Straight Outta Dickens: Ice Cube Plans ‘Oliver Twist’ Musical
Ice Cube has teamed up with Thomas Kail, who rose to fame as the director of the hit Broadway smash Hamilton, for a musical version of the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist to be produced by Disney. Ice Cube has signed on to play Fagin, leader of a band of children who make their living as pickpockets. Reports say the film’s music will feature numerous sources of inspiration, with a heavy emphasis on hip hop. Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz, of the production company The Firm, will be producing the film as well as writing initial treatments of the screenplay.
(The Hollywood Reporter)
Tracy Morgan Joins Ed Helms in ‘Tag’
Tracy Morgan is officially making the comeback rounds following his near fatal car accident in 2015. In addition to appearing in the upcoming Fist Fight alongside Ice Cube, Morgan has signed up to co-star in Tag with Ed Helms. The film, based on a true story, was inspired by a 2013 Wall Street Journal feature about a group of friends from school who played a complicated game of cross country tag in the years after graduation. Tag will be directed by Jeff Tomsic and written by Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen.
(Variety)
‘Stranger Things’ Producer Directing ‘Uncharted’ Adaptation
The long gestating adaptation of the Playstation game Uncharted has finally locked in a director. Shawn Levy, who produced Stranger Things for Netflix, in addition to directing 2 episodes, will take over as director from Joe Carnahan. Carnahan will stay on as screenwriter for the film, but his commitments to Bad Boys 3 prevents him from helming the project. Uncharted, which has produced four wildly popular games for Playstation, follows the adventures of explorer Nathan Drake, a sort of Indiana Jones for the modern era, on his various world traveling quests for treasure. No word yet on who might star as the iconic hero.
(Deadline)
Is M. Night Shyamalan Returning to Form?
Director M. Night Shyamalan has been threatening a comeback for years now. While last year’s The Visit wasn’t quite the return to form fans had long hoped for, it was certainly a step in the right direction. That direction seems to have led him to his latest effort, Split. James McAvoy stars as a man with 23 personalities who has kidnapped three young women. It’s hard to deny that Shyamalan appears to be stepping his game back up, at least as far as this trailer looks, but we’ve been burned before. Split did get some positive response after a screening at this year’s fantastic fest, so perhaps the director has finally begun his comeback in earnest. We won’t know for sure until split opens on January 20, 2017.
(Universal)
