Daily Breeze: What's Breezing

The Daily Breeze...

Tom Hanks is developing another show at HBO. Damon and Affleck team up and head to Boston like it's the Good Will Hunting days. Coldaply. Justin Timberlake. Captain America. And the return of a Butt Head.



- Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are gonna party like it's 1997. The two friends and Oscar winners will team up in the near future for a movie about the reputed former godfather of the Irish Mob. As Matt Damon said in an interview with GQ: "We're doing a Whitey Bulger movie." Damon will star as the notorious gangster while Affleck will direct. Affleck is currently filming his next picture, the Iran hostage crisis film Argo, and will most likely direct the film after completing that project. Terence Winter, of The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, will pen the screenplay.

- Tom Hanks is developing another show at HBO, but this time the project is not a war epic or a series detailing the space race, instead the setting shifts to another American institution: college. The half-hour comedy, titled Players, will follow the lives of college athletes and is in development from Hanks and long-time producing partner and Playtone co-founder Gary Goetzman.

- The quality hit from the summer and arguably marvels best "second" wave production Captain America: The First Avenger gets the Blu-Ray and DVD treatment this week. Extra features include how to get a six pack and the short documentary on Steve Rogers titled: "From Frail to Feared."

- Coldplay drops their fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, this week. Lead singer Chris Martin explains to MTV the details: "It's definitely a schizophrenic album ... it keeps changing sounds. That's why we called it such a strange thing, Mylo Xyloto. Because we felt like so many people have already made up their minds about us, both good and bad, that we can sort of start again from scratch and try and reflect all the music we listen to and we love." Some people will scream.

- Speaking of MTV... Beavis and Butt Head makes a glorious return to television this week on Thursday night. This time around the duo will be riffing on the likes of the Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant. Beavis and Butt-head Do America is classic. Cornholio.

- In Time races into theaters, the latest film from Gattaca director Andrew Niccol. The film stars Justin Timberlake, along with the slick cast of Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galecki and Matt Bomer, as a man who is accused of murder and has to go on the run. The catch in this one? It's a retro-future when the aging gene has been switched off and people stop aging at 25 years old. Time is money, literally. JT starts running when he inherits a fortune of time from a dead upper-class man over a century old prior to his death. The premise might sound a bit out there, but trust the director on this one. Gattaca is one of the most underrated films of the 90's.

- Some crazy stuff happened on Boardwalk Empire last night.

Ben Affleck Wanted For "Great Gatsby"

Although I admit I'm slightly afraid of what Baz Luhrmann might do to "The Great Gatsby," so far I can't knock the man for his casting choices. The book is my favorite of all time and he has landed three of my personal favorite actors to play parts in the film and is looking at another one.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Ben Affleck is in talks to join Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic "The Great Gatsby" for Warner Bros. Pictures.

Leonardo DiCaprio is pegged to play the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby who still pines for his former flame Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Tobey Maguire also stars, while Affleck is said to be interested in playing Daisy's wealthy husband Tom Buchanan.

As of right now there is a slight scheduling conflict with Affleck, his next directorial effort, the political thriller "Argo", is currently aiming to shoot in September while "Gatsby" is looking to start in August, but both sides are trying to figure it out.

Many have knocked Affleck's acting in the past, but his performances recently, including in "The Town," and his directorial work should be enough to say that he is a great choice. Affleck would be the perfect type to play opposite DiCaprio and he has the machismo and look to play the brutish Tom Buchanan.

The film has potential to be something truly amazing, especially since the cast is filled with a slew of former Oscar nominees and talented actors. The 3D project aims to kick off principal photography in August.

"Eclipse" Helmer Doing "Daredevil" Reboot

With superhero films being all the rage in Hollywood these days, it's no surprise that many studios are looking to reboot and remake past films that didn't work all that well. In a sense it all really started with "Batman Begins," which totally revamped the "Batman" franchise for the better and now 20th Century Fox is looking to do the same with everyone' favorite blind hero.

According to Deadline "30 Days of Night" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" director David Slade is in talks to develop and helm a reboot of the "Daredevil" film franchise for 20th Century Fox.

While the project doesn't have a writer attached yet, the film will be a continuation of the story started with the 2003 film starring Ben Affleck as the blind superhero. That film grossed $179M worldwide and was a critical failure, especially compared to films like "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight."

While Affleck will not be involved in the project, some rumors have surfaced that the project will actually be more a reboot than a sequel as the storyline is said to be an adaptation of the critically acclaimed Frank Miller-written and David Mazzucchelli-illustrated "Born Again" run of the comic series.

In that series, blind hero Matt Murdock begins to systematically destroy his life when his ex sells his identity off for heroin to the Kingpin.

While the project will obviously take some time to come together, if the film follows the Miller storyline things might actually go pretty well for this adaptation. The first "Daredevil" was just a mess, and while I honestly like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, the first "Daredevil" film just did not do the character justice. Miller's story is one of the best to grace the character's pages and if the project casts the right man, this one could help "Daredevil" break out to the mainstream much like "Iron Man" did a few years back.

Slade's next film is the period horror "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" with Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace.

