Rob Reiner is a bit of a conundrum. He’s made three bona fide classics — “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally…,” delivered some better than average blockbusters like “Misery” and “A Few Good Men,” and most recently, had one of his biggest hits ever with “The Bucket List.” Yet, on the other side of the spectrum when Reiner misses, he whiffs big. Last year’s “Flipped” got tepid reviews and came and went from theaters without anyone noticing and do you remember “Alex & Emma“? Yeah, us neither. But when Reiner delivers, he delivers big, so he’ll never be wanting for financing.
Deadline reveals that Voltage Pictures will finance Reiner’s next picture “The Third Act” and it has lined up some heavyweight talent he’s worked with before. ‘Bucket List’ collaborator Morgan Freeman and current Oscar-nominee and “The American President” star Annette Bening have joined the film that will tell the story of “a formerly famous western writer attempts to rediscover the talent that made him great in a small rural town. In doing so, he helps a young girl find her wild imagination and helps her mother find love once more.” Get out your hankies!
Yeah, we don’t know what to think. We like the cast but the material sounds hokey as hell and the writer, Guy Thomas, only has one movie credit to date and it’s for this. Production will begin in May and yeah, we realize that’s when “The Dark Knight Rises” is scheduled to begin too, but we figure that Freeman will be able to work both in his schedule.