Amy Ryan has been set to co-star in Beautiful Boy, the Amazon drug-addiction drama from Brad Pitt’s Plan B that already has Steve Carell aboard. The deal reunites Ryan and Carell for a serious pic after they played boyfriend-girlfriend so well on NBC’s comedy series The Office.

Felix van Groeningen (The Broken Circle Breakdown) is attached to direct the script he co-wrote with Lion scribe Luke Davies, adapted David Sheff’s 2008 book Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction. The memoir describing the author’s son Nic’s methamphetamine addiction and its impact on the family.
Ryan will play Vicki, Nic’s mother and the ex-wife of Carell’s David, who was cut out of her son’s life after David won primary custody. She begins to work with David for the sake of Nic’s health.
Ryan’s recent film credits include Central Intelligence, Bridge of Spies and Birdman. She is repped by Gersh and attorney Dave Feldman.

Read more.

The first trailer for War Machine dropped Wednesday, and it showcases Pitt with his smirking, impish charm turned all the way up. The movie (which is not a Don Cheadle Marvel spin-off) is a partial fictionalization of the late Michael Hasting’s nonfiction book The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan. It will follow the rise and fall of a four-star general who gets the chance to command NATO forces in Afghanistan but is eventually unraveled by a journalist’s clever exposé. The general, played by Pitt, is not-so-loosely inspired by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Read more.

The Brad Pitt–Marion Cotillard sweeping romantic, spy thriller Allied, available on Digital HD today, begins as Pitt parachutes into the deserts of Morocco before heading into Casablanca, and finally moving on to London during World War II, making one of the big challenges of the film the fact that it takes place in worlds that no longer exist, and are increasingly challenging to re-create.

“The set design was very, very impressive,” Cotillard says in this exclusive video that takes a look at the work of production designer Gary Freeman, who transported audiences back in time to the ’40s. “They had a lot to do. There is a market and a café in Casablanca and I was so impressed to see all the details, even the smells were really amazing. We really believed, even though we were inside that we were outside in a street in Casablanca.”

Read more.

If all had originally gone to plan, Brad Pitt would be in post-production now on World War Z 2, ahead of its release this summer. But Paramount has delayed the film, and it’s unlikely it’ll be in a position to shoot this year. As such, Pitt has a gap in his schedule, and the beneficiary may be a sci-fi movie by the name of Ad Astra.
It’s the story of a space engineer with slight autism, whose father had to leave Earth two decades before on a mission to Neptune with no return. He was hunting for alien life, and Pitt’s character is set to recreate the journey, to find out just what happened to his dad.
The film is set to be directed by James Gray, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Ross.

Read more.

Paramount Pictures did some house cleaning. The studio dropped two major releases from their 2017 release schedule — Friday the 13th and World War Z 2. The studio has since officially put the kibosh on their troubled F13 reboot, but they’re reportedly aiming for a 2018 or 2019 release World War Z 2.
A new report has shed some light on the status of Brad Pitt‘s zombie pandemic sequel and the only real question now is, what the hell is the hold up? THR reports that David Fincher wants to direct World War Z 2, but Paramount is dragging its heels. Yeah, you read that right. David freaking Fincher, one of the best living directors, wants to direct the freaking World War Z sequel and the studio is just like, not sure. That is straight up insane.

Per the report, a source says Fincher is “very creatively interested in directing the movie,” which would reteam him with Brad Pitt. The duo has shared a long-running collaboration, which dates back to 1995’s Se7en. Their last film together was the 2008 drama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fincher is also reportedly “very much on board” with the new take on the World War Z sequel from Dennis Kelley, creator of the British series Utopia, which Fincher was previously set to remake at HBO.

Read more.

Thanks so much Vaska!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie released their first joint statement Monday night (01/10).
The estranged couple has agreed to seal all court documents pertaining to their divorce in order to protect their six children.

“The parties and their counsel have signed agreements to preserve the privacy rights of their children and family by keeping all court documents confidential and engaging a private judge to make any necessary legal decisions and to facilitate the expeditious resolution of any remaining issues. The parents are committed to act as a united front to effectuate recovery and reunification,” the couple said in a statement obtained by CNN.

Read more.

Chris Cornell and Sting performed at a Rock for EB show last night, with Brad Pitt also in attendance. What is EB?

An individual with EB lacks a critical protein that binds the layers of skin together. Without this protein, the skin tears apart, blisters and sheers off, leading to severe pain, disfigurement, and wounds that never heal. EB affects the body inside and out. Blisters occur all over the body, as well as in the eyes, mouth, esophagus, and other internal organs. EB causes severe pain, disfigurement, and in too many cases, an early death from an aggressive form of skin cancer. It is estimated that EB affects at least one in every 50,000 births. EB is not specific to any ethnicity or gender. Given that EB affects only 25- 30,000 people in the US, advancing this research relies on the generosity of individuals and corporations.

Read more.