Affleck Directs Tehran Hostage Feature "Argo"

Ben Affleck is a hot commodity in Hollywood these days. After the success of his last directorial feature, "The Town," Affleck's name has been mentioned around numerous projects including a film about the conflict in eastern Congo, "Replay," "The Trade" and most recently "American Bullshit." Well, add another name to that list.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck is in early negotiations to direct the Tehran hostage crisis-themed "Argo."

Says Heat Vision: “The story centers on how, during the occupation of the American embassy by Iranians in 1979, a rescue effort was mounted by the CIA and the Canadian government to extract six U.S. diplomats. The CIA used a disguise expert and concocted a scenario that involved the six being a Hollywood crew scouting a movie titled "Argo." Under those disguises, they were able to flee the country.”

Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay, based on the article which was titled “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.” David Klawans, George Clooney and Grant Heslov are producing.

Aside from the fact that I would love to see what Affleck could do with a film like this, I think this could be an interesting project no matter who helms it. From the sound of it, the project could make a great serious film, but at the same time, I could easily see a more humorous or at least "witty" take on it, ala "The Informant!"

Either way, Affleck has a slew of projects in his orbit, and whichever one he chooses will be lucky to have the man. Affleck should be making a decision on his next project in the coming weeks.

Ben Affleck Is So Much "American Bulls**t"

Even if "The Town" doesn't score an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Ben Affleck should be extremely proud of the film he directed, co-wrote and starred in. The film has been nominated for a slew of awards this past season and found itself named as one of the National Board of Review's top ten films of the year.

While Affleck puts on a solid performance in the film, it's his work as director and writer where his skills truly shine through. More often than not action/crime films are overlooked at award's season, but due to Affleck's deft direction and reflective writing the film has an emotional base and proves itself to be a great movie rather than just a great "action" film (which it is as well).

Affleck has shown, along with "Gone Baby Gone," that he truly has a knack for directing and that it may be what the longtime actor is best at. With the success of "The Town" Affleck has made himself quite the hot director and he is considering a few different projects for his next effort says The Wrap.

According to the site Affleck is heavily considering Eric Warren Singer's "American Bulls**t" as his next directorial effort.

Sony Pictures has the rights to the script which is described as "the true story of Abscam, the FBI's 1980 undercover sting operation of Congress to root out corruption, which was the brainchild of the world's greatest con man," according to Deadline.

Affleck is also considering a couple other projects including the 1970's Yankee wife-swapping story "The Trade" and "Replay," an adaptation of the Ken Grimwood novel.

Dave Mandel wrote the "The Trade," which follows the fantastically interesting story of New York Yankees pitchers Fritz Petersen and Mike Kekich who swapped wives back in the 1970s. Jason Smilovic, who penned "Lucky Number Slevin," adapted Ken Grimwood's novel "Replay," which follows a forty-year-old radio journalist who dies and gets to relive his life over and over in his 18-year-old body.

While I think all of the projects sound interesting I'd like to see what Affleck could do with "American Bulls**t" or "The Trade," both of which seem like they could be really solid films. The director has shown he has quite the touch with crime stories, so Affleck and Abscam could be quite the pairing.

Either way Affleck should make a decision soon on what he'll like to take on next behind the camera. The Academy Awards will be held February 27, 2011.

New Details On Malick's "Burial"

Legendary director Terrance Malick has always been known as one of Hollywood's biggest recluses, as well as being one of it's biggest genius's, the latter of which is one reason why he has been stealing headlines lately.

The director just finished work on his film "The Tree of Life", which had its trailer debut this weekend, and a whole bunch of details have recently emerged about his next project according to The Wrap.

Supposedly titled "The Burial", Malick recently fnished shooting on the project, which is a romantic drama starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem and Barry Pepper. The site has put together a synopsis with information found from numerous call sheets from the film. Beware, some spoilers ahead.

From The Wrap: "Set over a period of years, the film stars Affleck as Neil, a failed writer stuck in a loveless marriage with Marina (Kurylenko), whose expiring visa put pressure on Neil to propose. Neil and Marina have a daughter (Tatiana Chilin) together, but both of them are looking outside the marriage.

Neil is drawn to Jane (McAdams) and Marina betrays her husband by having an affair with Charlie (Charles Baker). Both Neil and Marina seek guidance from Father Quintana (Bardem), a priest frustrated by his inability to live his own life because he's too busy advising his parishioners on theirs.

The couple's dysfunctional relationship begins to take a toll on their daughter, who starts having problems in school."

Malick's projects are usually shrouded in secret. For example it took an extremely long time for anyone to really find out what his upcoming film "The Tree of Life" was all about, although of now it has an official release date and a trailer. (The film, which stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, will open May 27, 2011 and the trailer is excellent, definitely check it out.)

Malick's new film sounds the most intimate of all his previous films, which include the classic features "Deays of Heaven" and "Badlands". The cast of the film is truly spectacular, with Affleck continuing his string of excellent film choices, such as this fall's "The Town". Along with Weisz, McAdams, and Barden, the cast is just loaded with stars and the dramatic tension of the film should fit with Malick's deft direction style beautifully.

I think Malick's film "The Thin Red Line" is the most underrated film of the past few decades and I am totally intrigued to see how this film turns out. Don't expect a trailer anytime soon, but you can fill the void by checking out the director's new film "The Tree of Life"