrepid Pictures have picked up Dave Kalstein's novel Prodigy, with plans to have the author adapt it for the big screen. The sci-fi thriller, which will have a budget of around $20 million, tells of a prep school in the near future which trains its students to be geniuses by giving them drugs. Um, sweet! However, things take a turn for the worse when a bunch of the school's alumni turn up dead, thus forcing an impoverished valedictorian to solve this mystery.
• Landmark Theaters plan to open the largest independent film multiplex in the country next June in Los Angeles. The Landmark Film Center, to be located at Westside Pavillion, will be three-stories tall and feature 12 auditoriums, all with stadium seating and the latest in film and digital technology. There's also plans being discussed to use the theater to help train film students, as well as to screen works from emerging artists. Damn you Los Angeles! I want me one of those! Well, seeing as I live only a few blocks away from Landmark's Sunshine Theater here in NYC, I can't really complain. It rocks. However, I do feel like more of these should crop up throughout the country. We need it. They need it. Independent filmmakers need it. Lets get something going here, shall we?