Susan Sarandon could be about to fall under the influence of Michael Douglas in the upcoming Wall Street sequel, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, Variety reports. Sarandon is in negotiations to play the mother of the Wall Street banker Shia LaBeouf in a role that sets her on a course to meet Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko. Oliver Stone directs for Fox. Filming begins next month in New York.
Helen Mirren and Pete Postlethwaite have joined the cast of Rowan Joffe's adaptation of Graham Greene's 1939 novel Brighton Rock, says The Hollywood Reporter. Mirren will play the amateur detective Ida Arnold and Postlethwaite the Brighton gangster Phil Corkery in this update set amid clashes between mods and rockers in Brighton in 1964. Filming is expected to start in October in Brighton and London. Brighton Rock was turned into a film in 1947 directed by John Boulting. In the original, Richard Attenborough appeared as the central character of Pinkie Brown, who will be played this time by Sam Riley. The film is being produced by Paul Webster for Kudos Pictures. It's Joffe's feature debut.
Robin Williams has signed on for Touchstone Pictures' romantic comedy Wedding Banned, says The Hollywood Reporter. Williams will play one-half of a long-divorced couple who kidnap their daughter from her wedding in order to stop her making the same mistake they did, only to rekindle their romance while on the run from the cops. Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing. A director still has to be assigned to the project, which is based on a script by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. Williams can next be seen in the comedy Old Dogs.
Signing on for his second feature film in as many weeks, Steven Spielberg has committed to producing, and possibly directing, an adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Pirate Latitude, says The Hollywood Reporter. DreamWorks Studios last week acquired the rights to the book, which Crichton wrote just before his death in November. Latitudes takes place in 1665 and follows an ambitious plan to invade one of the world's richest and most notorious cities.
Kate Winslet has agreed to do the English narration on The Sunshine Boy, a documentary on autism by the Icelandic director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, it was announced last week. The film follows the producer Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir as she tries to understand her autistic son Keli in a journey that takes her halfway around the world. The film was released in Iceland in January and will premiere at this month's Toronto International Film Festival.
Walt Disney Co is acquiring the comic-book pioneer Marvel Entertainment in a $4 billion (Dh14.6bn) deal. The agreement gives Disney access to 5,000 Marvel characters that aren't already in use, and licence fees from Universal Orlando theme-park rides in Florida, which include The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk Coaster, as well as ticket sales from the films Iron Man 2 and Thor, distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The 11th Mumbai Film Festival will take place from October 29 to November 5 and honour the veteran Indian filmmaker/actor Shashi Kapoor with a lifetime achievement award. It will also present an international achievement award to the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos. Jury members include Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) and Iran's Jafar Panahi. An audience award of $20,000 (Dh73,400) has been added to the prize list, which includes $100,000 for the International Competition for First Feature Directors. The festival will also commemorate the 60th anniversary of Bollywood's Navketan Films from the filmmaker/actor Dev Anand.
Elizabeth Banks is in final negotiations to co-star with Russell Crowe in Paul Haggis's adaptation of the French thriller Pour Elle. Haggis will write, direct and produce the film, which is about a couple who find themselves in a desperate situation confronted with difficult choices, Variety reports.
The Mexican actor Diego Luna has begun filming his feature directorial debut, the family drama Abel, Variety reports. The film is being produced by Canana Films, which Luna runs with Gael García Bernal and the producer Pablo Cruz. John Malkovich's production company, Mr Mudd, is co-producing. The story unfolds through the eyes of the family's child, played by Jose Maria Yazpik.