Allison Williams's Movie Career Begins
Today in show business news: Allison Williams is on her way to the big screen, Cinderella has its lead, and Chris Hardwick maes it to late night.
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Well, it's happening. Allison Williams, one fourth of the Girls quartet and the daughter of news anchor Brian Williams, is making the jump from television to film. She's currently in talks to play the lead in Rosaline, a movie said to be "based on Shakespeare." Hm. I'm assuming then that they're referring to Rosaline from Romeo & Juliet, the object of Romeo's affection until he meets Juliet. She's a virtual character, never appearing on stage, so I'm guessing this will be some sort of untold story comedy kind of a thing. Like everything's peachy keen for Rosaline and then Romeo dumps her and who knows what happens after that. That's admittedly kid of a cute concept, but Allison Williams as the title lead of a movie sounds like maybe a lot for right now? I don't know. She's also in very early talks for the Fantastic Four reboot which is kind of nuts. Allison Williams as a superhero?? This is all moving a little fast, isn't it? I'm just not sure she's ready. [Deadline]
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Speaking of young actresses making it big, Lily James, who was most recently seen as mischievous cousin Rose on Downton Abbey (and will be on next season), has been cast as Cinderella in the big live-action version of the fairy tale that's starring Cate Blanchett as the Wicked Stepmother. Kenneth Branagh is directing. Now that Cindy's been cast, we just need the stepsisters and, of course, Prince Charming. Those should be fun roles to cast! I mean, the stepsisters because they're interesting characters (remember how good Melanie Lynskey was in Ever After?? And Megan Dodds!), but Prince Charming because, y'know, he's just hunky ol' Prince Charming. I'd imagine there are many young actors on both sides of the pond bronzing and muscling themselves up at this very moment, desperate to get the big part. I'd throw in for Xavier Samuel, because he's due for a break, but who knows what kind of guy Branagh will want. Maybe he'll cast himself! He's done it before, he could do it again. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Sixteen years after Singled Out ended, Chris Hardwick is once again making it big. OK, sure, he's been doing all his G4 and Nerdist stuff, and of course we can't forget Talking Dead, but now he's developing a Comedy Central late night show with Reno 911's Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant as executive producers. That feels like genuinely making it back to the big leagues, doesn't it? Not that Singled Out was ever really the big leagues, but if you were a teenager in the mid-'90s as I was, it felt like a pretty big deal. The show, which will air at midnight following The Colbert Report, is described as "a comedic panel show that will have a heavy social-media presence integrated throughout." Ah, OK. That sounds about right for Chris Hardwick. And I like the idea of a panel show. That's very British. Or hopefully it will be more in the style of the British panel shows and less in the style of Chelsea Lately. Let's hope for that. Anyway, good for Chris Hardwick. As long as he's still kicking around, hopefully it means the '90s will never really die. [Deadline]
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And the '80s will ever die either! TNT has just renewed its Dallas continuation for a third season, a sign that the show has maintained ratings in the wake of Larry Hagman's death. That's good news for everyone, but probably mostly for Patrick Duffy. Right? It's probably the best news for Patrick Duffy. [Entertainment Weekly]
