White Lady to Say N-Word a Whole Hell of a Lot
She has to if she wants to write a gangsta rap script correctly. Also today: A sexy new Phantom, a twee indie movie gets turned into a twee regional musical, 3D sports!, and Baywatch alumni news.
3D really is all the rage. Everywhere. Italy is getting in on the action by broadcasting 3D versions of soccer (futbol?) at movie theaters. Like those Fathom Event things. So yes, 3D soccer. It is a shame that there is no way to see 3D soccer unless you are in a movie theater. A true shame. (Obviously this is a boon for folks who can't afford tickets/weren't fast enough in buying them, but still.) [Variety]
A white lady named Andrea Berloff who wrote that World Trade Center movie has been tapped to write Straight Outta Compton, the true story of seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A. So that ought to... be interesting. Mostly I'm hoping the movie follows the group for a while and that we get some interesting behind-the-scenes insight into the making of Are We There Yet? [THR]
The La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego (America's most unexpected theater town) will run a musical version of Little Miss Sunshine next year. This is mostly a terrible idea? At least William Finn and James Lapine (Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) are putting the thing together. And hey, Toni Colette could play her part again. She's a good singer! But other than that, bad idea. Can you imagine how annoying the Abigail Breslin person will be? Shudder. [Variety]
Twilight sparklehaus Summit Entertainment has acquired distribution rights to The Impossible. The movie stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor and is set in Thailand during the time of the 2004 tsunami. It's based on a true story, so don't go expecting anything fun and lighthearted. Not that McGregor or Watts do "fun and lighthearted" terribly often. I feel like Watts has spent a lot of her career crying. Funny Games alone should be reason enough to only do screwball comedies for the rest of her life. Good thing she's in the next Woody Allen movie. Good being a relative term, of course. [Deadline]
Here's that Baywatch update you've been waiting for all these years. David Charvet, who played lifeguard Matt Brody and always looks like his feelings are hurt, has been cast in a Lifetime movie called The Perfect Teacher. Charvet will play the titular teacher, whom a student (some girl from The Secret Life of the American Teenager) plans to seduce. So it's basically The Crush, which means that David Charvet has now entered Cary Elwes territory. Which is great, because that means he'll soon be hanging out with Jim Carrey. Well, OK, the Lifetime movie version of Jim Carrey. What's Chris Wylde doing these days? [THR]
Cover your ears. 1990s America's collective fever dream Fran Drescher might be returning to television, via a talk show. It might be about politics and "world affairs." Makes complete sense. [TheWrap]
Syfy has announced a date for their new movie/mini-series The Phantom, based on the old-timey comic book series. The network will air all four hours on June 20th. It's being called a "backdoor pilot," meaning it could go to series if it's successful, like Battlestar Galactica. Speaking of backdoor pilots, the series stars this gentleman, Ryan Carnes. Just thought you should know that. [THR]