Blunt, Baranksi up for "Into the Woods"

Sheesh, Disney is hopping right to it figuring out the cast for Into the Woods.  The lastest news is that Emily Blunt is being considered for 'The Baker's Wife,' while Christine Baranski is rumored to be in negotiations for 'The Stepmother.'   This would be Blunt's second film alongside Meryl, following 2006's The Devil Wears Prada.   Baranski, who previously worked with director Rob Marshall in Chicago, more recently paired with Meryl in 2008's mega-hit musical Mamma Mia!  So far pretty much anyone who has been "in talks" has essentially been confirmed in one role or another.  Here's where we are:

The Witch: Meryl Streep (confirmed)
The Wolf: Johnny Depp (confirmed)
The Baker: James Corden (confirmed)
Cinderella's/Rapunzel's Prince: Jake Gyllenhaal & Chris Pine (rumored)
The Baker's Wife:  Emily Blunt (rumored)
The Stepmother: Christine Baranski (rumored)

Gyllenhaal and Pine in talks for "Into the Woods"

Well done, Minnesota, for getting marriage equality signed into law today!  Speaking of, as if the upcoming film adaptation of Sondheim's musical Into the Woods weren't already a gay magnet (gagnet?), The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine are in talks to star as the two princes.  Yum.

I wasn't aware that either of these two gentlemen were capable of singing well.  Again however, we know Sondheim would prefer great actors who can sing over great singers who can act.  Both Gyllenhaal and Pine have fine acting chops, and certainly wouldn't do much to deter fans from showing up in theaters.  I'm personally excited to see Chris Pine in Star Trek Into Darkness within the next week or so.  For Gyllenhaal, this would be his second film with Meryl, following 2007's Rendition.  Here's where the cast list stands after this new bit of info:

The Witch: Meryl Streep (confirmed)
The Wolf: Johnny Depp (confirmed)
The Baker: James Corden (confirmed)
The Baker's Wife: Nina Arianda (rumored)
Cinderella's/Rapunzel's Prince: Jake Gyllenhaal & Chris Pine (rumored)

                    

Depp, Corden confirmed for "Into the Woods"

With all of the hullabaloo surrounding yesterday's release of the first trailer for August: Osage County, I'm sure few people noticed that casting updates were revealed for Meryl's upcoming film Into the Woods.  Broadway World is reporting that both Johnny Depp and James Corden, previously rumored, have indeed been confirmed for the film as 'The Wolf' and 'The Baker' respectively.

The article includes information about the new material Stephen Sondheim has written for the film version.  One song is a duet for the Baker and his wife called "Rainbows"  The other is evidently for the Witch.  Normally I would think this is fantastic news for Meryl, as more material would normally mean more screen time.  However, rumors are floating around that the new song is a replacement for "the Witch's lament," I song I happen to particularly enjoy.  More perplexing is the fact that Rapunzel is reportedly not killed off in the film version.  As the Witch's daughter, Rapunzel's story being changed will inevitably change the Witch's.  It'll be interesting to see how they negotiate such a big difference, particularly as it pertains to Meryl and her character.  I don't want to start speculating about it in a negative way already.  I'm inclined to believe that Meryl pulls quite a bit of weight these days with the trajectories of her characters' arcs, so I'll surrender my anxiety to her expertise.

Here's where we stand on the cast:

The Witch: Meryl Streep (confirmed)
The Wolf: Johnny Depp (confirmed)
The Baker: James Corden (confirmed)
The Baker's Wife: Nina Arianda (rumored)

First trailer for "August: Osage County"

Without further ado...



It's exciting to have our first action shots of Meryl and the rest of the cast.  My main reaction upon seeing this the first time was "wow, they're sure trying to make us think this is a lot 'sunnier' of story that it really is."  Literally the film production looks more sunny than the play, as they've obviously opened up the story to include some of the dialogue in areas outside the Weston home (which we expected).  The reason for the brighter and somewhat lighthearted feel to the trailer is likely a marketing ploy.  Not too many people rush out to see a depressing or disturbing story.  Although there are certainly comic parts to this script, the overall tone is dark and at times rather intense.

