Colin Farrell Won't Star In Arthur And Lancelot, But Project Moves Forward (CINEMA BLEND)

Author: Katey Rich


This is the second time Arthur and Lancelot has made a casting change, and by far the least dramatic. Last December up and comers Joel Kinnaman and Kit Harrington were set to star in the film until Warner Bros. halted production, concerned that the $110 million project was too expense to have unknown leads.

Casting Farrell-- and with the idea to bring on James McAvoy as Arthur and Gary Oldman as Merlin-- would have brought a little more starpower, and presumably that's still the route they'll take as they attempt to recast the role.

McAvoy and Oldman never had deals, so don't expect them to stick around as well. But hey, it's a nice fresh start!


READ MORE:  http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Colin-Farrell-Won-t-Star-Arthur-Lancelot-Project-Moves-Forward-30209.html

James McAvoy: 'Filth is the biggest risk of my career' (Digital Spy)

Published Tuesday, Dec 27 2011, 6:40pm EST | By Jennifer Still | 

 

© WENN / Patricia Schlein

James McAvoy has confessed that he worries about how his career will fare after starring in Filth.

The X-Men: First Class actor plays the role of depraved Edinburgh police officer Bruce Robertson in the big-screen adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel. Robertson is a bigot and racist who partakes in bestiality and cross-dressing.

McAvoy told The Daily Record: "I'm taking probably the biggest risk of my career in playing the part in Filth.

"It's an incredible role for me, unlike anything I've ever done and a massive ­challenge. One I hope I don't dash myself on."

However, McAvoy insisted that he understands the importance of taking on more challenging parts, not only as an actor, but as a lover of film.

"If you stop taking risks, then you get bored, or you just keep playing the same part, over and over again. Eventually audiences get bored of that as well," he explained.

"It is difficult because everyone is watching now. You can't fail in secret, or quietly. It's a public failure and people notice. It's not that I'm saying people rejoice in tearing you down. Not at all. But, people notice. They go, 'What a disappointment', and that's the worst thing, to disappoint people. So, it makes taking risks riskier."

Filth, which also stars Jamie Bell and Alan Cumming, will begin shooting in January

 

http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a357480/james-mcavoy-filth-is-the-biggest-risk-of-my-career.html

 

Kit Harington is the once and future king in “Arthur and Lancelot” opposite Joel Kinnaman

by Linda Ge |

Looks like perseverance has paid off for “Game of Thrones” actor Kit Harington. After emerging as a front-runner and testing for David Dobkin’s “Arthur and Lancelot” only to watch his scene partner Joel Kinnaman land the role of Lancelot, and then asked to re-test for the role of Arthur against more competitors, Variety reports Harington is Arthur after all. A schedule is now being hammered out for the actor to do both the film and the second season of “Game of Thrones”, which is currently filming.

Dobkin’s vision for the film remains vague with no plot details revealed, though he has said: “You know Arthur’s superpower is compassion and vision. I will tell you this, the whole thing is wrapped around the birth of democracy as a concept and it’s positing Arthur as the first man to say all men are created equal.” Variety updates that despite Dobkin’s tendencies towards comedy in the past (he directed “The Wedding Crashers” and “The Change-Up”), “Arthur and Lancelot” will be a “Braveheart”-style action epic. Let’s hope it doesn’t stray too close to that other “Braveheart”-style adaptation of Arthurian legend, “King Arthur.”

Harington, who beat out the likes of Sam Claflin, Luke Evans and Toby Kebbell for the role of Arthur, is back at work on season 2 of HBO’s monstrous hit “Game of Thrones”, after not landing another high profile role, that of Jared in Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer’s “The Host.”

“Arthur and Lancelot” will begin filming in early 2012 and already has a March 15, 2013 release date.

Up and Comers

Game Of Thrones' Kit Harington Grabs Second Lead In Arthur And Lancelot

published: 2011-11-18 13:30:47 Author: Eric Eisenberg

 

 

When I spoke with director David Dobkin this summer while he was promoting the R-rated body switching comedy The Change-Up, we talked a bit about his next project, a dramatic epic about King Arthur. When I brought up the subject of casting, he mentioned that it was still up in the air, but that it would mostly consist of unknown British actors. Apparently the term he was actually looking for at the time was, "actors on massively popular television shows."

Following news from last month that The Killing star Joel Kinnaman had signed on to play Lancelot, Variety reports that Kit Harington has been selected by Warner Bros. to play the second lead in Arthur & Lancelot. While he is more of an unknown than Kinnaman, who had massive success in Sweden before coming over to America, Harington is widely recognized for playing Jon Snow on the incredibly popular HBO series Game of Thrones (in which, coincidentally, he also got to wield a sword). The role will actually be only the second film role for the actor, as he recently wrapped production on the video game adaptation Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, in which he will play Vincent Carter. The trade says that Harington beat out the likes of Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) and Richard Maddon (a Game of Thrones co-star) for the part.

Though they are still working on scheduling details, it's expected that they will be able to start production early next year. What do you think of Jon Snow getting his big break?

