Let her play Marilyn Monroe – well, that’s the rumor, anyway. Cinematical reports the Oscar-nominated actress, more known for being the late Heath Ledger’s ex-squeeze and mother of his child, may be in talks to portray the iconic movie star in My Week with Marilyn. The film based on Colin Clark’s memoir of the same title and centers around the making of Laurence Olivier’s The Prince and the Showgirl, a film so arduous to make with Monroe it put Olivier off directing for 13 years. Williams may not be the first person you’d think of to play the buxom blond bombshell, but I definitely think she can handle it. She plays fragile and tragic really well, which was basically Marilyn in a nutshell.
In other casting news: Johnny Depp is ready to sign on as Pancho Villa in the biopic Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers, Variety reports. Wow, that’s some title. Based on the biographical novel The Friends of Pancho Villa by James Carlos Blake, the film will focus on how the infamous Mexican guerrilla fighter and his compadres had a great time fighting and robbing the rich, but also dancing, partying and making love. Oh yeah, Depp could do that with his eyes closed.
Then there’s Philip Seymour Hoffman, who’s finding his religion with director Paul Thomas Anderson. Having worked together on films such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love, Variety reports that the two are teaming up for a new film, apparently in its infant stages. The premise concerns a charismatic man named “the Master,” who starts a faith-based organization in the 1950s and finds a young twentysomething drifter named Freddie to help him spread the word – until, that is, the kid starts questioning the faith he’s gotten himself involved in. Scientology reference perhaps? Actually, that pretty much fits any cult-like criteria. Variety says: “The drama does not so much scrutinize self-started churches like Scientology or the Mormons, as much as it explores the need to believe in a higher power, the choice of which one to embrace and the point at which a belief system graduates into a religion.” Uh-huh, sure.
And finally, Ben Kingsley goes from Gandhi to Taj. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning actor is set to play the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal between 1632 and 1654 as a memorial to his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal (played by Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai), who died giving birth to their 14th child. Soon after its completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son and imprisoned at the nearby Agra Fort. “With my passion for India and the Taj Mahal now becoming one 
of the Seven Wonders of the World, I am compelled to ask ‘why’ and ‘how’ this scream of grief frozen in marble came into being,” Kingsley said in the statement.
God, I love Ben Kingsley – but I didn’t always. Quick story: I was a college freshman when Kingsley won the Best Actor Oscar for his Gandhi performance, beating favorite Paul Newman for his turn in The Verdict. I was so pissed at the time because I felt Newman was totally robbed by a guy who, in my opinion, basically did an impersonation. I ranted and raved for WEEKS, driving my new college friends crazy. In fact, I still rant a little about it. Seriously, Newman WAS robbed. They end up giving him the career Oscar a few years later for The Color of Money, but come on. That just left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I digress … Because of that, I held a slight grudge against Kingsley for many years, which is ridiculous, I know, because after awhile, I had to admit the Brit was one hell of a fine actor. I think I finally came around after I saw him in Sexy Beast. Then I got to interview him for his breathtakingly tragic performance in The House of Sand and Fog, a movie that affected me so deeply, I cried for several hours after its viewing. It’s one of those films I can’t watch again (see: my Gorillas in the Mist post). And in talking with Kingsley, I found him simply one of the most eloquent yet down-to-earth men I’ve ever met. So, I forgive you, Ben, for taking the Oscar away from Paul – and I look forward to seeing you play another very different Indian icon.