9/08/2011

Sure Shots: James McTeigue; X-men; Anna Karenina


* James McTeigue(Ninja Assassin, V For Vendetta) is keeping his relationship with Relativity going strong. After wrapping up his Edgar Allan Poe thriller, The Raven, he'll jump next into directing Ness/Capone, a film which details the early days of the feud between goody two-shoes lawman Eliot Ness and the gangster Al Capone. The 2010 Black List script was written by  Grant Pierce Myers. [Deadline]


* A couple of X-men movie notes coming from producer Lauren Shuler Donner's recent interview with Hitfix. First, she notes that production on The Wolverine may get pushed back as far as summer 2012 due to Hugh Jackman's crazy schedule. He'll be squeezing in Tom Hooper's Les Miserables prior to joining the mutant sequel.  Next, she seems optimistic that Matthew Vaughn will return to direct the X-men: First Class sequel whenever that jumps off. I wouldn't bet on it, but we'll see. 

* Joe Wright(Atonement, Hanna) has nailed down the final cast for his adaptation of the Tolstoy classic, Anna Karenina, and there have been some notable changes. Gone are Saoirse Ronan, Benedict Cumberbatch, and James McAvoy. Confirmed for the film now are Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Alicia Vikander(The Seventh Son), Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Olivia Williams, Domhnall Gleeson(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Ruth Wilson, and Matthew McFadyen.