In a comedy, please. Listen, the girl has GOT to move on from those insipid Star Wars films, show her moxie (OK, Night at the Museum put that damn word in my head) and just let loose. Like she did in this SNL short:
And happily, that is exactly what she is doing. According to Variety, Portman has signed up for Your Highness — a comedy set in medieval times about an arrogant, lazy prince (Danny McBride), who gets talked into going on a quest with his heroic brother (James Franco, also tapping into his funny bone lately) to save the kingdom. Portman will play a “warrior princess,” who falls for McBride. And what warrior princess wouldn’t?
In other casting news: The ever-interesting Emile Hirsch has decided to take on the Danish prince in yet another Hamlet redo, this time helmed by Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke (who also directed Hirsch in Lords of Dogtown). According to the Hollywood Reporter, this Hamlet will be contemporary, framed more as a “suspense thriller” in order to be more “accessible for an audience today,” says producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. Ah, but will they speak the Bard’s language, perchance?
Jack Nicholson is itching to get back up there on the big screen and is in talks to star in his buddy James L. Brooks’ next film, or so says Variety. Remember, Brooks is the guy who guided Nicholson to two Oscar-winning performances in Terms of Endearment and As Good As It Gets, so you can bet Jack’s feeling good about this one. It’s an untitled romantic comedy about a professional softball player (Reese Witherspoon) who loves two men: a good guy (Paul Rudd) and a charmer (Owen Wilson). Nicholson would play Witherspoon’s dad, thankfully.
And finally, looks like Tom Cruise is continuing his ride on the comic train after surprising the hell out of everyone with his hilarious performance in Tropic Thunder. He’s in negotiations to star with Cameron Diaz in the comedy Wichita, in which he plays “a secret agent who pops in and out of the life of a single woman.” That’s it. That’s all we know about the plot. Doesn’t sound entirely promising, but it might be cool to see Cruise and Diaz go at it.