Adam McKay Directing Stock Market Drama BIG SHOT Starring Brad Pitt, Christian Bale And Ryan Gosling

The Wrap reports that comedic writer-director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) will direct his first dramatic film with Big Shot. A-list actors such as Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling are attached for lead roles in the film. The project will be handled by Paramount and Pitt's production company Plan B.

It's based on the non-fiction novel The Big Shot: Inside The Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. It focuses on the default credit swap schemes that helped almost destroyed the American economy during the housing crisis.

Lewis' other book Moneyball was adapted for the screen which had director Bennett Miller and also starred Brad Pitt. Earning Pitt and Jonah Hill Oscar nominations. It would get another four nominations including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Not the usual material or pedigree Adam Mckay is known for. This is a huge step-up for McKay who was recently tasked to rewrite the Ant-Man script for Marvel Studios.

Big Shot could establish McKay as a major player the awards level arena when it releases. It's expected the dramatic stock market film could end-up awards bait and we should keep an eye on this project.

I'll be curious to see if Adam's partner and friend Will Farrell will get a role since we rarely see him tackle dramatic projects.


SOURCE: THEWRAP

ANTMAN Wraps Principle Photography And Concept Artwork For Villain Yellow Jacket

Director Peyton Reed has taken to Twitter to confirm that principle photography on Marvel's Ant-Man has wrapped. The heist film will be released on July 17th, 2015, which was originally the spot reserved for Batman v Superman before moving to 2016.. The cast includes Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily, Corey Stoll (seen above), Michael Pena, Judy Greer, John Slattery, Bobby Cannavale, T.I. and Hayley Atwell.

And that's it! Principal photography on ANT-MAN is now complete. The ants have left the building. Stay tuned... pic.twitter.com/xj5h9qFyo6
— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) December 6, 2014

Edgar Wright, who was set to write and direct the film controversially exited the film, and had his script he co-wrote with Joe Cornish completely rewritten by Adam McKay, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. Peyton Reed was hired to replace Wright and was able to pull everything together to make it work. A trailer should be expected for the Super Bowl, as Marvel will need to make audiences aware of the extremely obscure Marvel hero early-on.

There are also images of concept art (could also be art from the Hasbro line of toys) of the film's villain Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll) making the rounds online. Below you can see these images which look extremely similar to style used for Ant-Man's concept art poster from SDCC14. Along with a shot of Paul Rudd from recent pick-up shots.

SOURCE: TWITTER

Marvel Announces New Cast For ANT-MAN, Will Howard Stark And 1960's S.H.I.E.L.D. Play A Role?

Marvel has announced that cameras has begun to roll-on Ant-Man in San Francisco, which is directed by Payton Reed. Our primary cast consists of Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, Evangeline Lily as Hope Van Dyne (daughter of Pym) and Corey Stoll as the main villain Darren Cross aka Yellow Jacket.

The new additions mentioned in the press release include Michael Pena (finally confirmed by Marvel), Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Blue Jasmine), Judy Greer (Archer, Descendants, Jurassic World, Dawn of The Planet of The Apes), John Slatterty, David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight, Prisoners), Abby Ryder Fortson, Gregg Turkington, and for some reason rapper T.I. (Takers).

John Slattery's (Mad Men) addition might be the confirmation we've been waiting for, as he played the original 60's version of Howard Stark in Iron Man 2. Bringing him back, gives us the impression that S.H.I.E.L.D. and Howard Stark will indeed play a role in the film. It's unknown what the actual timeline of the film will be, but it's expected we would see a younger version of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) kicking-ass as Ant-Man in the 1960s, possibly for S.H.I.E.L.D. We've been hearing that the rewrites were happening to include Pym's connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. and place Ant-Man into the greater lineage of the MCU.

There is talk from BadassDigest that Judy Greer  will play the ex-wife of Lang (Rudd) and Bobby Cannavale might be replacing Patrick Wilson as her new husband, a cop that also arrested Lang. I have to assume that child-actor Abby Ryder Fortson will be playing Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott. Cassie had been rumored since Edgar Wright's involvement, and seems to be a role that could develop in the future.

SOURCE: MARVEL

RUMOR: Does Villain Darren Cross Steal The Yellow Jacket Suit In ANT-MAN?

