Will Smith runs the Con Game in New Trailer for 'Focus'

Before Will Smith dives into his first comic book film with Suicide Squad, he'll try to reclaim the box office crown he lost some years ago. It's been a long time since the former Fresh Prince had a role that showed the charming qualities which made him a star to begin with, but with the conman romance Focus he looks to be back in top form.

Joined by Margot Robbie, who will also have a role in Suicide Squad, the film centers on a seasoned con man who becomes romantically involved with a hot young upstart. But their romantic past comes back to haunt him three years later when she resurfaces during a major con. The latest trailer plays up the sexiness plus the many twists and turns, and it will be interesting to see how Smith fares in a genre he's never really dealt with before.

Written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Focus opens February 27th. Check out the new trailer below.

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Kim Basinger Joins 'The Nice Guys', Margot Robbie Dances 'The Taliban Shuffle'

Shane Black's The Nice Guys already stars Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Keith David, Beau Knapp, and Matt Bomer, but now it's getting a female touch with the addition of Kim Basinger. It's an L.A. Confidential reunion for Basinger and Crowe, with her now playing a dubious chief justice in the 1970s-set film about a Los Angeles "private eye and a hired leg breaker who must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star." [THR]

It seems Margot Robbie is up for just about everything right now, and while we wait to see if she takes a role in DC's Suicide Squad, she's eying a comedic role opposite Tina Fey. The Wolf of Wall Street actress may join The Taliban Shuffle, a comedy adaptation of Kim Barker's memoir about her time as "as a fish-out-of-water in Kabul, filing stories about militants, being a woman in wartime Iraq and Pakistan, dealing with boredom interspersed with dashes of violence and the promiscuous war correspondent culture." Fey would play Barker, with Robbie as a gorgeous and competitive news anchor who befriends her. If Robbie signs on it would reteam her with Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, her directors on the heist film, Focus, which stars Will Smith. [THR]

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Will Smith and Margot Robbie Con One Another in First Trailer for 'Focus'

As noted yesterday when the first images of the crime comedy Focus were released, Will Smith has been keeping a distance from the kinds of charming roles that made him popular to begin with. As easy as it may be to knock a film like Hitch now, it was a big hit and audiences loved him in it. It was also the rare film by Smith that wasn't part of some mega franchise. Well the Smith audiences have been craving seems to be back in the first trailer for Focus.

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the duo behind Crazy Stupid Love, Focus stars Smith and The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie as con artists looking for a big score. The problem is they fell in love years earlier when he took the newcomer under his tutelage, and now that past romantic entanglement is causing all kinds of problems. This one has been in the works for awhile and it could have looked very different if the original casts had stuck around. Initially it was set to reteam Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, followed by Ben Affleck and Kristen Stewart which would have been incredibly weird. This film reminds me of Ed Burns' 2003 film, Confidence, which is a very good thing.

Focus opens February 27th 2015.

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First Look at Will Smith and Margot Robbie in Crime Caper 'Focus'

It's been a long time since we've seen Will Smith putting his considerable charm to good use. Lately he's played a sewer-dwelling Satan in Winter's Tale and a gruff military commander in After Earth. Not surprisingly, neither film did very well. Audiences have been eager for a chance to see Smith's smooth personality on display again, and they'll get just that when the crime comedy Focus opens next year.

The trailer for Focus has been playing in theaters for a couple of weeks but has yet to come online. That should be changing soon enough, but for now USA Today has released the first images. Smith stars alongside The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie in a caper film about an experienced con man who takes a sexy young upstart under his wing, only for romantic entanglements get in the way of a huge score.

Crazy Stupid Love duo of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra directed the film, and they talked about finding that same chemistry in Smith and Robbie that they had with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Requa:  "Will said, 'You're going to have trouble finding a girl because I kind of have a large personality.' And he was right. But Margot walked in and just put everybody on their heels. When she walked out of the room, Will turned to us and said, 'Mmhm.'"

Ficarra:  "It was the same moment we had with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling when they first read together. Here's Ryan Gosling, this very desirable male 'hubba hubba' dude. And Emma just came in and owned him. She didn't pause for a minute. She just proceeded to insult him."

Focus is set to open next year on February 27th. 

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Steve Carell to Star in ACME-Themed 'Looney Tunes Movie from 'X-men: First Class' Writers

There have been multiple attempts to bring the famous Looney Tunes characters back to the screen for the first time since 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action. A remake of the live-action/animated basketball comedy Space Jam was rumored for a time, and a proper Looney Tunes movie penned by Jenny Slate (Obvious Child) was eyed but never seemed to go anywhere. But now a film is back on with the speed of a pair of ACME rocket skates.

Steve Carell is attached to star in an untitled Looney Tunes film centered on the ACME corporation, the fictional manufacturer that provides all of Wile E. Coyote's disastrous gadgets. Need some exploding bird seed? These guys are who you'd turn to. Writing the script will be Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, best known for X-men: First Class, Thor, and the upcoming Star Trek 3. In talks to direct are the duo of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who worked with Carell on Crazy Stupid Love.

