By Jeff Sneider
TheWrap

Exclusive — After working with producer Scott Rudin on numerous Wes Anderson movies, Bill Murray is in talks to join the new Cameron Crowe movie that Rudin is currently producing in Hawaii, an individual familiar with the untitled Sony project has told TheWrap.

Sony did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Bing: ‘Ghostbusters III’ rumors

The romantic comedy stars Bradley Cooper as a defense contractor who’s assigned to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite from Hawaii, where he falls for an Air Force pilot (Emma Stone). With the help of mystical island forces and a talking computer, they team up to scuttle the launch.

Rachel McAdams co-stars alongside Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin, Edi Gathegi and Jay Baruchel, who joined the cast last week as Cooper’s step brother. He previously worked with Crowe on “Almost Famous.”

Should a deal make, it would mark the first time writer-director Crowe has worked with Murray, whose role is being kept under wraps.

Also on TheWrap: Bill Murray to Star in Barry Levinson’s ‘Rock the Kasbah’

Sony and Rudin plan to release the movie, which is a revamped version of Crowe’s old script “Deep Tiki,” sometime in 2014.

At age 63, Murray shows no signs of slowing down following a stellar 2012 campaign in which he played FDR in “Hyde Park on Hudson” and co-starred in Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom.” He just reteamed with the quirky auteur again on “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and also wrapped the title role in “St. Vincent de Van Nuys,” which is expected to be an awards contender next year.

Murray will soon be seen alongside George Clooney and Matt Damon in the WWII movie “Monuments Men,” which Sony will release on Dec. 18. He’s represented by attorney David Nochimson of Ziffren, Brittenham.

Also on TheWrap: Bill Murray Destroys ‘Late Show’ Set on 20th Anniversary (Video)

By Steve Pond
TheWrap

The new movie “The Fifth Estate” is doomed to fail because its anti-WikiLeaks stance doesn’t give moviegoers the kind of underdog story they want, said exiled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a roundtable interview conducted via Skype on Saturday with members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

In the 100-minute conversation, conducted via Skype from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where Assange has been living under diplomatic asylum for nearly 500 days, Assange slammed both “The Fifth Estate,” and Alex Gibney’s documentary “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,” and said he United States has become a place where people seek political asylum not to, but from.”

And when asked if he liked any movies he’s seen recently, he mentioned Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 drama “There Will Be Blood.” “That’s a good film,” he said.

Bing: Cumberbatch in the new ‘Star Wars’? | Photos: The free press and paranoia

The unusual conversation with members of the HFPA, which typically meets with stars looking to hype their new movies, came as part of a series of roundtables promoted by new president Theo Kingma, who has said he wants to increase the journalistic credibility of the much-maligned organization of Hollywood-based reporters for foreign newspapers, magazines and websites.

TheWrap obtained a transcript of the conversation, which Assange began by calling the HFPA’s creation of the Golden Globes in the early 1940s “basically a hack into the studio system” and “an amazing, successful coup” in getting stars and moviemakers to address the foreign press.

Some of the conversation dealt with “The Fifth Estate,” in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays Assange – and rather than go into detail about why he thinks the film is inaccurate and “a hostile endeavor,” Assange turned analyst and said the movie “is destined to be a box-office failure,” because audiences prefer “combative underdog” stories.

While Cumberbatch approached his subject asking for a meeting, which Assange declined (in the process trying to persuade the actor not to appear in the movie), Assange criticized the filmmakers for not approaching him or WikiLeaks, and for not contributing to his defense fund or to WikiLeaks.

“I don’t think we are in a situation anymore where an organization like DreamWorks or Disney … can succinctly decide that it is going to produce a movie about living people, and living political refugees, and people who are embroiled in a grand jury proceeding in the United States, and just smear, without the cost,” he said.

Also on TheWrap: WikiLeaks Leaks ‘Fifth Estate’ Script, Blasts Film as Irresponsible and Harmful

Gibney, he said, was clearly biased against him, and “has [an] emotional engagement with me that is not proper for a journalist to have.”

Assange did repeatedly praise one movie about his company – “Mediastan,” a new WikiLeaks-produced documentary.

But although the conversation took place with a number of entertainment journalists, Assange spent most of his time railing against the U.S. and British security complexes that he said forced him to seek asylum in the Eucadorian embassy.

The Australian-born Assange, 42, is currently facing a European Arrest Warrant in a Swedish investigation into sexual assault; although he said, “I assume the Swedish case will disappear on its own accord in due course,” he refuses to turn himself in out of fear that Sweden would extradite him to the United States to face charges in the publication of U.S. military and diplomatic documents supplied by Bradley Manning (who now goes by the name Chelsea Manning).

