While Hollywood has tried for years to mount a Maria Callas biopic (we haven’t heard much about Niki Caro‘s developing movie for a while now), it’s not like it hasn’t been done. Over a decade ago, Fanny Ardant toplined Franco Zeffirelli‘s "Callas Forever," and now Meryl Streep — who will be showing off her pipes later this year in "Into The Woods" — is giving it a go.
The actress is reportedly reteaming with Mike Nichols (“Silkwood,” “Heartburn,” “Postcards From the Edge,” “Angels in America”) for an adaptation of the Broadway play "Master Class." Told from the perspective of Callas, it frankly covers "her storied career and personal life, which included being dumped by Aristotle Onassis for Jacqueline Kennedy." The project is set up at HBO, and it would mark Nichols’ first film since 2007’s "Charlie Wilson’s War," but it’s not clear when shooting will begin. And will also curious about Faye Dunaway‘s take on the same play, which she directs and stars in, and is apparently already in post-production. Hmmm…. [Page Six]
Bruce Greenwood has joined James Badge Dale, Max Martini and Cory Hardrict in "Spectral." Nic Mathieu directs this one which is apparently a kind of "supernatural ‘Black Hawk Down.’ " We’ll be there for James Badge Dale, and let’s just hope that premise is better than it sounds. [The Wrap]
Steve Carell is throwing around his producing power to get "International Incident" made, with Ken Jeong to star in the comedy. David Javerbaum ("The Maya Rudolph Show") will pen the script "about five United Nations delegates on a journey to find one of their lost loves." [Variety]
Connie Nielsen, Peter Fonda, Bryan Batt and Wendell Pierce have joined Nicolas Cage and Sarah Paulson in "The Runner." Austin Stark directs this one set in the aftermath of the tragic 2010 BP oil spill, following Colin Price (Cage), an idealistic but flawed New Orleans congressman, who is forced to confront his dysfunctional life after his career is destroyed in a sex scandal. Nielsen will portray Price’s wife, Deborah, a high-powered attorney with political ambitions of her own. Fonda will portray Colin’s father Rayne Price, the former mayor of New Orleans, still an imposing figure in the political arena. Batt will portray Mark Lavin; a Wall Street financier who caters to the big oil companies and wants the oil spill to be a blip on the screen, and Pierce will portray Frank Legrand, Price’s Chief of Staff and one of the first to see his boss’s career going off the rails. Production starts next week.