Emile Hirsch to play Hamlet

Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild, Milk, Speed Racer) has signed on to play Hamlet in a new feature adaptation of William Shakespeare’s renowned tragedy. Catherine Hardwicke, fresh off directing Twilight, is set to direct the film with a script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia).

Hamlet tells the story of a young man faced with the dilemma of whether he should exact revenge on his father’s killer. In true Shakespearean form, the murderer happens to be his uncle. This version, similar to the 2000 adaptation staring Ethan Hawke, will be set in present day America.

Catherine Hardwicke on her vision of Hamlet:

“I had a great time working with Emile on ‘Lords of Dogtown’, so when he suggested ‘Hamlet’, I was intrigued. We read the play aloud and when I heard Emile speaking Shakespeare’s amazing words, I was flooded with images. We edited the play tightly, making the words extremely accessible. In our version, we’re working hard to make ‘Hamlet’ a thrilling cinematic experience — the violent, intense, and romantic scenes that happen ‘off-stage’ in the play will be shown in vivid detail.”

Oscar winning producer’s Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (MILK) on their different take on Hamlet:

“This project was the brainchild of Emile Hirsch, who we had the pleasure of working with on ‘Milk’. Hamlet was in college when the story takes place, yet there hasn’t been a movie version with an appropriately-aged actor playing the role. Our goal is to present the story as a suspense thriller. We want to make it exciting and accessible for an audience today,” Jinks and Cohen said in a joint statement.

I do like Emile Hirsch as an actor. I thought he was stunning in Sean Penn's Into the Wild. How do you feel about another version of Hamlet?

Source: Gordon and the Whale

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Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch loses a couple more actors but gets Chung and Malone

Jamie Chung (Dragonball Evolution) and Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, Into the Wild, The Ruins) are set to topline Sucker Punch, Zack Snyder's all-female action fantasy for Warner Bros.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chung and Malone join Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and Abbie Cornish in the film, which Snyder is directing and producing with his Cruel & Unusual Films partner, wife Deborah Snyder.

Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch centers on a girl confined to a mental institution by her evil stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternate reality to hide from the pain and in that world begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out.

Several actors have been in talks and negotiations to star in the movie, including Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia), Evan Rachel Wood and Emma Stone, but have fallen away because of scheduling conflicts (surely their schedules were known when they first said they could do it?)

Chung, replacing Stone, plays Amber, a country girl with a big heart. Malone, taking Wood's part, plays Cornish's younger sister. Both characters are inmates.

All seems a bit strange having people who had been confirmed to take part dropping out like this. One I could understand, but now three of the original line-up have changed. I wonder if it is anything to do with Watchmen's underperformance at the box office? I wouldn't be surprised if Vanessa Hudgens is the next to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

I'm still looking forward to this film though as I have enjoyed Snyder's comic book adaptions and it will be interesting to see him do something a bit more original.

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