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Tobey Maguire Takes a Keen Interest in Plessy v. Ferguson
Thinking About Law School: Tobey Maguire will finally have his day in court with Universal’s The Crusaders, the story of Brown v. Board of Education, directed by Maguire BFF Gary Ross (Pleasantville and Seabiscuit) and written by Recount’s Danny Strong (hooray!). Maguire will play Jack Greenberg, an idealistic young lawyer who joins the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and finds himself in the middle of Thurgood Marshall’s case to desegregate the American public school system. Can Laurence Fishburne’s casting as Marshall be far behind? [Variety]
Ninealiscious: Fergie and her humps have joined Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, and Judi Dench in the absurdly packed cast of Rob Marshall’s Nine. Young aspiring actresses should continue praying for a meteor to wipe out the production so they can move up the Hollywood ranks and take their places. [Variety]
America’s Next Top Starving Artist: Bravo has picked up American Artist, the show where “aspiring artists come to produce various styles of artwork†before having their hopes and dreams crushed before a panel of judges. And instead of saying “auf wiedersehn†to kick you off, producer Sarah Jessica Parker whips out a razor and cuts off your left ear. [HR]
Cheadle’s Marching Orders: Don Cheadle will produce and star in Marching Powder, the story of drug trafficker Thomas McFadden who spent six years in a Bolivian prison and even served as a prison tour guide. José Padilha is directing in his own inimitable Fascist fashion. [Variety]
Gimme Some Sugar, Baby: Documentarian Gil Cates Jr. is putting together a feature on the World Series of Poker called Pass the Sugar. It follows the nine players at the final table in the 2005 WSOP and boasts interviews with such “celeb cardplayers†as Jennifer Tilly. Finally, there’ll be some poker coverage in the media. [Variety]