Welcome to Rumorville! Here you can learn about casting news that’s about to break in Hollywood. These speculations might be only rumors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow the trail all the way to the audition room.
“King Lear”
Denzel Washington is currently on Broadway starring in “The Iceman Cometh,” but he is wasting no time planning his next turn on stage. According to the Oscar and Tony–winning actor in a recent New York Times interview, he just can’t wait to be king. He is working with “Iceman” producer Scott Rudin on a plan to bring the Shakespeare classic “King Lear” to The Great White Way for their next Broadway production. The project is a few years off, but if Rudin is calling the shots and Washington is starring, The Public Theater casting department of Jordan Thaler and Heidi Griffiths might be chosen to fill out the rest of the cast.
Nxivm TV Series
One story dominating the entertainment news cycle recently has been the revelation that “Smallville” actor Allison Mack had been arrested on charges of recruiting and trafficking for sex slavery cult Nxivm. It’s the type of ripped-from-the-headlines drama that news of a potential screen treatment is no surprise, and rumor has it that Annapurna Television has optioned the rights to produce a TV series based on the 2017 New York Times exposé of the cult. Neither a writer or a director has yet been attached to the project while it is still in its infancy, but “Westworld” star Shannon Woodward is slated to executive produce alongside Annapurna. It might be too early to know who they’ll pick to lead the casting charge, but maybe Woodward will guide the production towards John Papsidera, the CD behind her current TV gig.
“Beautiful Ruins”
Another major novel is on its way to the big screen—this time, it’s Jess Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins,” a social satire on Hollywood culture. The film has got its producers (Sam Mendes, who was initially planning on directing), writers (Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster), and, now, it’s after a director. According to Deadline, “The Devil Wears Prada” director David Frankel is currently working on a deal to helm the flick. This isn’t the first run for “Beautiful Ruins” on getting a cast together—the project has been in the works since 2013 with Walter and Todd Field having originally written the screenplay with Field directinh. Now things seem like they are a go; the film plans to go into production this summer, with Frankel on board. Frankel has used Margery Simkin for casting in the past, including for “Prada,” but it’s been a bit of time since their last collaboration. Maybe now is the right time to work together again.
“Cloverfield”
In a CinemaCon video introducing his latest project, “Overlord,” J.J. Abrams described the film as “not a Cloverfield movie,” but did mention that a new installation in the franchise “is in the works for theaters.” That was as open as he got about it, keeping the focus on “Overlord,” but it should come as no surprise he’s got his eyes set on another large cinematic release of the monster horror series, especially considering “Cloverfield” and “10 Cloverfield Lane” have grossed $281 million at the global box office combined. After the surprise drop of “The Cloverfield Paradox,” Abrams may be looking to add to his decade-long archive. The “Cloverfield” franchise films have used three different sets of casting directors, so Abrams may return to one of his previous collaborators or try something new.
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