Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bill Nighy Join 'Dad's Army'; Bryan Cranston is 'The Infiltrator', and More

 British sitcom Dad's Army is headed to the big screen, and it will star Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bill Nighy, Toby Jones, Daniel Mays, Michael Gambon, Bill Paterson and Tom Courtenay. Directed by Oliver Parker (Johnny English Reborn), the film is set in 1944 at the climax of WWII.  "The Allies are poised to invade France and finally defeat the German army. But in Walmington-on-Sea morale amongst the Home Guard is low. Their new mission then – to patrol the Dover army base – is a great chance to revive spirits and reputation, that is until glamorous journalist Rose Winters arrives to write about their exploits, setting the pulses racing and putting the local women on red alert. MI5 then discover a radio signal sent direct to Berlin from Walmington-on-Sea. There’s a spy on the loose! The outcome of the war is suddenly at stake, and it falls to our unlikely heroes to stand up and be counted." Filming begins later this month. [THR]

Bryan Cranston will reteam with The Lincoln Lawyer director Brad Furman for the spy flick, The Infiltrator. Based on the autobiography by Robert Mazur and the first of seven planned feature films (franchise!!!!), the story adapted by Ellen Brown Furman centers on Customs and Excise Agent Mazur and his undercover alias, Bob Musella. [THR]

Paco Cabezas and Max Landis' action-romance Mr. Right is putting together a very impressive cast. Already set to star Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, and RZA, Tim Roth is the latest to come aboard. Kendrick plays a woman who meets the perfect guy in Mr. Right (Rockwell), only he turns out to be a hitman. Roth will play Hopper, Mr. Right's former mentor, now his nemesis. [Deadline]

Kerry Washington will take a break from Scandal to star in something lighter but probably just as ridiculous. She'll star in rom-com Is He the One, directed by Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man Holiday) and penned by the DJ Richardson and Michelle Morgan (Girl Most Likely). The story takes a How I Met Your Mother approach, following a bride's three major relationships with the audience unaware of which guy she will ultimately marry. Blergh. Washington deserves better than this stuff like this.

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Sylvester Stallone to Star as Infamous Mobster in Brad Furman's 'Scarpa'; May Appear in 'The Expendabelles'

A film on infamous mobster Gregory Scarpa, who became known as the "Grim Reaper" for the dozens of murders he committed over three decades, has been in the works over at Millennium Films for years. At one point Bruce Willis was eyed to take the title role in Scarpa, but recently it was his ex-buddy in The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone, who began circling the part. And now with Stallone on board the film is now moving forward with Brad Furman coming on to bring the mob assassin's life to the big screen.

Furman helped sparked the McConaissance with The Lincoln Lawyer a couple of years ago, only to follow it up with the abysmal gambling flick Runner Runner. Scarpa already sounds promising with Stallone and Furman on board but then you factor in a script by Nick Pileggi, the Oscar nominated screenwriter of Goodfellas, and there's even greater potential. Scarpa was a notorious hitman for the Colombo crime family, allegedly committing more than 50 murders until he became an FBI informant in 1980. Although the FBI continues to deny it, a popular theory is Scarpa helped them locate the bodies of three civil rights activists murdered in Mississippi by the KKK.

Filming is set to begin in Bulgaria later this year, and that happens to be the same place where 'Expendables' female spinoff, The Expendabelles, will be shooting. Some sources are reporting director Robert Luketic's claims of Stallone and Harrison Ford making an appearance but until the ladies are cast it's probably early to assume anything. We've heard talk of Meryl Streep, Milla Jojovich, Cameron Diaz, Zoe Bell, and others joining as candidates with nothing confirmed yet. [TheWrap]

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Review: 'Runner Runner' Starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck

Wait a second! How can a film that combines Batman, Sean Parker, a Bond Girl, and online gambling possibly turn out as dull and mediocre as Runner Runner? Pretty darn easily, apparently. Directed by Brad Furman, whose legitimately terrific The Lincoln Lawyer set Matthew McConaughey on his career resurgence, the film packs mucho star power, boasts a gorgeous Costa Rican locale, and yet lacks the one thing that every thriller needs to succeed: actual thrills.

It's tough to find a reason to care a lick about the terribly-named Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake), a Princeton student getting his hustle on as a recruiter for an online gambling site. A Wall Street washout hoping to get back in the game after securing his degree, Richie has seen first-hand how the system can screw the little guy. "Everybody gambles", he tells himself, a mantra he probably learned from his loser, gambling addict father. When no longer able to rely on his gig to keep up with the hefty tuition payments, Richie does what any reasonable person would do and risks it all pulling an all-night session of online poker.  After losing every penny of the $17000 he had in the bank, Richie discovers that he may have been cheated, and makes the rash decision to fly off to Costa Rica to confront the site's owner.

Make sense? Only about as much as raising on a 7-2 off-suit in a game of Texas Hold 'Em. The site is run by Ivan Block (Ben Affleck), an American who runs his gambling enterprise the way Don Corleone ran the Mafia. Even the site's name, Midnight Black, sounds like the moniker some gangster would give his favorite gun. Block keeps the Costa Rican gaming officials off his back through a combination of lucrative payoffs and violent threats, living the lavish life that Richie has always desired for himself. Impressed by Richie's gravitas, Block hires him as his right-hand man and numbers cruncher, putting the Princeton education to good use. Richie gets a taste of what living in style is really like, and that includes scoring with Block's ex-girl (Gemma Arterton) and business partner.

