swingles Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Zach Braff Eyes Next Directorial Gig
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Deals », Scripts »
The zany world of Scrubs never seems to end. Like an Energizer bunny, it keeps going and going, but since Zach Braff is lightening his hospital load this year, he's finally heading back to movies and directing. Unfortunately, it's probably not something to get excited about.Variety reports that Braff is negotiating to direct, rewrite, and star in Paramount Pictures' Swingles. Why bad? This is the romantic comedy that Cameron Diaz signed onto in March. Swingles focuses on two people whose best friends fall in love, get married, and leave them without their wingman and wingwoman. So, they join forces to help each other find a mate. Or rather, that's what the plot was before. Now it's being described as the story of a bachelor dumped by his wingman, who "teams up with a sharp-tongued woman he can't stand" to find single women.
I guess someone was watching the trailer for The Ugly Truth and wanted to switch around the sexes. I have to say -- it bums me out to see that Braff's follow-up feature to Garden State will be a Diaz-led romcom. Love or loathe the manic pixie girl, I'd take another dose of Natalie Portman's Sam anyday. As it stands, I think we're at a disappointing abyss.
RomCom News Bites: Cameron Diaz is Swingle and Liv Tyler Gets Romantic
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Casting »
First up, there's Ms. Cameron Diaz. After getting hitched to Ashton Kutcher in What Happens in Vegas, The Hollywood Reporter posts that the actress has grabbed her next romcom. The picture in question is called Swingles (picked up by Paramount in 2006), and it centers on a man and woman whose respective best friends fall in love and leave them without their beloved wingman and wingwoman. "Despite their antagonism, the two remaining singles decide to join forces to help each other find romantic partners." ...and oh, perhaps fall madly in love like romcom fools often do? Meanwhile, Liv Tyler is getting her own slice of romantic comedy. Variety reports that she's going to star in an upcoming indie called The Romantics. The project seems to be a bit of a passion project -- Galt Niederhoffer (Prozac Nation adapter and a principal at Plum Pictures) is adapting her own novel, and planning to direct it as well.
The film will follow a group of college friends who reunite after 6 years for the wedding of Lila and Tom, which brings up a long rivaly for the soon-to-be groom between the bride-to-be and her maid of honor, Laura (Tyler). While the basic premise might knock into films like The Big Chill, the review over at Amazon doesn't make it sound promising. Publisher's Weekly says: "Neither the characters nor the story convince as Niederhoffer repeats thin stereotypes in a vain attempt to strengthen the plot." It's really too bad. Tyler can do better, and we already have enough thin stereotypes in romcom land. But get ready, two more typical romances on the way.
Quickhits: Bond 22 Gets a Release Date, Paramount Digs Swingles and MI:3 Plays in China Minus Six Minutes
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Casting », Deals », Paramount », Scripts », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Tom Cruise », James Bond », Remakes and Sequels »
Odds and ends from Friday:
- It worries me to watch the producers of Casino Royale talk so much about the film they plan to make after Royale, instead of, well, the film they have coming out this fall. While it's already been discussed on several occasions, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson officially announced their plans to release the 22nd film in the James Bond franchise on May 2, 2008. Pic, which will be competing against Paramount's big screen adaptation of the Marvel comic Iron Man, will find Daniel Craig reprising his 007 role.
- You've already heard me rant about those clever little pop-culture phrases Hollywood writers dream up, so there's no point in regurgitating my own shtick. Yes, they're annoying. Yes, I hate them. Let's move on. Paramount Pictures has snatched up the spec script Swingles, written by Duncan Birmingham. Romantic comedy will center around a single guy who is dumped by his "wingman" and forced to team up with a woman he can't stand in order to meet single ladies. Birmingham said he came up with the idea after stalking thousands of women in karaoke bars throughout the country. Okay, the stalking part isn't true -- but it does make the story more interesting, right? The Swingle Stalker? I like that.
- If you live in China and have spent numerous hours praying Tom Cruise and Mission Impossible 3 would somehow find a way onto the big screen, you're in luck -- the film has finally made it into theaters ... minus six minutes. And now we finally know which scenes were removed: One showed Cruise distracting Chinese soldiers by throwing baseballs, then killing them; the other involved elderly Chinese playing mahjong, while Ethan Hunt's wife is being held hostage next door. Seems fair, but how did they miss the fact that Tom Cruise is in the film? Shouldn't he be censored as well?
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