“If you seriously tangle with the United States security complex…you will suffer the consequences,” he said.

“Of course it’s difficult to wake up over 500 days and see the same walls, but on the other hand I am doing good work,” added Manning, who said WikiLeaks was in contact with fugitive NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. “I have no time for anything else now but work, so it’s a bit of a counter-productive maneuver to trap me here, because what else can I do but work?”

Dimissing one question about whether his leaks put people in danger as “a Pentagon propaganda talking point” and a “malicious smear,” Assange insisted that U.S. and U.K. intelligence services “are completely out of control,” and that the United States “runs the risk of turning into a garrison state.”

“This is an unprecedented time which threatens to change the balance of power between the citizenry, the Fourth Estate and the security complex,” he said. ” … Western civilization stands at a crossroads. Down one path is … a mass surveillance dystopia with an unaccountable state that does not obey the rules … Down the other path is a new consensus that is being formed as a result of the communications revolution, and which is being stimulated by increased transparency of government by organizations like WikiLeaks, the FF and other innovative investigative journalism.”

‘The Fifth Estate’ Review: Benedict Cumberbatch Wins Sympathy for the Devil
Benedict Cumberbatch on Julian Assange’s Cautionary Email: ‘It Galvanized Me’
Julian Assange’s Rejection Email to Benedict Cumberbatch: ‘You Will Be Used’
Benedict Cumberbatch Spars with Guardian Journalists in ‘Fifth Estate’ Clip (Video)

By Jeff Sneider
TheWrap

Was Charlie Hunnam‘s surprise exit from “Fifty Shades of Grey” a result of performance anxiety?

It sure seems like it, with no one in Hollywood buying the statement that Hunnam’s “immersive TV schedule” didn’t allow him “time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.”

First of all, what kind of preparation does this role really require, aside from some careful manscaping and maybe a wild weekend or two of SM bondage sessions? After all, it’s not like this is Matthew McConaughey starving himself for “Dallas Buyers Club” or Daniel Day-Lewis spending months developing Abraham Lincoln’s voice and mannerisms for Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”

Bing: ‘Fifty Shades’ wine

Second, surely Hunnam and his representatives at CAA worked out his “Sons of Anarchy” schedule with the “Fifty Shades of Grey” shoot. An individual familiar with Hunnam’s schedule told TheWrap that Hunnam is slated to finish shooting “SOA” on Oct. 21, giving him three weeks to prepare for “Fifty Shades,” which seems like enough time to get himself in the proper headspace.

Hunnam even told reporters that after reading with would-be co-star Dakota Johnson, he knew he “definitely wanted to do it. There’s just a tangible chemistry between us.” Was he genuinely excited to seduce Johnson on camera or was that just lip service?

Perhaps Hunnam’s abrupt exit from “Fifty Shades of Grey” has nothing to do at all with the media scrutiny that comes along with a high-profile role identifiable with the legion of fans. It’s possible that Hunnam is in the top-secret mix for another tentpole movie that offers him more time to prepare or, quite frankly, is simply a role he would prefer to play more than “Fifty Shades.”

Photos: Who could replace Hunnam?

Oddly enough, Hunnam and the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie come off looking like both winners and losers in this casting debacle.

Yes, Hunnam looks bad for bailing on a commitment and turning his back on a fan base that was coming around on his casting despite an absurd Change.org petition that would settle for nothing less than Matt Bomer as Christian Grey.

But if had severe reservations about the role, isn’t it better that he drop out now?

A representative for Hunnam’s agency, CAA, did not respond to multiple requests for comment, referring TheWrap to the carefully-worded statement released Saturday by Universal and Focus on behalf of the filmmakers and Hunnam.

Meanwhile, the “Fifty Shades of Grey” is now more than tainted than it already was, if one thinks Hunnam’s exit signals a lack of confidence in the project and those making it. Perhaps Comcast should’ve waited for cameras to start rolling before firing Universal co-chair Adam Fogelson and well-respected Focus chief James Schamus.

That said, Hunnam’s exit may be the best possible thing to happen for both parties. Not only has Hunnam “dodged a bullet,” in the eyes of many industry watchers, but the quality of the movie itself stands to benefit.

