Eckhart in Hole: Aaron Eckhart is in talks to join Rabbit Hole, an adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Broadway play to which Nicole Kidman is also attached; John Cameron Mitchell will direct. Lindsay-Abarie will be writing the screenplay, which is about a happily-married couple putting their lives back together after their four-year-old son is killed in a traffic accident. Sounds intriguing, but does that mean Eckhart may be unavailable to shoot flashback scenes for that Batman sequel that isn’t happening? [Variety]
Stamos Sings and Dances: Bye Bye Birdie’s coming back to Broadway with a few familiar faces: John Stamos, who’ll play Albert, the manager of the Elvis-like rock-star Birdie; Gina Gershon, who’ll play Albert’s secretary/love interest; and Bill Irwin, who’ll play the father of the teen girl picked to get a goodbye kiss from Birdie when he is drafted for war. The producers have set up one formidable challenge for themselves for the rest of casting: what mortal man could play Birdie and not be upstaged by the magical John Stamos? [Variety]
Office Shorts: Antonio Banderas is bringing the French short-form comedy-hit Camera Cafe stateside, executive producing the first season of the U.S. version. The show will consist of 35 three-and-a-half minute episodes about life in an office, as captured by a camera hidden in the coffee machine; episodes will air at first online at mio.tv, but may also have a TV run down the line. Apparently Camera Cafe is such a hit that it’s been sold in 55 other territories and even had a French movie spin-off. So far we don’t really understand the concept, though, so we sure are glad Antonio Banderas is here to explain it. [Variety]
Private Dating: Barry Sonnenfeld is attached to direct The Spellman Files for Paramount. An adaptation of Lisa Lutz’s novel, the story concerns a single private eye juggling the demands of her family’s business with her dating life. Apparently Sonnenfeld is also currently attached to direct nearly a half-dozen other projects, any of which we’d now suggest, sight unseen, that he’d take on first. [Variety]
Little New Director: The Little Fockers directing chair is a bit of a carousel these days: After Pete Segal was all but locked up, it now appears as if Paul Weitz will be stepping up behind the camera. No word on what happened with Segal, although he was supposed to meet with the actors before officially taking on the project. All the principal players are on board, so everyone’s a suspect in kicking ol’ Pete off set. Although, let’s face it, we all know it was probably that megalomaniac Blythe Danner. [Variety]
Over the Rainbow: Finian’s Rainbow will move from City Center to the St. James Theater after Labor Day, marking the play’s first time on Broadway since 1960. Most of the original ensemble cast, including Jim Norton, Kate Baldwin, and Cheyenne Jackson, is expected to stay on. Rather than try to capture all the wonderment of the story of Rainbow in a sentence or two, we’d just like to direct your attention to this photo. Mesmerizing. [Variety]