Oddly enough, there won't be any familiar Looney Tunes characters in this CGI/live-action hybrid, although with this expected to be the start of a franchise that could always change. [THR]

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Will Smith in, Kristen Stewart out for 'Focus'

When Glenn Ficarra and John Requa began putting together the pieces for their crime comedy, Focus, the plan was to reunite the stars of their hit film, Crazy Stupid Love. But securing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone proved to be difficult, and so they aimed a bit older, landing Ben Affleck for the lead role, followed soon after by Kristen Stewart. As Affleck got busier with that whole Argo thing, he backed out, and now the film has experienced another major casting shake up.

Will Smith has is in final negotiations to replace Affleck in the film, but as he's coming aboard Stewart has headed for the exits.  It's a fairly safe move for the picky Smith, who famously shot down the title role in Django Unchained, as the story sounds pretty harmless. He'll play a veteran con man who has a brief romance with a young upstart, only to have their past relationship become a problem when they meet up years later during a major score. Ficarra and Requa will write the script as well as direct.

Without Stewart it'll be interesting to see if Warner Bros. decides to go for similarly young female lead, or if they go for someone closer to Smith's age and stature. Production on Focus will likely begin soon as Smith will have press commitments to After Earth coming up. [THR]

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Kristen Stewart joins Ben Affleck in 'Focus'

As Kristen Stewart continues to pretend she and Robert Pattinson are an item again to please the Twilight faithful, she's also planning for the future that doesn't include vampires. On the Road will be out shortly, and there's that Snow White and the Huntsman sequel she'll probably be back for. And now she's adding another film that may be the most promising of them all.

Deadline reports Stewart is close to joining Ben Affleck for the crime caper, Focus. Written and directed by Crazy Stupid Love duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the film was originally set to reunite them with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Affleck stepped up, provided a suitable female lead was found, and I think Stewart more than fits the bill. The story follows an experienced con-man(Affleck) who falls for a newcomer(Stewart), only to have their romantic past come back to haunt them when they meet again years later.

A solid move for Stewart, who has always chosen unconventional projects that allow her to stretch herself creatively. Plus, I don't think anybody would have expected to see her and Affleck together in a film such as this, so for that reason alone it'll be an interesting one to follow. Filming will probably begin once Affleck wraps up his Argo press commitments for the inevitable Oscar run, and after Stewart finishes the Breaking Dawn touring.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Sure Shots: Ben Affleck; Rebel Wilson; Ryan Reynolds

* Back in April we learned that Crazy Stupid Love directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa were set to bring back Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for Focus, marking the third time the two actors would star together after next year's Gangster Squad. Well, we haven't heard much about it since, and in the meantime both have dropped out, with Ben Affleck stepping into Gosling's shoes. Or at least he will if a suitable female lead is found. Focus follows an experienced con man who enters into a relationship with a newcomer to the criminal world, only to find their romantic past come back to haunt them when they meet again years later. Ficarra and Requa will also write the script. The Gosling/Stone pairing would have been guaranteed fun, so it's a little disappointing they're no longer involved. [Deadline]

* Who's been the breakout star of 2012 so far? If you ask me it's Rebel Wilson. After making a scene-stealing supporting turn in last year's Bridesmaids, she's far and away been the best part of Pitch Perfect, What to Expect When You're Expecting, and Bachelorette in just the last few months. As her star continues to rise, Universal is keen on staying in the Rebel business. They plan to develop an untitled original comedy project which Wilson will write, produce, and star in.  No details are available yet, but any chance to see more of Wilson is okay with me. She'll be seen next in the indie comedy Struck by Lightning, and then in Michael Bay's crime caper Pain and Gain. [Deadline]

* I continue to be blown away the by the extreme shift in gears Marjane Satrapi(Persepolis) is attempting with her next film, The Voices. Veering wildly away from the deeply personal stories of growing up in Iran, The Voices is instead a psychological thriller centering on Jerry Hickfang, a lonely bathtub factory employee who murders the woman he's become infatuated with, then begins taking advice from his evil "talking" cat and benevolent dog who lead him on a fantastical path to salvation. Ryan Reynolds has now entered talks to star as Hickfang, adding to a weird upcoming slate that includes the supernatural R.I.P.D., the upcoming Highlander remake, and the animated comedy The Croods. [Deadline]

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Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone wanted for 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' directors' con-man comedy, 'Focus'

After finding some success as writers with movies like Bad Santa and The Bad News Bears, Glenn Ficara and John Requa made their directorial debut with the John Carrey con-man comedy, I Love You Phillip Morris.  As well received as it was critically, they didn't make a genuine splash until they paired up Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone for Crazy, Stupid Love, and now for their next film the directors don't want to stray too far from the winning formula.

With Warner Brothers picking up their script for Focus, a crime comedy the duo plan to direct, they want to reunite Gosling and Stone in the leads. The story follows a veteran grifter(Gosling) and a newcomer(Stone) who meet and get romantically involved, only to find the duplicitous nature of their business getting in the way. When they run into one another again in the future, they find the complications of their past association have long lasting effects.

This sounds perfect for the charming pair, but there are no offers on the table and talks haven't even begun. Basically we're talking a "wish list" sort of deal here, so this may never come about. Gosling and Stone will pair up again for Gangster Squad, which hopefully will open later this year. [Deadline]

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