 

cinema blend

Luke Evans under consideration for role of Arthur in Arthur & Lancelot.

Coventry Telegraph

By David Bentley on Nov 6, 11 09:22 PM

 

 

AS SEQUELS to X-Men: First Class and also Wrath of the Titans, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Blade Runner all begin to get moving, let's not forget that 2009's relaunch of Star Trek has also earned itself a follow-up.

And it may now have its villain in place. Benicio Del Toro is expected to be offered the part, and it's a role so secret that even the actor doesn't know who he will be playing, reports Variety.
The fanboys are all guessing it will be Khan but hopefully we will boldly go where no other film or episode has gone before rather than rehash Ricardo Montalban's tyrant, who first appeared in the TV tale Space Seed and went on to star in the 1982 feature Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
JJ Abrams returns to the director's chair for this untitled Star Trek follow-up, with production expected to start early in 2012. Puerto Rican actor Del Toro's previous credits include Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Snatch, Traffic, The Usual Suspects, Sin City and The Wolfman remake.

In other casting chatter, Gary Oldman is being approached to play Merlin in David Dobkin's Arthur & Lancelot, according to Deadline. Joel Kinnaman is set to play Lancelot and The Hollywood Reporter adds that Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans, The Three Musketeers, Immortals) and Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla, Prince of Persia, War Horse) are under consideration for the role of Arthur.
Meanwhile, Liam Hemsworth is the favourite to play the son of Bruce Willis's tough cop John McClane in A Good Day To Die Hard, the fifth film in the Die Hard series. Among those also up for the role are Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Mission: Impossible III) and Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand, 3:10 to Yuma, The Mechanic).

And last in the casting frenzy is Warner Bros' big-screen adaptation of the Japanese manga (comic) and anime (cartoon) Akira. Garrett Hedlund will play bike gang leader Kaneda, while Ezra Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin) and Alden Eherenreich (Tetro, Twixt) are vying to play Tetsuo, whose emerging psychic powers attract government attention.

A previous report linked Gary Oldman to the role of The Colonel and Helena Bonham Carter to Lady Miyako

Kit Harington’s competition for “Arthur and Lancelot” include “Game of Thrones” co-star and Luke Evans

Up and Comers

by Linda Ge | Tags: arthur and lancelot, casting, game of thrones, immortals, kit harington, luke evans, richard madden, rumors, the east, toby kebbell, wrath of the titans

Kit Harington is still in the game! After the not-so-promising development of Joel Kinnaman being the only one cast in “Arthur and Lancelot” after he tested with the “Game of Thrones” star in London, THR reports Harington could still have a shot. Kinnaman is in negotiations for Lancelot and will be doing chemistry tests with potential Arthurs, including Harington – again. Joining in the competition this time around are Harington’s “Thrones” co-star Richard Madden and fellow British actors Luke Evans and Toby Kebbell.

Director David Dobkin’s vision for the new adaptation of the Camelot legend remains vague with no plot details revealed, though he did tell The Playlist over the summer, “I pulled the legend apart. I only kept a few things. I kept certain characters, I recreated the entire launch of the legend and why it starts the way that it starts, I don’t want to give away too much but it’s always had a flaw. I pulled the flaws out, I reinvented the characters as grounded characters. I took a much more realistic and grounded approach towards everybody, you know why would this character be this way and why would this character be that way? You know Arthur’s superpower is compassion and vision. I will tell you this, the whole thing is wrapped around the birth of democracy as a concept and it’s positing Arthur as the first man to say all men are created equal.”

There’s no way of telling whether Harington has an edge over the others just joining the fray. He is also in contention for another high profile film, Andrew Niccol’s “The Host”, based on the novel by “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer and starring Soairse Ronan. Harington’s “Thrones” co-star Madden was recently named a Star of Tomorrow by UK’s Screen International, and is currently shooting miniseries “Birdsong” opposite Eddie Redmayne and Clemence Poesy.

 Evans is one of Britain’s biggest rising stars, often shortlisted for high profile projects including “The Bourne Legacy” and “The Great Gatsby.” He’ll next be seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals.” Kebbell will be seen in a different Greek gods epic, “Wrath of the Titans” opposite Sam Worthington and recently joined the cast of “The East”, co-written by and starring Brit Marling.

 

Luke Evans - News

Kit Harington’s competition for “Arthur and Lancelot” include “Game of Thrones” co-star and Luke Evans

by Linda Ge Up and Comers

Kit Harington is still in the game! After the not-so-promising development of Joel Kinnaman being the only one cast in “Arthur and Lancelot” after he tested with the “Game of Thrones” star in London, THR reports Harington could still have a shot. Kinnaman is in negotiations for Lancelot and will be doing chemistry tests with potential Arthurs, including Harington – again. Joining in the competition this time around are Harington’s “Thrones” co-star Richard Madden and fellow British actors Luke Evans and Toby Kebbell.

