Movies
[News Bites] Casting For ‘Machete Kills,’ ‘Split Decision,’ ‘Mortal Instruments’ And ‘Every Secret Thing’
It’s been confirmed this evening that Vanessa Hudgens (pictured; Sucker Punch) is on set filming for Robert Rodriguez’ Machete Kills, which also stars Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Amber Heard, Sofia Vergara, Zoe Saldana, Edward James Olmos, Charlie Sheen, Elise Avellan, Electra Avellan, William Sadler, Lady Gaga and Alexa Vega (wewwww). “The sequel finds the titular ex-federale (Trejo) recruited by the U.S. government to stop a terrorist named Mendez the Madman, who happens to be Mexico’s leading cartel dealer.”
Brendan Fraser will star in writer-director Damian Lee’s action-thriller Split Decision for Rollercoaster Entertainment and Vortex Words + Pictures, says THR. Fraser plays a father who must defend his two children from a pair of murderers. “The plot kicks off when two children (Holly Deveaux and Christian Martin) witness a murder while on a wilderness camping trip with a family friend (Daniel Kash). When two criminal brothers, (Dominic Purcell and Ethan Suplee) start to hunt down the children to silence them, Fraser’s father-figure sets out to rescue them.” Amy Price-Francis appears as the children’s mother. Principal photography begins shortly on location in Ontario.
The site also reports that Kevin Zegers has signed on to join Harald Zwart’s fantasy epic The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones for Constantin Film and Screen Gems. Zegers will play Alec Lightwood, a reluctant Shadowhunter who would rather read about demons than fight them. Lily Collins stars in the film, based on Cassandra Clare’s mega-bestseller. Zegers joins a cast that also includes Jamie Campbell Bower, Lena Headey and Jared Harris. “Set in modern-day New York, the plot centers on Clary Fray (Collins), who discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret tribe of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect the world from demons.” Mortal Instruments is scheduled to begin shooting this month in Toronto.
After directing the acclaimed documentaries Deliver Us From Evil and West of Memphis, Amy Berg is set to make her narrative helming debut with Every Secret Thing, a feature adaptation of Laura Lippman’s 2004 mystery novel that will star Diane Lane, reports Variety. Nicole Holofcener wrote the script that “Follows two 11-year-old girls who are convicted of murdering a baby and incarcerated until they turn 18. Upon their release, children start to go missing; as the police turn their attention to the duo, the mystery surrounding the original murder takes the fore.” Lane is attached to play one of the girls’ mother, who has long known that her daughter is a gifted liar.
Movies
R-Rated ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Director’s Cut Gets New Title and Streaming Premiere Date
After a slight delay, Disney has finally announced a new streaming date for the R-Rated director’s cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. According to Gizmodo, it’ll also come with a new title.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe Vrach Frankenshteyn begins streaming on Hulu on August 14.
The new cut was first teased in an interview with director Chris Carter on the Fail Better With David Duchovny podcast from last year, where he teased a much scarier movie he intended.
“Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended to make,” Carter explained last year. “It’s not just doing a Director’s Cut to do a Director’s Cut. It’s really kind of bringing to life something that for me was on the page and never got to the screen.“
The director’s cut of the film was initially set to arrive on Disney+ in June, but quietly disappeared from the schedule without a word. Polygon reported the delay was “due to some last-minute adjustments being made to the film.”
The release’s new “Vrach Frankenshteyn” title certainly suggests those adjustments have been made, likely referring to a Frankensteining of bonus footage.
In the film, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been out of the FBI for several years, with Mulder living in isolation and Scully having become a doctor at a Catholic hospital, where she has formed a bond with a critically ill child patient.
When an FBI agent is mysteriously kidnapped, and a former Catholic priest who has been convicted of pedophilia claims to be experiencing psychic visions of the endangered agent, Scully is asked to bring Mulder back to the bureau to consult on the case because of his work with psychics.
The brand new R-rated cut will “faithfully restore the filmmaker’s original vision.”
Look for it on Hulu next month.