Lautner to the Rescue: Taylor Lautner will star in Cancun, an action flick being overseen by the production company he started with his dad. He plays a college kid on vacation in Cancun who must spring into action when his buddies are kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel. And there’s no need for us to make fun of this, because the following is an actual line from HR’s report: “The story is designed to take advantage of Lautner’s martial arts skills, which he showed off when he hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend.†[HR]
Carrell Killing It: Just yesterday Steve Carell made lead item in the Industry with his upcoming project Mail-Order Groom, and now today he’s back, with what Variety calls “arguably the biggest spec script sale of the year.†For a cool $2 million, Paramount has picked up a script from Dan Fogelman (Cars) that will star Carrell as a father dealing with all manner of familial crises. There’s also Get Smart 2 in the works, and the imminent Date Night. As Diddy might say, “I thought I told you that Steve Carell won’t stop, I thought I told you that Steve Carrel won’t stop.†[Variety]
Kodjoe’s in Deep: Television veteran Boris Kodjoe (Soul Food) will star in Undercovers, J.J. Abrams’s new show for NBC. The plot revolves around a married couple … who are also spies! But you already knew that, ‘cause you read our exclusive report all about it. [HR]
Sunshine TV: Showtime is developing Sunshine Cleaning, the inspiring Amy Adams movie about a single mom who provides for her family by cleaning up bloody murder scenes, into a series. Megan Holley, who wrote Sunshine, is onboard here as well. This is great news, filmmakers: Turns out Showtime might adapt even your failed movies into crappy-sounding TV shows! [Variety]
Shalhoub Sings: Stanley Tucci will direct Anthony LaPaglia and Tony Shalhoub on Broadway this spring in Lend Me a Tenor. The comedy set in the thirties revolves around a producer scrambling to cover for a missing opera star who is scheduled to perform in Cleveland with a local opera. Chances are, he got the hell out of Cleveland. [Variety]