If Hunnam was reluctant to play Grey, that hesitation would certainly manifest itself in his performance. Now Universal and Focus, director Sam Taylor-Johnson, author E L James and producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti can refocus their collective efforts on casting someone who actually wants the challenge of playing Grey — and all the baggage that comes with the part.

Also on TheWrap: Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson: Before the ’50 Shades of Grey’ Casting

It’s better Hunnam realizes now that his heart wasn’t in the role of Christian Grey rather than a month into production, which would’ve caused an even bigger problem. Instead, he had the guts to speak up before it was too late.

There’s certainly no shortage of young and handsome hunks in Hollywood who would do almost anything to play Christian Grey. The “Fifty Shades” filmmakers have already started going down the list, hoping to keep the production’s November start date on track. Of course, it will all depend on the availability of the actor chosen to replace Hunnam.

Will that mystery man need more than the three weeks Hunnam would’ve had to prepare for the role of Christian? Only time will tell… and that’s the one thing Universal is running out of if the studio wants to stick to its Aug. 1, 2014 release date for “Fifty Shades.” If the start date is pushed back, perhaps the kinky literary sensation becomes a holiday season release. Stay tuned …

Related articles on TheWrap:
’50 Shades of Grey’: 20 of the Internet’s Buzziest Casting Choices
Inside Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson’s ’50 Shades of Grey’ Casting: Chemistry Tests to the Dotted Line
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Replacing Charlie Hunnam as Christian Grey

He is great as Jax in SOA but he was never Christian. Please, now that Hunnam is out Dakota Johnson will be replaced too.   Hopefully, this project will be picked up by Showtime or HBO and done the right way.  

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As a kid, Randy Moore was haunted by Disney World, where he made an annual trip during summers with his dad. So as an adult, and a filmmaker, Moore wanted to capture and question the allure of such manufactured-fantasy.

The result is “Escape From Tomorrow,” which was shot guerrilla-style at Disneyland and Disney World without permission from the famously proprietary Walt Disney Co., and which has actually made it to the screen.

“I was pretty confident that Disney wasn’t about to go out of their way and give me permission,” Moore said, “so I didn’t ask them for it.”

The writer-director insists there was no other way to tell his story of a frustrated family man who begins losing his grip on reality during a trip to Disney World. So Moore and his crew bought season passes to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and used hand-held digital cameras to shoot scenes and tiny digital audio recorders to capture sound.

Bing: More on ‘Escape From Tomorrow’

They repeatedly rode It’s a Small World and other trademark Disney attractions to film from various perspectives — just like any other theatrical feature.

“Escape From Tomorrow,” available on video-on-demand and in select theaters Friday, first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

The black-and-white indie film quickly built a buzz based on its surreptitious shooting style and dark take on Disney, including the movie’s poster with what looks to be Mickey Mouse’s oversized hand covered in blood. The film also picked up its share of skepticism that it would ever be released.

Representatives from Disney, which has a history of aggressively protecting its image, brands and intellectual property, did not respond to requests for comment for this story. The company also hasn’t spoken to Moore or the film’s distributor.

“We’ve had no contact with Disney at all whatsoever,” Moore said. But if anyone from the Mouse House, as it is known in the industry, did contact him, he wouldn’t be afraid.

“I would ask them if they liked it or what they thought about it,” he said.

The director was afraid, however, during the crew’s secret filming outings at Disneyland and Disney World, but not because they were filming illegally.

“What I was worried about was letting down my cast and crew, who had come on this ride with me,” he said. “As a first-time director, I think the hardest thing is getting everyone to see your vision and believe in it and want to help you to achieve that.”

He never intended to make a guerrilla film, he said: “The style of the film came from the story, and … there was no other way we could make it. I hope to God the next thing I do doesn’t require this same style. It’s traumatizing.”

Yet for Moore, again, it’s not about copyright violations and the wrath of Disney, but rather the time limits inherent in such shooting.

“We believe that the film fell under the fair-use doctrine as a parody of an idyllic day at Disney World. Branding is so much a part of our culture, and it’s everywhere. And (Disney) is everywhere. They’re so ubiquitous, you can’t get away from them even if you tried… To not be able to comment or critique or parody that (ubiquity), I just think it’s morally unacceptable.”

By Greg Gilman
TheWrap

“Fifth Estate” star Benedict Cumberbatch said on Friday that the cautionary email he received from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange last January made him question his role in the DreamWorks production, but ultimately “galvanized” him into assessing why he signed on for the movie in the first place.

