Gere Replaces Pacino In "Arbitrage"

One old man steps out, another old man steps in.

Although it seemed that Al Pacino was set to play the lead in Nicholas Jarecki's financial drama "Arbitage," according to Deadline, it looks as if Richard Gere is close to a deal to star in the flick.

The story follows a troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire before his fraud is exposed. He soon makes a costly error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.

At last report Pacino was slated to star in the lead role but is no longer attached to the film as of last month. Eva Green and Susan Sarandon also star in the film.

Laura Bickford, Kevin Turen, Bob Salerno and Justin Nappi are producing while Jarecki also penned the script.

Rapper Drake is also reportedly set to star in the film, which even with the absence of Pacino should be an interesting one. While Gere clearly isn't the caliber of an actor that Pacino is, he is still a top-notch talent and even though one of his recent film, "Brooklyn's Finest," was uneven, Gere was great in the film.

Shooting is set to start mid-April in New York.

Drake in Talks to Join Eva Green in "Arbitage"

Back before rap star Drake catapulted himself to the top of the hip-hop industry with the release of his debut album "Thank Me Later," he was a teen actor, going by his real name Aubrey Graham and flashing his chops on the popular teen drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation." After a long run on the series, he turned to his true passion--music--and it looked like he might never look back.

Until now.

According to The Wrap, Drake might be dipping back into the acting profession and is currently circling a role in the Nicholas Jarecki ("The Informers") financial thriller "Arbitrage."

Jarecki is writing and directing the film, which according to the site, "follows a hedge fund magnate who is in over his head and desperate to complete the sale of his shady trading empire to a major bank before his fraud is revealed. However, an unexpected, bloody error forces him to turn to the most unlikely corner for help in protecting him from rivals who want to bring him down."

The cast of the film is already pretty strong, with Susan Sarandon and Eva Green ("Casino Royale") on board to play the main character's wife and art dealer mistress.

The 24-year-old artist's first studio album, "Thank Me Later," has sold over one million copies in the United States and was easily one of the best albums of 2010.

I think Drake fits in perfectly with this project, and for anyone who watched "Degrassi" back in the day, you know the man can act. While the show was overly dramatic, his character was one of the most interesting, especially after he was bound to a wheelchair after being shot. Like I said, very dramatic.

Either way this project definitely got a bit better for adding the actor-turned-rapper-turned actor again.

Shooting is scheduled for this March in New York.

Links of the Day, June 14

Links of the Day:

-The AV Club usually has some of the best stuff on the web when it comes to movies and television, and it's true again with these articles: The AV Club's writer's take a look at films that start off pretty well, but then eventaully stall in the third act.

-They also have a great running bit called 'The New Cult Canon' and in this particular one they tackle the ridiculous yet entertaining "Starship Troopers". For anyone that's seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. They delve deep, looking at the anti-war aspects and other themes. Plus, Doogie Howser aka Barney Stinson aka Neil Patrick Harris stars in it as well. 'Nuff said.

-Ever wonder what could happen if 'Die Hard' met '24'? IFC tries to imagine some of the best "Killer crossovers we'd love to see (and never will)." The combinations truly are great, especially with "Dirty Harry" and "Bullitt", but the mashed up pictures really make it. Doc Brown and the Termiator? Count me in. Too bad we'll probably never get to see any of these, but when it comes to Hollywood, who knows?

-Remember the 90's? Remeber Kevin Smith's "Dogma"? Cinematical does a nice column about Smith and the film's overly religious and satirical aspects and it's pretty funny.

-Cinematical's countdown lists are usually on point, but in this case, they hit the nail right on the head with "Cinematical Seven's Ass Kicking Teachers", especially at number one.

-I still can't get enough of this Nike World Cup ad directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the director of "21 Grams". Here's an article on Slate.com detailing some of how it got made, and if you haven't watched it, get a clue man.

-Like a lot of peeps these days, I'm a big fan of Drake (even since his wheelchair bound days on "Degrassi"...come on, admit it, you watched it). Here's a great article from Slate.com about his much anticipated album "Thank Me Later", which drops this week.