John Hurt rounds out 'Melancholia' cast

John Hurt is the latest to join Lars von Trier's upcoming disaster movie "Melancholia." He is joining Kirsten Dunst, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling and Charlotte Gainsbourg. What a stellar cast!

Stellan and Alexander Skarsgard and Udo Kier are also on board. Plot details are kept under wraps, but the film will deal with the end of the world. Hurt will soon star in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Kirsten Dunst to star in 'Melancholia'

Kirsten Dunst has been cast in Lars von Trier's upcoming disaster film "Melancholia." Plot details are unknown, but she will join a fantastic cast that includes Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgaard, Stellan Skarsgaard and Udo Kier, according to Deadline New York.

Penelope Cruz was originally attached to the project, but she dropped out because she preferred joining "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." Von Trier will shoot "Melancholia" this summer and plans to have the flick ready for next year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival. I am looking forward to this...

Rumor alert: Scorsese to remake 'Taxi Driver' in collaboration with Lars von Trier? Huh?

The good old rumor machine is on fire today. The Web is buzzing about a story no one really believes at this point. That said, you never know what these crazy filmmakers are up to, so let's see what happens.

Anyway, here it is: word is Martin Scorsese may be gearing up to develop some sort of "Taxi Driver" remake project. And get this: Lars von Trier may be involved somehow as well. Sounds weird, right?

Well, maybe, but we shouldn't panic quite yet. As various news articles and Variety point out, the project could follow the structure of von Trier's excellent documentary "Five Obstructions" from 2003.

In that film, von Trier challenged his buddy Jorgen Leth to go out and remake his film "The Perfect Human" five times. The plan was to give Leth new obstacles to overcome each time. It worked beautifully.

So, will von Trier challenge Scorsese to remake 1976's "Taxi Driver" a couple of times in short versions? If that's the idea, I'm all for it. If the idea is to remake the whole movie as a feature, well... I don't know...

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Saturday film news web roundup: Lars von Trier picks next film; Roland Emmerich talks projects

It's Saturday again, and here's a brief entry with short descriptions and links to film news we either missed or quite honestly didn't have time to add. Here's what you need to know on October 10, 2009:

• Filmmaker Lars von Trier will next write and direct a disaster film titled "Planet Melancholia." Plot details are kept under wraps, but I'm sure we're in for a visually stunning film. Trier last helmed "Antichrist." "Planet Melancholia" should be ready by the time Cannes rolls around in 2011. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Roland Emmerich recently talked to Coming Soon about some upcoming projects, and he said he will do a film about "how it came to be that William Shakespeare was not the author of his plays." He's also planning a movie titled "Foundation," based on Isaac Asimov's series. More here.

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Short takes: Muccino to explore divorce in 'Love'

• Gabriele Muccino, director of "The Pursuit of Happyness," is developing "What I Know About Love," a drama that will explore the struggles of divorve and single parenthood. The project is described as a modern "Kramer vs. Kramer," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

• Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg have signed on to star in Lars von Trier's upcoming drama "Antichrist," about a couple who experience strange events after retreating to a cabin in order to recover from their child's death (Variety).

• Universal has acquired the rights to adapt "The Wheel of Time," a best-selling novel series by Robert Jordan. Among several characters in the fantasy saga is Ransd al'Thor, a hero born to take down the ruthless Shai'tan (Variety).

• Gavin O'Connor's crime drama "Pride and Glory" finally gets a new release date, according to Variety. Warner Bros. has officially scheduled the film for Oct. 24, 2008. Colin Ferrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight and Lake Bell star.