Rock and Roll?: Public reaction to Kristen Stewart being cast as Joan Jett in The Runaways, the biopic of the all-girl seventies band, has been understandably less than enthusiastic. It’s wise, then, that producers have now slotted the most rock-and-roll person alive to play Cherrie Currie, the young frontwoman who fell into the classic traps of drugs and parties: Dakota Fanning. Production begins in the spring. [Variety]
Dinner’s Ready: Spyglass Entertainment will join previously announced investors Paramount and Dreamworks to co-finance Jay Roach’s Dinner for Schmucks. The remake of the 1998 French comedy Le Diner des cons, which originally had Sacha Baron Cohen starring as the most pathetic guest to ever attend one man’s weekly dinner party, now has Paul Rudd and Steve Carell attached. And now allow us to temper any potential excitement by pointing out that Roach’s last big-screen movie was Meet the Fockers. [Variety]
Steve Stays Busy: In other Steve Carell news, the beloved comic actor will star and produce Warner Bros. comedy Hi-T under his Carousel Prod. shingle. Kim Barker is writing the script, about a man who undergoes uncontrollable mood swings after an injury forces him to take testosterone injections. And now allow us to temper any potential excitement by pointing out that Barker’s last big-screen movie was License to Wed. [Variety]
Not As Busy As Tyler Perry, Though: With Madea Goes to Jail still killing it at the box office, Lionsgate has picked up two more Tyler Perry projects. First up is I Can Do Bad All by Myself, based on Perry’s play of the same name, which will star Taraji P. Henson and likely be released in the fall. Next is the sequel Why Did I Get Married Too, slotted for April 2, 2010. The movie-making automaton is actually under contract with Lionsgate for three more films, which, by the time you’ve finished reading this paragraph, he most likely will have already scripted. [Variety]
Cabal vs. Cruise: Amidst attached-project overkill, a dark-horse contender has emerged for the attention of Tom Cruise. Now that German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Oscar winner for The Lives of Others, has come aboard The 28th Amendment, Cruise is apparently very interested in starring. The script, undergoing a rewrite by original creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, centers on a U.S. President who discovers a secret cabal that controls the government and wants him dead. [Variety]
Rock and Roll!: The musical Memphis — with songs by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan and a book by Joe DiPietro — is coming to Broadway, with dates and theater still to be determined. The story follows a fictional white radio D.J. in fifties Memphis who helps popularize rock-and-roll and R&B songs by African-American performers. Finally, thinks David Bryan, those asshats Jovi and Sambora won’t have the spotlight all to themselves. [Variety]