Clooney Out: George Clooney has taken Smokehouse, the production company he runs with Grant Heslov, from Warner Bros. to Sony for a two-year first-look deal. There are still a bunch of Smokehouse films in production at WB, including John Grisham adaptation The Innocent Man and Aaron Sorkin legal drama The Challenge, and no imminent plans at Sony. There’s been no reason given for the split, although Variety implies it has to do with Smokehouse’s track record of having an easier time making movies outside of WB than inside. We think it’s the goddamned frog’s fault. [HR]
Cornelius Crane Does TV: Indie movie The Kids Are All Right has added a few name actors to its cast. The flick stars Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska as a brother and sister who seek out their same-sex parents’ sperm donor, who then upsets the family unit once he is found; Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play the parents, and Mark Ruffalo the donor. Be prepared for the possibility that Ruffalo’s stubble will be set to extra scruffy in order to fully communicate “shadiness.†[Variety]
Done Deal: Jay-Z has cleared up the confusion over who, exactly, his imprint Roc Nation is affiliated with: The label is being distributed through Sony, while Blueprint 3, his upcoming Roc Nation release, will be distributed through Atlantic with old Hova pals Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles on board. In related news, how awkward is Jay-Z’s lefty jumper in the “D.O.A.†video? [Billboard]
Tucci In Charge: Stanley Tucci will direct on Broadway for the first time with Lend Me a Tenor, a revival of the Ken Ludwig comedy that originally played Broadway in 1989. Set in 1934, the plot revolves around a disastrous performance of Otello by the Cleveland Opera Company in which the star bows out at the last minute and the general manager convinces his assistant to put on blackface and perform the role. Grey’s Anatomy’s T.R. Knight will be making his Broadway blackface debut. [Variety]
TV’s Don: More big names hitting Broadway, this time for the front of the stage. Laura Linney will star in Time Stands Still, a production originally slated for an Off Broadway theater, as a war photographer returning to a more normal life in New York. Meanwhile, the British staging of Hamlet, starring Jude Law, will be touching down Stateside this fall. Tucci and Knight, consider your Broadway thunder stolen. [Variety, Variety]
Scammed: The Nightman Cometh musical might come to New York! A one-time transfer of the stage show, a version of the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode of the same name, which premiered at the Troubadour in L.A., is being mulled over by the cast. Also, in decidedly less awesome news, Sunny’s Charlie Day is shooting the best-friend role in a Drew Barrymore–Justin Long rom-com. [Variety]