Imagine Gets Into The Frank Langella Business For 'Frost/Nixon'
· Frank Langella will reprise his stage role as Nixon for Imagine's big screen version of Peter Morgan's celebrated play, Frost/Nixon. The casting suggests director Ron Howard will remain true to the source material, though that doesn't completely rule out Akiva Goldsman being brought in for an eleventh-hour rewrite that incorporates several make-believe characters that exist only in the disgraced President's paranoid imagination. [Variety]
· In further Imagine news, Ridley Scott signs on to direct Russell Crowe in Nottingham, the "Robin Hood but where the Sheriff's the good guy" movie, hoping the two can reignite Gladiator, not-so-much A Good Year, magic. [Variety]
· As we mentioned on Friday, Will & Grace series creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick reached a surprise settlement with NBC Studios after a near mistrial was called moments before the verdict in their $55 million lawsuit was to be read. Both the tossed verdict and settlement deal remain undisclosed, but TMZ is reporting that the jury had awarded them $48.5 million plus punitive damages. [Variety]
· Upcoming World's Biggest Comedy Movie Star Seth Rogen (Carell had his turn) plays an oafish stoner with a hot blonde love interest in a Judd Apatow-produced movie. Only this time, it's called The Pineapple Express, not Knocked Up. [THR]
· Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival turned into a weekend-long tribute to the populist film critic, who's recovering from reconstructive jaw surgery after a bout with thyroid cancer. It even included a screening of Russ Meyers' Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, for which a young Ebert wrote the Triple-D-rated screenplay. [Variety]