Bing: Cumberbatch in the new ‘Star Wars’? | Photos: The free press and paranoia

“To have the man you are about to portray ask you intelligently and politely not to do it gave me real cause for concern,” Cumberbatch wrote during a Reddit AMA session with fans. “However, it galvanized me into addressing why I was doing this movie.”

Assange wrote the email to decline Cumberbatch’s request for a meeting and warn him of the dangers of the role.

“You will be used, as a hired gun,” Assange warned the actor while explaining his reasons for not supporting the film, which included the “toxic” books it was based on, as well as his fears that he would be portrayed in a negative light.

Also on TheWrap: WikiLeaks Leaks ‘Fifth Estate’ Script, Blasts Film as Irresponsible and Harmful

“He accuses me of being a ‘hired gun’ as if I am an easily bought cypher for right wing propaganda. Not only do I NOT operate in a moral vacuum but this was not a pay day for me at all,” Cumberbatch continued. “I’ve worked far less hard for more financial reward. This project was important to me because of the integrity I wanted to bring to provocative difficult but ultimately timely and a truly important figure of our modern times.”

“There is only personal truth in my opinion, and the film should provoke debate and not consensus,” Cumberbatch concluded. “It should be enjoyable and ultimately empowering to realize that Julian has spearheaded a movement that is the foundations stone of ‘The Fifth Estate,’ people journalism and what that is capable of including finding out the ‘truth’ for yourself.”

See Cumberbatch’s response to Assange’s criticisms in its entirety, below:

Julian Assange’s open letter to you criticizing The Fifth Estate is very intense. He even goes so far as to call you a “hired gun” for distorting the truth (or at least what he views as his truth). Did this affect the way you portrayed him or even make you second guess your role at all in this film?

“Yes, of course it did. To have the man you are about to portray ask you intelligently and politely not to do it gave me real cause for concern, however, it galvanized me into addressing why I was doing this movie.

He accuses me of being a “hired gun” as if I am an easily bought cypher for right wing propaganda. Not only do I NOT operate in a moral vacuum but this was not a pay day for me at all. I’ve worked far less hard for more financial reward.

This project was important to me because of the integrity I wanted to bring to provocative difficult but ultimately timely and a truly important figure of our modern times. The idea of making a movie about someone who so far removed from my likeness or situation who brought about an ideal through personal sacrifice that has changed the way we view both social media, the power of the individual to have a voice in that space, and be able to question both the hypocrisies and wrongdoings of organizations and bodies of powerful people that rule our lives…

This resonated deeply with my beliefs in civil liberty, a healthy democracy, and the human rights of both communities and individuals to question those in authority.

I believe that the film, quite clearly, illuminates the great successes of wikileaks and its extraordinary founder Julians Assange. As well as, examining the personalities involved and what become a dysfunctional relationship within that organization. While the legacy of his actions and the organizations continue to evolve and only history will be the true judge of where this is leading us.

The Fifth Estate is a powerful, if dramatized, entry point for a discussion about this extraordinary lurch forward in our society. I wanted to create a three dimensional portrait of a man far more maligned in the tabloid press than he is in our film to remind people that he is not just the weird, white haired Australian dude wanted in Sweden, hiding in an embassy behind Harrods. But a true force to be reckoned with, achieved the realization of the great ideal.

I’m proud to be involved in tackling such a contentious character and script. There is only personal truth in my opinion, and the film should provoke debate and not consensus. It should be enjoyable and ultimately empowering to realize that Julian has spearheaded a movement that is the foundations stone of The Fifth Estate, people journalism and what that is capable of including finding out the “truth” for yourself.”

Benedict Cumberbatch Spars with Guardian Journalists in ‘Fifth Estate’ Clip (Video)
‘What’s The Deal’ With Hollywood’s Biopic Obsession? (Video)
‘The Fifth Estate’ Reviews: Benedict Cumberbatch WikiLeak Drama Falls Short

By Tim Molloy
TheWrap

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says he’s surprised by all the focus on his criticisms of the science in “Gravity” — and says the film was quite accurate overall.

On Sunday, the director of the Hayden Planetarium released a series of tweets calling out problems with the science in Alfonso Cuaron’s astronaut epic. He wondered why, for example, Sandra Bullock’s hair didn’t float around during the zero gravity scenes.

Bing: Oscar buzz for Sandra Bullock

But he says it’s a compliment to the film that he critiqued the science of “Gravity” — because it’s a testament to how close to reality the film is.

“What few people recognize is that science experts don’t line up to critique ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ or ‘Man of Steel’ or ‘Transformers’ or ‘The Avengers.’ These films offer no premise of portraying a physical reality,” he wrote on Facebook. “To ‘earn’ the right to be criticized on a scientific level is a high compliment indeed.”

