Narcos actor pegged for Predator
Hollywood North: Hot property Hollbrook reportedly in negotiations to star in reboot
The Predator, director Shane Black’s big-budget reboot of the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Predator, was scheduled to begin shooting in Metro Vancouver this week but we are still waiting for an official announcement as to who will star in the alien versus commando action pic.
Variety reported last week that model-turned-actor Boyd Holbrook was still in negotiations to star as the film’s hero, replacing Benicio Del Toro, who backed out of the film due to scheduling issues.
Black’s The Predator, which will be filming here under the production title Ollie, was scheduled to start shooting Oct. 17 and wrap up in February.
If Holbrook has indeed signed on, then Black has picked up a hot Hollywood property who is on the rise. Holbrook, who stars as Murphy on the Netflix hit Narcos, will be playing Marvel supervillain Donald Pierce in 2017’s Logan, which will be Hugh Jackman’s final turn as Wolverine.
Also rumoured to be part of The Predator cast is rapper/actor/vodka hawker 50 Cent.
Black hasn’t revealed any plot details for the franchise reboot/ sequel/reimagining — and there is still no word on whether Schwarzenegger, who was in Vancouver this summer filming the comedy Why We’re Killing Gunther, will be part of the new production.
The Predator is scheduled to be released Feb. 8, 2018.
Spaced out
Exciting things are happening for Taylor Russell.
The 22-year-old Vancouver actress, who is currently shooting Down a Dark Hall, the Lionsgate adaptation of Lois Duncan’s young adult novel, has been pegged to star as Judy Robinson in Netflix’s reboot of Lost in Space.
The 10-episode family/sci-fi adventure, based on the 1960s TV series of the same name, will follow the Robinson family as they drift through space.
Vancouver actress Molly Parker will play Russell’s mother Maureen Robinson, a role originated by June Lockhart.
The Netflix series will begin shooting in Vancouver on Jan. 23.
Reitman’s dad visits
The Jason Reitman feature Tully starring Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis is expected to wrap up production in Vancouver next week.
The comedy written by Diablo Cody, who won an Oscar for penning the Vancouver-filmed Juno, also directed Reitman, centres on Theron, a mother of three, who is gifted a night nanny (Davis) by her brother.
Reitman, son of Hollywood legend Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes, Animal House), celebrated his 39th birthday on Thursday in Vancouver and received an on-set visit from his parents.
Cringe watching
The Vancouver-made Miranda Sings’s Haters Back Off!, the Netflix vehicle created by YouTube star Colleen Ballinger, has been the subject of some tough reviews from TV critics since it started streaming Friday.
The oddball comedy about an untalented but relentless rising star has garnered just a 42 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sonia Saraiya of Variety says Ballinger’s Miranda character works better in the medium of YouTube.
“It’s hard to make an unlikeable character compulsively watchable, and in Haters Back Off!, Miranda lacks some of the innocent naiveté that makes her character work on YouTube,” she wrote.
Miranda Sings is an acquired taste but James Poniewozik of the New York Times says Haters Back Off! does manage to mine some laughter from its cringeworthy situations.
“There’s a lot in Haters Back Off! to gratify Ms. Ballinger’s YouTube fan base. For anyone willing to acquire the taste, I might suggest the opposite of a binge — an episode at a time, with frequent breaks. Beyond the winces, there’s something human in its comedy of Internet thirst : the insatiable drive to put a piece of oneself out into the world and hit refresh, refresh, refresh,” he writes.