the industry

Hugh Jackman to Win Makeup-Selling Contest

Avon Manly: Hugh Jackman will star in Avon Man, a comedy from Hitch writer Kevin Bisch. Jackman plays a man recently fired from a car dealership and forced to take a job as an Avon salesman; he eventually becomes a top seller and attempts to recruit his other laid-off buddies into the biz in order to win a regional makeup-selling contest. We guess that post-Wolverine, Jackman doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody. [Variety]

Kato Wanted: Stephen Chow has officially left The Green Hornet. Originally set to direct the film but eventually replaced by Michel Gondry, Chow was then only signed on to play Kato, the chauffeur-sidekick to Seth Rogen’s playboy-superhero. Variety says the split was amicable and that Chow had other projects lined up that would clash with Hornet’s schedule — but isn’t that the kind of thing you figure out before signing on to a movie? Either way, we’re excited to see Gondry replace Chow with arts-and-crafts materials. [Variety]

Down to Earth: Stanley Tucci will direct The Hunter, set in the high society of Upper Westchester County, from his own screenplay. Pierce Brosnan will star as a man grappling with the loss of his privileged life. Patricia Clarkson and Julianne Moore are cast as well, presumably as uppity ladies mocking poor Pierce? [Variety]

Fantasy Life: Humpday’s Mark Duplass is on a roll: He’ll play the lead character in The League, the semi-improvised, fantasy-football-centric comedy created by Curb Your Enthusiasm producer Jeff Schaffer, which has been picked up by FX. Co-starring Paul Scheer and Cavemen star Nick Kroll, the show will deal with marriage, friendship, and parenting in the suburbs. We do not have a problem with that. [HR]

Bridge Is Back: A third Bridget Jones film, once again starring Renée Zellweger, is now in the early stages of production. It will be based on a series of columns author Helen Fielding wrote for the Independent in 2005, with Bridget attempting to get pregnant. On a related note, Working Title, the movie’s production house, has recently undergone a downturn, forcing it to lay off 45 employees. We wouldn’t worry, though — a third Bridget Jones movie will surely turn around not only the fortunes of Working Title, but all struggling companies, everywhere. [Variety]

Blunted on Bureau: Emily Blunt will star opposite Matt Damon in The Adjustment Bureau, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story. Damon plays a rising congressman who meets a beautiful ballet dancer (Blunt), only to discover some oddities. We haven’t read the short story — but she’s totally a robot, right? [HR]

Hugh Jackman to Win Makeup-Selling Contest