Also from TheWrap: Did ‘Gravity’ Really End as It Seemed? An Alternate Theory (Spoilers)

He said that headlines about his criticisms of “Gravity” made him wish he had first listed the “hundred things the movie got right.”

Among them, he said, were “the 90 minute orbital time for objects at that altitude,” “the re-entry trails of disintegrated satellites, hauntingly reminiscent of the Columbia Shuttle tragedy” and George Clooney’s “calm-under-stress character (I know dozens of astronauts like that).”

In his initial tweets, he said he liked “Gravity,” overall.

“My Tweets hardly ever convey opinion,” he wrote Sunday. “Mostly perspectives on the world. But if you must know, I enjoyed #Gravity very much.”

George Clooney on Oscar Whisper Campaigns, Writing a ‘Gravity’ Scene and Spielberg’s Reaction to the Movie (Exclusive)
George Clooney Clarifies ‘Gravity’: I Didn’t Write That Pivotal Scene (Exclusive)

WENN

At the age of 71, Harrison Ford is eager to reprise his role as Indiana Jones.

The actor has played the adventurous archaeologist in four movies, most recently 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and he admits he would love to put on the character’s fedora one more time. Ford acknowledges his advancing years might be a factor on set, and he would have to rely on a stuntman for the more energetic scenes.

Bing: Harrison Ford joins ‘Expendables 3’

Asked by U.K. talk show host Graham Norton if he would shoot another “Indiana Jones” film, Ford replied, “In a New York minute, yes. I don’t think there is any barrier to Indiana Jones being an old fart. I’m old enough that we don’t need [Sean] Connery any more. I’m old enough to play my own father! … I used to enjoy physical acting, it was fun. I was more fond of it then than I am now and people don’t ask me to do it that much any more.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) Michael B. Jordan wants it all from a “Rocky” spinoff to a role in the next “Star Wars” movie.

The 26-year-old actor is in discussions for key roles in several big-budget studio movies after his star turn in this summer’s indie “Fruitvale Station,” which won both jury and audience awards at the Sundance Film Festival. His role as Oscar Grant, killed by transit police in 2009 at an Oakland train station, is expected to lead to acting honors as Hollywood’s movie awards season begins in coming months.

“You win Sundance, you pop up on a lot of peoples’ radar. So it’s been incredible. It’s a different conversation. Studios, producers, writers, directors getting to know a lot of people in the industry,” Jordan said in an interview Wednesday night at People magazine’s “Ones To Watch” party.

He’s set to work alongside Sylvester Stallone in a “Rocky” spinoff film, saying: “That’s amazing, I can’t wait to do it. … That definitely is going on.”

“Chronicle” director Josh Trank is considering him for the Human Torch in a “Fantastic Four” reboot currently in development. “Definitely interested in the project. Josh Trank is a buddy of mine,” Jordan said.

And Jordan may be filling Will Smith’s shoes in a long-in-the-works sequel to Roland Emmerich’s 1996 alien invasion hit “Independence Day.” He says he’s a “big fan” of Smith and the original film, so “if that came true, that would be cool, too.”

Finally, there’s “Star Wars: Episode 7,” to be directed by J.J. Abrams. Jordan, who met George Lucas through “Red Tails,” says he auditioned for an unspecified part but didn’t wield a lightsaber.

“I mean, everybody’s going in on this project. They’re trying to figure out what they want,” he said. “That’s another incredible franchise. It’s pretty crazy! … We’ll see how it happens. I don’t know how I can do everything.”

WENN

Woody Allen has pulled his new film “Blue Jasmine” from cinemas in India after learning mandatory anti-tobacco advertisements would be inserted into scenes where characters are smoking.

Indian law requires health warnings to be shown on screen when characters smoke in films, while cinemas must play anti-smoking ads before every movie, according to Reuters.

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Two smoking scenes in the film, which opened in 30 Indian cinemas over the weekend, had featured on-screen disclaimers, upsetting the director.

A representative for Woody Allen tells Reuters: “Due to content in the film, it cannot be shown in India in its intended manner. Therefore, the film is not scheduled to play there.”

A spokesman for Indian distributor PVR films explains, “He (Woody) wasn’t comfortable with the disclaimer that we are required to run when some smoking scene is shown in films. He feels that when the scroll comes, attention goes to it rather than the scene. We had to abide by the law and we don’t have control over the film.”