GOSSIP RAG (SEASON 30)

 

In this segment, we will delve into the inside dirt on some of the latest and upcoming LRF releases and the studio's stars....

Chris Pratt

Movie star and all-around great guy Chris Pratt has a long history of supporting US military veterans. Having previously played Navy SEAL characters, Pratt was eager to represent another branch of the US armed services, taking on the role of US Marine Brian Chontosh in Kill Zone. As part of his preparation for the role, Pratt trained with real Marines and toured various military bases around the globe.

Grant Gustin

With reviews of Tara's World coming in with much less praise compared to the first film, one of the primary targets of the film's criticism was the miscasting of Grant Gustin as the film's male lead. According to some sources within the studio, the reception of his performance and casting was so poor that meetings have taken place between director Lynne Ramsay, writer Jacob Jones and LRF studio executives, with the conclusion being that Gustin will not be asked to return for a potential third film. Other rumors suggest that the studio is willing to pay whatever it takes to get Jacob Elordi, the male lead of the first film, back to star opposite Victoria Pedretti's Tara.

John McTiernan

With Deathstroke, filmmaker John McTiernan is making his first film in over 20 years. It wasn't for lack of desire though, but rather his career stalled when it was revealed that he illegally wiretapped the phone of people, including a producer on one of his last films. Once the dust finally settled, McTiernan ended up serving a year in federal prison. He's tried to get other projects off the ground since his return to civilian life, but this is the first to actually make it to production. The studio apparently took some convincing to sign off on the hiring, with the insurance company covering the production of Deathstroke requiring a higher premium be paid due to McTiernan's involvement.

Jennifer Lawrence

The writers behind Jennifer Lawrence's next film, An Anonymous Girl, originally planned to gender swap the villain role and make the character a male. Lawrence reportedly put her foot down, insisting that she only wanted to appear in the film if it was about two strong female characters. She gave the filmmakers an ultimatum and a list of actresses she would like to star opposite. Nicole Kidman was eventually chosen for the role. 

Miguel Sapochnik

When acclaimed filmmaker Alex Garland announced that he no longer wanted to direct films, it put Last Resort Films in a difficult position for the upcoming X-Men: Hellfire. The script from Dwight Gallo was complete and pre-production was already well underway, with cast signing their contracts to return and sets and production design already being developed. The studio and writer Gallo interviewed several filmmakers about taking over the director's chair, but some were nervous about taking over a film so far into production. After all of the interviews, Miguel Sapochnik became the favorite thanks to his experience in both big budget television and films - and his willingness to tackle a superhero project he did not help develop.

BONUS:

Justice League War

It has been rumored for some time, but it seems official based on production postings that the upcoming third Justice League will be a two part production and will feature a massive back-to-back production with a fourth film set to be released just one season later.