Ok, maybe this project is getting slightly better. Christopher Walken has joined the already robust cast of “Wild Oats” starring Shirley MacLaine, Maria Bello, Christina Ricci, John Corbett and Bill Pullman. That’s a great cast and all, especially for an action comedy that centers on a retired widow (MacLaine) whose quiet life is turned aside when a sudden cash windfall sets her off to Vegas with her granddaughter (Ricci), however we’re not convinced.
The picture is being directed by Scott Marshall whose work thus far has been fare like, “Keeping Up with the Steins,” and the 2007 Jessica Simpson bomb “Blonde Ambition” that basically spent a week or two in theaters and then went straight to DVD. Maybe that’s what happpens when you make Jessica Simpson star in a film at the height of her unpopularity. The film shoots in August and Walken’s role is unknown, but we suggest a haircut cause his lid is getting out of control.
Incidentally, we saw Walken star on Broadway recently in Martin McDonagh’s “A Behanding In Spokane,” alongside Sam Rockwell, Anthony Mackie and Zoe Kazan. You’ll probably remember we made the rare Broadway-centric post about the play when it was first announced earlier this year, but we must say we didn’t love it, were underwhelmed and it was a minor work by McDonagh to be sure. Walken and Rockwell were strong, but we didn’t really care for the direction of the play much.