Benedict Cumberbatch Joins 'The Jungle Book: Origins'; Sigourney Weaver and Toby Kebbell Board 'A Monster Calls'

Don't get confused. Yes there are two adaptations of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book on the way. Disney and Jon Favreau are developing their version opening next year, while Warner Bros. has Andy Serkis directing The Jungle Book: Origins. With the film set for 2016, Serkis has turned to his The Hobbit co-star Benedict Cumberbatch to voice man-eating tiger, Shere Khan, lifelong enemy of the orphaned Mowgli.  Cumberbatch will be seen later this year as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, and will voice the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. [THR]

Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible) has added Sigourney Weaver and Toby Kebbell to the cast of A Monster Calls, his adaptation of Patrick Ness' dark fairy tale. Liam Neeson and Felicity Jones star in the film about a boy who tries to cope with being bullied and his mother's terminal illness by escaping to a fantasy world where a monster tells stories of courage, loss, and faith. Kebbell, who was last seen causing trouble in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and will do the same as Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four, will play the boy's father with Weaver as his grandmother. [THR]

Read More

Liam Neeson Confirmed for 'A Monster Calls'; Laura Linney Joins 'A Slight Trick Of The Mind'

Liam Neeson and Laura Linney didn't just star together in Bill Condon's Kinsey, they're actually very good friends. It was Neeson who gave Linney away at her wedding, and that friendship has continued over the years as the two often cross paths on the screen. Both have been keeping plenty busy of late and now they have new projects developing which they'll be working separately.

Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible) has been trying to get Neeson for the titular role in A Monster Calls, and the deal is now done. Neeson will join Felicity Jones in the adaptation of Patrick Ness' acclaimed novel. Jones plays the terminally ill mother to Conor, a boy who escapes from his tough home life and school bullying by venturing into a nightmarish fantasy world. Neeson will play the tree monster that shares some hard truths in the form of three stories. [ScreenDaily]

And Linney has joined Ian McKellen in the Sherlock Holmes tale, A Slight Trick of the Mind. Directed by Bill Condon and adapted from Mitch Cullen's book, the story is set in 1947 and follows an aging, retired, and mentally waning Holmes as he grapples with one final, unsolved case. Linney will play Mrs. Munro, Holmes' caretaker who has a son the detective has taken under his wing. The film will reunite Linney with Kinsey and The Fifth Estate director, Bill Condon.  [EW]

Read More

Felicity Jones to Headline 'A Monster Calls'; Liam Neeson Eyed for Role

Felicity Jones may be entering her first superhero film as Felicia Hardy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but she's better known for her more dramatic work. The Breathe In and Like Crazy actress has just landed the headlining role in A Monster Calls, the latest film from The Impossible director, Juan Antonio Bayona.

Patrick Ness will adapt his own acclaimed novel which deals with a young boy who escapes into a fantasy world of monsters to get away from the bullying he receives at school and the inevitable loss of his terminally ill mother. In this world he encounters a tree monster who shares life truths in the form of three stories dealing with courage, loss, and faith. Jones will play the character of Mum, while Liam Neeson is being courted to play the titular monster.

A Monster Calls is expected to open in 2016. 

Read More

'The Impossible' Director J.A. Bayona to Direct 'A Monster Calls'

For Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, it's been one rapid rise to notoriety. First gaining some attention for horror film The Orphanage, he jumped from that into the Oscar discussion with disaster film, The Impossible. That set the stage for his biggest gig yet, scoring the job of directing the World War Z sequel. But before that zombie flick takes shape, he's going to direct another adaptation first.

Bayona will direct A Monster Calls, based on the book by Patrick Ness. Adapted by Ness himself, the story follows an adolescent boy who begins having visions of a tree monster who tells him life truths in the form of three stories, helping him cope with the inevitable loss of his terminally ill single mom.

Combining horror and poignant drama, it sounds like it could be the next Pan's Labyrinth. Focus Features is moving on this one quickly with plans for a 2016 release.

Read More