We already know from Tracy Letts himself that the film closely follows the play, so we should expect the full film to include all the aspects that develop this more complicated and engaging storyline.  Meryl is in a fair amount of the trailer and as expected, dons an Oklahoman accent.  To me it actually sounds like she's trying to sound a bit like Margo Martindale, which would make sense, as the two play sisters in the movie.  There aren't many really baity clips of her shown.  There are a couple cute lines from the dinner table scene, and we briefly see the start of her physical altercation with Julia Roberts (Barbara), but we obviously get essentially no sense of what that entire amazing scene will provide the audience when seen in its entirety.

This trailer arrived sooner that I expected.  I imagine we'll see a second sometime late summer perhaps, this time possibly showing a bit more of an edge to the plot.  Although I wouldn't be surprised if this first trailer is how they plan on promoting the film.  It's a bit disingenuous to be honest, but hey, get as many butts in the seats as you can.  Maybe Harvey wants to keep open the possibility of pushing musical/comedy categories at the Globes.  At his point, Meryl looks like an even stronger candidate for her 18th Academy Award nomination.  All that remains to be seen is how well the film works as a whole.    Can't wait!

Casting news heats up for "Into the Woods"

As expected, casting rumors abound for Rob Marshall's upcoming adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical Into the Woods.  The latest is that Tony award-winning actress Nina Arianda is in talks to portray 'The Baker's Wife' alongside James Corden's 'Baker.'  The two were both involved in the table reading that took place last fall.  In general we can probably consider anyone who participated in that table read to be in consideration for a role, but unless there is specific news of an individual, I'm not going to include them in my casting list.

I hadn't realized this last year, but evidently last spring Emma Stone had met with Rob Marshall to discuss a role in the film.  I imagine she'd be up for either 'Little Red Riding Hood' or 'Cinderella.'  She was recently spotted chatting up James Corden at a comedy event.  Stone however may possibly encounter a scheduling conflict as she is expected to begin filming a new Woody Allen film in France this summer.  Again, only time will tell whether or not any of these folks will be officially cast.  Thus far:

The Witch: Meryl Streep (confirmed)
The Baker: Johnny Depp (rumored)
                   James Corden (rumored)
The Wolf:  Johnny Depp (rumored)
The Baker's Wife: Nina Arianda (rumored)

Poster for "August: Osage County" revealed

The first poster for August: Osage County was released yesterday afternoon.  Have a look:

I was a little unsure what I thought about it at first.  I was sort of expecting them to possibly use a real still of the house rather than the more abstract "dollhouse" image.  But I think the way it's represented is smart.  Like a pressure cooker with it's top finally blown off from the tumult of the Weston family, the cast members names steam out of the house one by one.   Meryl of course receives top billing. 

It's nice to finally get a little bit of promotional activity about this film.  We can hopefully expect a few production stills within the next month or two, followed ultimately by a highly anticipated trailer which I imagine will be released no later than July.  Let the advertising onslaught commence.

More casting speculation for "Into the Woods"

Broadway World is reporting that British actor James Corden is in talks for a role in Into the Woods.  I know, who?  Apparently he's a rather popular actor in the U.K.  He recently met with director Rob Marshall to discuss his participation in the film.  From what I can gather, Corden may be up for the role of 'The Baker.'  If this is indeed true, it would add some weight to the rumor that Johnny Depp is signing on as 'The Wolf.'  Corden may have a scheduling conflict, however.  Regardless, here's where we are on the cast as of last night:

The Witch:  Meryl Streep (confirmed)
The Baker:  Johnny Depp (rumored)
                  James Corden (rumored)
The Wolf:   Johnny Depp (rumored)