See what else is happening in film & TV industries around the world.
Steven Spielberg to produce a ‘Grapes of Wrath’ remake
The 75th anniversary of the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ will take place next year, and Dreamworks is currently in talks with the Steinbeck estate to release another adaptation to coincide with the anniversary. Veteran Hollywood director Steven Spielberg is reportedly in line to produce a remake of the 1940 John Ford-directed film, which earned two Oscars at the 1941 Academy Awards, but will direct the feature. Spielberg is currently committed to directing Jason Hall’s adaptation of ‘American Sniper’, with Bradley Cooper starring. ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ follows a poor family of tenant farmers forced off their land in Oklahoma due to a severe drought and desperate economic conditions. They then travel to California in search of a better life, but are eventually overwhelmed by poverty and hunger in the Great Depression. Ford’s adaptation starred Henry Fonda as protagonist Tom Joad and won Ford an Oscar for Best Director. Jane Darwell also took home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Ma Joad. According to Variety, Dreamworks is also prepping a remake of another classic Hollywood feature, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller ‘Rebecca’ which currently has Nikolaj Arcel attached to direct.
James Franco to adapt the William Faulkner novel ‘The Sound and the Fury’
The multi-hyphenate Hollywood star James Franco is set to adapt another William Faulkner novel ‘The Sound and the Fury’. Franco’s first adaptation of a William Faulkner novel was the complex ‘As I Lay Dying’ and the film was screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews. According to The L.A. Times, Franco is looking to helm ‘The Sound and the Fury’, and will write the script with his ‘As I Lay Dying’ co-writer Matt Rager. The novel should prove to be a tough adaptation for Franco as it employs a number of narrative styles, including the technique known as stream of consciousness, pioneered by 20th Century novelists such as James Joyce. The story focuses on the decline of the Compson family, Southern aristocrats in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha in the early 20th century. In addition to this, the L.A. Times also reports that Franco is in the process of trying to line-up casting for the lead roles. Jon Hamm is in the running to play the patriarch, Jason Compson III, and Franco is hoping that his younger brother Dave Franco will play the suicidal Quentin Compson. Franco and Danny McBrideare also slated to star in the picture, but their roles are currently unknown. Martin Ritt previously adapted the book in 1959 with Yul Brynner, Joanne Woodward, Margaret Leighton, and Stuart Whitman starring. Recently, Franco dropped out of directing ‘The Garden of Last Days’ two weeks before production was about to begin and he will film Wim Wender’s ‘Everything Will Be Fine’ this summer in Montreal.
Watch the trailer for ‘Delivery Man’, starring Vince Vaughan
Dreamworks Pictures has released the full theatrical trailer for the upcoming comedy ‘Delivery Man’. The film stars Vince Vaughan as an affable underachiever who discovers that he's fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity. The film features the Hollywood debut of rising Irish actor Jack Reynor, who is currently filming Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers 4’. The film also stars Chris Pratt and Cobie Smoulders and will be released in America on November 22nd.
To watch the trailer, click the video below.