Director David Dobkin’s vision for the new adaptation of the Camelot legend remains vague with no plot details revealed, though he did tell The Playlist over the summer, “I pulled the legend apart. I only kept a few things. I kept certain characters, I recreated the entire launch of the legend and why it starts the way that it starts, I don’t want to give away too much but it’s always had a flaw. I pulled the flaws out, I reinvented the characters as grounded characters. I took a much more realistic and grounded approach towards everybody, you know why would this character be this way and why would this character be that way? You know Arthur’s superpower is compassion and vision. I will tell you this, the whole thing is wrapped around the birth of democracy as a concept and it’s positing Arthur as the first man to say all men are created equal.”

There’s no way of telling whether Harington has an edge over the others just joining the fray. He is also in contention for another high profile film, Andrew Niccol’s “The Host”, based on the novel by “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer and starring Soairse Ronan. Harington’s “Thrones” co-star Madden was recently named a Star of Tomorrow by UK’s Screen International, and is currently shooting miniseries “Birdsong” opposite Eddie Redmayne and Clemence Poesy. Evans is one of Britain’s biggest rising stars, often shortlisted for high profile projects including “The Bourne Legacy” and “The Great Gatsby.” He’ll next be seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals.” Kebbell will be seen in a different Greek gods epic, “Wrath of the Titans” opposite Sam Worthington and recently joined the cast of “The East”, co-written by and starring Brit Marling.

Keira Knightley Being Pursued For ‘Akira’ & Gary Oldman Wanted For ‘Arthur & Lancelot’

IndieWire

With “Harry Potter” ending this summer, Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy coming to a close in 2012, and “Green Lantern” proving a weak start to the DC heroes that the studio hoped would see them through the next few years, Warner Bros. are branching out a bit in their hunt for future franchises. Their hopes for 2013 might include Superman reboot “Man of Steel” and Spartan sequel “300: Battle of Artemesia,” but neither are quite home runs, and they’re joined by fresh starters like Guillermo Del Toro‘s giant monster movie “Pacific Rim” and period witch-hunting flick “The Seventh Son,” with Sam Claflin and Jeff Bridges.

And while those films get underway, another two potential tentpoles at the studio are casting up: the controversial remake of anime classic “Akira,” and a new take on the Knights of the Round Table, “Arthur & Lancelot,” and both find themselves chasing some big names. The former, which was confirmed to have “Tron: Legacy” star/mannequin Garret Hedlund in talks to play lead Kaneda yesterday, has been pursuing Gary Oldman to play the villainous Colonel, and Helena Bonham-Carter for Lady Miyako, and according to Heat Vision, they’re joined on director Jaume Collet-Serra‘s shopping list by Keira Knightley.

There’s no confirmation of which part it’s for, but unless they’re trying to really annoy the fanboys by casting her as Tetsuo, it seems likely that the star of “Atonement” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” is being sought for an equivalent part to Kei, the young revolutionary who serves as the love interest for Kaneda. Whether Knightley, or indeed Oldman or Bonham-Carter, will do it is pretty up in the air. However, the trade says that the three haven’t yet “engaged” with the studio, and outside of her Disney trilogy, which she signed up for at the age of 17, the young British actress doesn’t really have a tradition of taking paycheck gigs, particularly one that’s likely as thankless as this. Having said that, she’s currently free once she wraps Joe Wright‘s “Anna Karenina,” but considering that “Akira” was scaled back to be made under $100 million, we don’t imagine the wages are going to be massive, so there may be better offers out there.

While Oldman mulls “Akira,” he’s got another offer from the same studio. According to Deadline, Warners also wants the actor to play Merlin in “Arthur & Lancelot,” the new version of the classic Camelot myth from “Wedding Crashers” director David Dobkin. “The Killing” star Joel Kinnaman bagged the part of Lancelot last week, with “Game of Thrones” star Kit Harrington said to be the frontrunner to play Arthur (although Deadline says that testing’s soon to commence for the part) ,so it makes sense to have a safe pair of hands like Oldman to balance out younger talent. After his roles as Sirius Black and Commissioner Gordon, the studio clearly sees Oldman as a good luck charm, considering he’s got both offers. And he’s a regular fixture on the WB lot who isn’t opposed to roles in subpar flicks—please see “Book Of Eli” and “Red Riding Hood” for further evidence.

However, while the actor does seem to have a good relationship with the studio, his career-best performance in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is tipped by many for an Oscar nomination, and the actor may want, as is common practice, to hold out for nominations in the hope of upping his quote, particularly with both projects seeming, well, kind of unappealing. We suppose we’ll see down the road how it works out; we’d be surprised if the actor took both (which may not even be possible, although we’re sure the studio would be happy to shuffle schedules to make it work), but taking one isn’t implausible. Filming on “Akira” is set for next spring, with a 2013 release likely to follow, while “Arthur & Lancelot” will get before cameras around the same time, and has a March 15, 2013 date earmarked.

Oliver Lyttelton posted to Actors, Gary Oldman, Actresses, Keira Knightley, Films, Fairy Tale Films, Arthur & Lancelot, Genre Films, Akira (Remake) at 8:57 am on November 4, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (6)