Five Minutes Peace

What do you think of the One for the Money cast?

I know we weren't all happy about the prospect of Katherine Heigl playing Stephanie Plum in the forthcoming (now filming, in fact) movie of the first book in Janet Evanovich's wonderful series, but we're all going to have to just accept it. I'm more interested to know what you think about the rest of the cast. 

I've only ever been able to think of The Rock for Ranger, but they've messed around with this adaptation for so long that he's now too old. Fortunately, they've gone for Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me) and I am totally on board. He's cool, he's sexy and he has what I believe the young people call a smokin' bod. 

I've always struggled to think of an actor for Joe Morelli. I definitely come down on the Morelli side of the Ranger v Morelli argument and I have a very definite picture of him in my head. Young Patrick Dempsey maybe? If, when he was young, Patrick Dempsey had actually been as hot as he is now rather than a big dork. But they've cast Jason O'Mara. I don't know him, but he doesn't look like Morelli to me. 

I'm actually really happy with Sherri Shepherd as Lula. She looks pretty much exactly as I picture Lula. 

But the most interesting casting - for me at least - is that of Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur. I always imagined Grandma Mazur as rather unglamorous and quite wizened. But Debbie Reynolds is made of awesome and I can't wait to see what she does with the role. 

What do you think? Are you happy? Outraged? 

MOVIE NEWS: Eat, Pray, Love trailer

I loved the book, but I must admit I found the trailer a tiny bit irritating, though I can't quite put my finger on why. What do you think?

[via Galleycat]

MOVIE NEWS: Angelina Jolie as Dr Kay Scarpetta

How do we feel about this?  

At first I thought, "Oh dear me, no" but that's mainly because I've always pictured Scarpetta - who, in case you don't know is the main character in Patricia Cornwell's massively successful crime series - as looking exactly like the author... who looks a bit like Jodie Foster and so I imagined Jodie Foster in the movie too. 

Apparently Jodie Foster turned the role down and Ms Cornwell is delighted with the casting of Angelina. Now that I've thought about it for a bit longer, I think she'll be good. She's tough *and* sexy and - and I often forget this thanks to Angelina's notoriety - she can act. 

What do you think? 

MOVIE NEWS: Katherine Heigl to play Stephanie Plum

I know, I know. We've only just dealt with the Something Borrowed issue and now we've got an even thornier problem - looks like One for the Money - the first of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books - is FINALLY being made into a movie. And Katherine Heigl has signed up to play Stephanie.

I always wanted Sandra Bullock, but I have to admit she might be a bit *whisper* old. Unlike a lot of people, I don't have strong feelings about Katherine Heigl one way or another. I didn't watch much Grey's Anatomy, but I did like her in Knocked Up. I think I can see her as Stephanie... 

What do you think? And who would you like to see as Joe and Ranger? 

[via New York Daily News and @bevrosenbaum]

MOVIE NEWS: Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang

The second in the trilogy (I didn't know it was going to be a trilogy - did you?) of Nanny McPhee films is out in March. Nanny McPhee - based on the books of Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand  - has a brand new adventure with a different family, written, I understand, by Emma Thompson. 

The film stars Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Gyllenhaal and, of course, Emma herself.

MOVIE NEWS: Something Borrowed

Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed is one of my favourite chick lit books, so I was thrilled to read on her Twitter feed that Ginnifer Goodwin* has been cast as Rachel in the forthcoming movie version. 

Rachel was, I think, the easiest character to cast. No news yet on Dex or Darcy. Who do you think? I'm thinking Emily Blunt for Darcy and maybe Patrick Dempsey for Dex? Or is he too old? 

* One of the only "things" that made the movie version of He's Just Not That Into You tolerable, IMO. 

MOVIE NEWS: Getting Carried Away

I must admit when they announced a second film I was a little (actually a lot) sceptical. But seeing this trailer, well I got a teeny tiny (well, a lot) excited.

MOVIE REVIEW: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

I took my 5-year-old to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs on Saturday morning. It wasn't until I got home and googled it that I found out it was actually based on a mega-selling book (of the same title) written by Judi Barrett and published in 1978. Apparently the film doesn't have much to do with the book apart from the same basic idea, but that's good enough for me.

That basic idea is that it starts raining food. Apparently in the book, it's a simple suggestion along the lines of 'what would happen if food fell from the sky', but the film takes it to extremes, with an inventor, Flint, coming up with a machine that can turn water into food. But when the machine accidentally fires up into space, food starts raining from the sky.

MOVIE NEWS: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Much as I enjoyed Twilight, I had absolutely no interest in Stephenie Meyer's adult novel, The Host, until I listened to an interview with the author in which she described it as (and I'm paraphrasing) a love triangle where two sides of the triangle are in the same body. That's genius, don't you think?

The Guardian film blog describes it as follows: "In a near future in which Earth has been overrun by alien body-snatchers, one of their number is fused with a dying woman in an attempt to track down the planet's last remaining human resistance. However, complications ensue when the alien finds herself falling in love with the human's missing mate." I've read that a few times now and it still makes no sense to me. But that may be because I don't read sci-fi.

Anyway, The Host, like the Twilight series, is to be made into a movie with Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show, Gattaca) writing the script and directing. 

What do you think? Have you read The Host? Are you interested in a movie version?

MOVIE NEWS: Diablo Cody to write the Sweet Valley High movie

The wonderful Diablo Cody, who won an Oscar for her screenplay for Juno*, has signed up to write the screenplay for a movie adaptation of the Sweet Valley High books.

I don't need to tell you about the Sweet Valley High books, do I? I was never the biggest fan (I was, however, mad about the Sweet Dreams books), but even I can see that the movie has a much better chance of being awesome with Cody on board. What do you think? The right woman for the job?

[via Guardian Books and @mpphillips on Twitter]

* The Juno DVD is currently £3 in the HMV sale!