Agents Really Earning Their Ten Percent During Studio Stockpiling
With the possibility of a disastrous™ writers strike (or, a little later down the line, a combined writers/actors/directors one) looming, THR notes that agents are sweating through their Armani as they try to panic-book clients into any movie that might provide a pre-labor-Armageddon commission. (One needs to look no further than the Reporter's singling out of Jim Carrey, who's collecting roles like a homeless man whose next meal is dependent upon his ability to accumulate a shopping cart full of "good enough" aluminum cans, to see how dire the situation is becoming.) Now that much of the top-flight talent is either booked or sitting the next few months out, the THR piece offers some big names who are still looking for jobs:
So who's available? Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Grant and Joaquin Phoenix are open for offers, as are Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry.
While obviously not a comprehensive list, it should provide a nice starting point for studios desperate to rush into production any project already turned down by Tobey Maguire, a romantic comedy about a lovable stammerer, any project turned down by Matt Damon, a script with premature Oscar buzz that will eventually be released on 10 screens in late December to little fanfare, or any film in which some gratuitous nudity can be at least tenuously ascribed to artistic necessity. Also: Ben Affleck is probably available for a wide array of roles. There's no better time for a big comeback than during the hysteria of strike-insurance stockpiling.