Of course it isn't long before we discover that Block is into some really dirty stuff, and that bullish FBI agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) will break the rules to take him down. That means putting Richie in a tough spot between his loyalty to Block, his love of the high life, and the most obvious need to not go to jail. There aren't many twists and certainly few turns in a familiar, mid-level crime yarn that sadly has little to do with gambling. You'd expect more insider lingo and poker insight out of writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien having written one of the great gambling movies ever in Rounders. Runner Runner quickly becomes just another story of excess, with all the requisite hot babes, wild parties, and falls from grace we've come to expect. There's never a hint of danger, less urgency, and absolutely zero stakes. That is unless we're meant to care if Richie graduates and becomes some hot shot Wall Street big wig? Not even Timberlake can sell that to the audience right now.

It doesn't help that the normally likable Timberlake is a flavorless dud as Richie. He never quite nails the bad boy persona he's looking for, and his chemistry with the gorgeous but equally-flat Arterton is nowhere to be found. Only Affleck scores as the evil, homesick, and sullen Block, adding color to a character that could have turned out to be a complete joke. Sure, his Pittsburgh accent sounds exactly like his Boston, but you won't care when he's dropping most of the film's best one-liners. In Block we see a guy who probably started out with the best of intentions, but has been changed by the pervasive corruption he helped foster. It's a meatier role than the trailers suggest, and Affleck proves he can rise above pedestrian material such as what Runner Runner provides.

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New Trailer for Gambling Thriller 'Runner Runner' with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake

Now that the fervor has mostly calmed down about Ben Affleck playing Batman, it's a good time to look at the films he actually has coming out this year. The dark knight will be teaming up with the voice of Boo-Boo aka Justin Timberlake for Runner Runner, an online gambling thriller looks like it could either be a dark horse this Oscar season, or a forgettable entry on everyone's resume.

A new trailer for the film has been released, and unfortunately it plays like more of the latter than the former. Affleck plays the head goon at an online gambling outfit that screws a college student (Timberlake) out of tuition. When the kid comes looking for answers, he's instead offered a job and begins to experience just how seedy the operation is from the inside. While this looks potentially corny and maybe even terrible, there's reason for optimism with Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) directing, plus a script by Rounders scribes Brian Koppelman & David Levien.

Co-starring Gemma Arterton and Anthony Mackie, Runner Runner shows its hand on October 4th. 

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First trailer for 'Runner Runner' starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake

How long has it been since we've seen Ben Affleck truly play a bad guy? Not since Kevin Smith's early films has he been a villain of the sort he appears to be playing in Runner Runner, the new film from The Lincoln Lawyer director Brad Furman, and the writers of poker drama, Rounders. They're venturing back into the world of gambling yet again, with Justin Timberlake in tow, and now we have the first trailer.

Timberlake plays a Princeton student who sees college future put in jeopardy after an online gambling site cheats him. Affleck plays the corrupt ring leader behind the site, who takes Timberlake under his wing after he's tracked down. While it's a familiar role for Timberlake, Affleck seems to really be relishing the chance to play a guy so nasty he's willing to toss his enemies into a crocodile pit.

Also starring Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, Oliver Cooper, Sam Palladio and Ben Schwartz, Runner Runner shows its cards on September 27th.


RUNNER RUNNER - Trailer by dmagianet

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Three names emerge as contenders to direct 'Fast & Furious 7'

With Justin Lin announcing that Fast & Furious 6 will be his last time at the wheel of the franchise, Universal needs to get moving on finding his replacement quickly. Vin Diesel has said that filming could begin as soon as this summer, with the shortened production schedule a large part of the reason why Lin stepped down. Three names have reportedly emerged as contenders for the sought-after job, and they all come with varying degrees of franchise experience.

Harald Zwart, Brad Furman, and Jeff Wadlow are the three directors said to be in consideration to helm Fast & Furious 7. Wadlow just finished up with Kick-Ass 2 for the studio, and they may have been impressed enough to offer him the keys to one of their most prized vehicles. He's also a director who knows how to put a limited budget to solid use, having directed his slasher horror Cry_Wolf with the $1M prize he won at the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. He may be the most logical choice based on Universal's familiarity with his work.

Zwart has the most franchise experience of all, having directed Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2, and Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid. He also has The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones due out soon, and if that film is a success he'll likely be called back for a sequel. Furman is the dark horse, having helped Matthew McConaughey's dramatic evolution with The Lincoln Lawyer. There have been rumblings of a sequel to the film, but nothing concrete at this stage. His only real stab at action was with the 2008 armored truck thriller, The Take, which happened to feature Fast and Furious co-star, Tyrese Gibson.

This list isn't final by any means, so there may be others in contention we don't know about. Whatever the case may be, expect an announcement to come down very soon.[Latino Review]

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Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake bet on online gambling flick, 'Runner, Runner'

Back in 1998 one of the best movies about the not so glamorous world of poker players was released. Rounders, which starred Matt Damon and Ed Furlong, was written by David Levevien and Brian Koppelman, and now they're back looking at the gambling world from a slightly different perspective. Much like Rounders was backed by a phenomenal cast, which also boasted John Malkovich, their next film, titled Runner, Runner, will feature a similarly powerful line-up.

Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake will star in the film, to be directed by The Lincoln Lawyer's Brad Furman. Runner, Runner will take a look at the lucrative, illegal world of online gambling. The $30B enterprise has allowed anyone to basically play and bet and like a pro, all from the comfort of their own home.

There's no set time frame for when the thriller would roll in front of cameras, but with Affleck and Timberlake on board New Regency will likely want to make it as soon as possible. Hopefully we'll start hearing more details on the story soon. [Variety]

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