neil moritz Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Even though uber-producer Neil Moritz was supposedly wooing Jamie Foxx for his upcoming big-screen adaptation of the Marvel Superhero Luke Cage (a character, movie trivia buffs, actor Nicolas Coppola took his stage name from), Foxx had always been keeping his feelings to himself and not letting his interest, or lack thereof, slip out. Well, according to a recent article over at IESB, Foxx is apparently not keeping his thoughts to himself any longer. Ok, I know, I won't keep you in suspense -- he's not interested in the role.

According to the article, Foxx was asked about the role of Luke Cage, a man who went to prison for a crime he didn't commit and was later given superhuman strength and titanium-like skin through an experimental procedure, while out on the road doing press and promoting his upcoming film Dreamgirls. His answer? "I don't think [it will happen]." So, if your ultimate dream was for Foxx to play Cage in a big-budget Hollywood extravaganza your dream has now been crushed. Glad I could help.

So, now that Foxx is seemingly out of the picture, who ever will Moritz get to replace him? Well, as I often do, I have a couple of suggestions. One choice would be the guy who currently has the slot at the IMDB page for the film -- Tyrese Gibson. I like him and think he would probably do a pretty good job. However, I'm really impressed with what Leonard Roberts is doing as D.L on NBC's Heroes. Plus, he was very good as boxer Joe Louis in the film Joe and Max so I think he could definitely pull off playing Nick Cage. No matter who it ends up being, i just gotta say for the record that I'm glad its not going to be Jamie Foxx. Sorry if that offends any Jamie Foxx fans out there but he does nothing for me. Besides, Roberts needs a big break and I hope he gets it.

What do you guys think? Who should be Luke Cage?

I don't remember much about my childhood. I remember playing with action figures and watching Fraggle Rock -- but aside from that, my memory is shot. Damn you drugs! However (and this is partly due to the fact that my mother kept every single book she read to me as a child), I do remember reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day over and over again. And I'll always remember the book's cover -- here's this kid hiding in his bed, barely peaking out from behind the covers, with this smirk on his face as if to say, "Why does my life totally suck?"

Well, the (good news? bad news?) is Columbia Pictures has just snatched up the film rights to the book for Neil Moritz to produce. Mike Bender (not Binder) will pen the adaptation. Bender and Moritz last worked together on Not Another Teen Movie (in which Bender wrote and produced), and the two are currently looking to take the Not Another Teen concept to TV with Not Another High School Show. (Oooh, please tear into those annoying rich brats on Laguna's Beach House in the Malibu Hills ... or whatever it's called.) As far as Alexander and his horrible day goes, the plot will revolve around a kid who wakes up with gum in his hair ... and it just gets better (or should I say, worse) from there.

What were some of your favorite books as a kid that you'd like to see up on the big screen?

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• I've always thought there should be more films that chronicle how much insanity really does go in to planning a wedding. Neal Moritz's Original Films pre-emptively snatched up Erik (Hey, he spells his name with a 'K' too!) Lohla's untitled spec script. Story is said to be a romantic comedy in the vein of Meet the Parents, and will be set in the wonderful, yet evil world of wedding planning.
• Maggie Grace (Lost, The Fog) is in negotiations to star in The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Pic, which already has Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin attached is based on Melissa Banks' best-selling novel. Grace will play the best friend of Gellar's character. Here's hoping the film helps fish Sarah Michelle out of the "Who is she again?" hole that's hid her from stardom for, like, her entire career.
• Man, I sure do love me a good "let's ruin someone's career" poll. Thanks to USA Today, we now know the real reason why Mission Impossible 3 didn't make the money expected during its opening weekend. According to a poll the paper conducted, 51% of fans stayed away from the film on purpose, as sort of a protest against Tom Cruise. Why? Well, quite frankly, Tom's various off-screen antics have turned people off. Wow. So I guess we should stop blaming the Cinco de Mayo hangover, huh?