Katherine Heigl to Ruin All the Movies
She aims to ruin every single one. Also today: Kristen Wiig is a movie star! A wonderful television program has been canceled. A new Stephen King TV series is in the works. And an important NCIS update.
Yay for nobody! One For the Money, a movie based on the first book in Janet Evanovich's popular Stephanie Plum mystery series, is finally a go. The project has been in development for years and has finally found the right production team and distributor. Why yay for nobody then? Because it's being directed by the lady who directed The Last Song (and has done episodes of, ugh, Grey's Anatomy), and it stars... Katherine Heigl. Yes, the Katherine Heigl. So, after all that time, you fans are gonna get Nicholas Sparks schmaltz and another lovable Katherine Heigl performance. Oh well. [EW]
Even more bad news! Your favorite show, my favorite show, everyone's favorite show 10 Things I Hate About You has been canceled. Yes, this was a show that existed on the ABC Family — a network mostly for shut-ins and the emotionally infirm — and now it is dead. No more, no more. So, I'm sorry. You'll have to find another way to keep track of Gregory Peck's grandchildren, as you swore to him you would on his deathbed. [THR]
Interesting. Rose Byrne has joined the cast of Kristen Wiig's untitled comedy movie project, as a bridesmaid competing with another bridesmaid (Wiig) to be the bride's right-hand woman. So it's a funny part! For Rose Byrne? The IMDB page for the movie also lists Ellie Kemper and Wendy McLendon-Covey in the cast, so that's exciting! Plus Paul Feig is directing, and Wiig is co-writing. Sounds like everything 27 Dresses could never have hoped to have been. You hear that up there, Heigl?? I want my two hours back! [Variety]
NCIS Watch: Day 2. Yesterday we told you that the best television show on the air (better, even, than 10 Things I Hate About) was having cast problems. Four of the main actors were in salary negotiations and what if they didn't go well??? Well we can tell you today that one actor, the hilariously stuffy British guy who is stuffy because he's British get it???, will be back! Pop the champagne and chip-chip-cheerio, eh my good boy, governor? Crumpets and whiskey, I feel frisky! Natters and nobs, fiddle my gobs! Cotswolds and Surrey, North London curry! And whatever else. But OK, that's enough of that. Back to America fuck-yeahism. (See the whole thing on this show is that there are weirdos, like the indie goth girl and the British fellow, who Mark Harmon then sort of gently makes fun of, and the audience at home is like ha ha ha yeah, what weirdos, good thing Harmon's there to be normal! And the one "other" "brown-ish" person on the show? Israeli! Of course she's Israeli. Cue the American flag, and we're out.) [Deadline]
Coming off his BAFTA-winning role in Tooth Fairy, The "Dwayne Johnson" Rock will next be playing a Mexican security person or something trying to smuggle someone "over the border" in a new action thriller directed by the guy who directed Con Air. It's unclear which way he's smuggling someone, though I guess it's from Mexico into the US? Don't aim for Arizona, Dwaynerock! The film is expected to be released on Christmas Day 2010 to put it in the best possible position for Oscar season. [THR]
J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot has lost the rights to Stephen King's epic novel series The Dark Tower, and Ron Howard and his longtime companion Brian Grazer have swooped in and grabbed them. They envision the project beginning as a big feature movie and then downshifting into a TV series. It's basically a fantasy Western series that incorporates characters from lots of King's other books. There's a really great scene where Zelda from Pet Sematary has a long dinner with Pennywise and it just gets really philosophical and interesting. I'm pretty excited about that part. [HeatVision]
Once-promising director John Singleton will now be helming a movie about a family stuck on a seven-hour layover that gets kidnapped by "corrupt TSA agents." The movie is called Layover, and it is an action thriller. Sigh. Isn't that basically the plot of Die Hard 2? I mean, minus Colm Meaney dying in a fiery plane crash. Though you never know! Colm Meaney could also die in a fiery plane crash in this one. (Oh, and uh, 1990 spoiler alert.) [Variety]