There have been a couple of rumors circling via JoBlow and TheWrap concerning who the villains of Peyton Reed's Ant-Man will be. There is talk of actors Corey Stoll and Patrick Wilson taking the roles of the villains, with Stoll playing main industrial baddie Darren Cross. I assume the pair are the ones who are hellbent on stealing Hank Pym's technology, which leads us to the "big heist" of the picture.

BadassDigest seems to try to clear things up a bit, mainly noting that it very well could be the Yellow Jacket suit that is being stolen from Pym. The suit is best known as giving Hank Pym a personality disorder, which leads to him hitting his wife Janet. A rather large and shocking plot-point for comics in that era, since domestic abuse wasn't the subject of hero's daily lives back then. It's uncertain who Stoll and Wilson will be playing, but Devin confirms Darren Cross is one of the villains. Also, hinting one of the two could be donning the Yellow Jacket suit. This would make a lot of sense and allow the darker side of Pym to be explored without making Hank out to be total piece of garbage.

SOURCE: BADASSDIGEST

Director Peyton Reed Confirmed For ANT-MAN With Adam McKay Touching-Up Script

After Edgar Wright's departure from Marvel's Ant-Man, there was a lot of "what-now" and speculation. Even more so, a wave of directing candidates and denials. Until, Yes Man's Peyton Reed became the front-runner via TheWrap. There is more developing concerning that news.

Marvel has confirmed Peyton as the new director and also announces that Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman, The Other Guys, Talladega Nights) will complete the rewrites to Wright-Cornish's script. Production is expected to begin soon with it's release date set for July 17th, 2015. We finally have our first synopis of the film as well, which pairs Pym and Lang together.

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world. 

I'm still convinced that with Reed's addition to the project, my hope of Zooey Deschanel playing Janet (The Wasp) is a very strong possibility. The pair have worked together on Yes Man and The New Girl. It doesn't hurt that she's previously worked with Paul Rudd. We haven't seen a complete casting announcement from Marvel concerning cast members besides Rudd and Douglas, so it's unknown if the studio has signed-off on Edgar's choices. Evangeline Lily has been named as having leading female role, but is said to be playing the daughter of Hank Pym (Douglas). I'm unsure if Marvel is about to make Janet the daughter of Hank, it's possible that Lily is playing another character.

SOURCE: MARVEL 

Kristen Wiig Wanted For ANCHORMAN 2

TheWrap reports that comedian Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) is being looked at for the role of Brick's (Carell) girlfriend in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Anchorman 2 Is Happening Original Cast Returning

Channel 4's own Ron Burgundy appeared on Conan tonight to reveal that Paramount has greenlit the long in-development Anchorman 2. Deadline adds that Adam McKay will be back as the writer and director with Judd Apatow producing. Will Ferrell is back but so are Paul Rudd and Steve Carell. Variety's Jeff Snieder also mentioned via Twitter that David "CHAMP"Koechner is also on board. As of now it's unknown if other supporting actors like Christina Applegate, Seth Rogen, Chris Parnell, Vince Vaughn, Fred Willard and Ben Stiller will be returning as well.

Emma Stone Could Star In He's Fuckin' Perfect

Deadline reports that Emma Stone (Gangster Squad, Amazing Spider-Man) is in talks to star in the spec-script comedy He's Fuckin' Perfect. Written by director Adam McKay's (Anchorman, Step Brothers, Other Guys) assistant turned screenwriter Lauryn Kahn which focuses on a social media savvy girl who is pessimistic about love and vets her friends’ dates to find flaws. When that process leads her to uncover the perfect guy, she decides to use her internet research skills to turn herself into his perfect match. It will be produced by McKay and Will Ferrell's production company Gary Sanchez which recently produced the horror action comedy Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters that stars Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner. The film could end up at Fox 2000 and will likely get a title change.

Adam McKay Teases Cast For Farrell/Wahlberg Comedy Three Mississippi

EW talked to writer/director Adam McKay (Anchor Man, Step Brothers, Other Guys) about his next comedy project which stars Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg. The Thanksgiving themed comedy would see the two actors the heads of two competing families who have a tradition of playing a holiday game of football. Wahlberg's character's father played by Alec Baldwin becomes ill and tries to get his estranged son to gather up the rest of the oddball family to win the next game. As their family has a terrible record of losing against Farrell's brood. Jeremy Renner is being looked at for the role of an ex-con family member. While Rob Riggle could be playing a gay cousin who has experience playing college football. The filmed titled Three Mississippi seems interesting enough with a solid cast but McKay has yet to confirm if he'll be directing.