George Clooney Wants Chris Pine For ‘Farragut North’ Film September 2, 2010
by TrekMovie.com Staff , Filed under: Celebrity, ST09 Cast , trackback
Star Trek’s new Captain Kirk may be adding another high-profile project to his growing Resume. According to a new report, George Clooney wants to direct Chris Pine, reprising his stage role in the film adaptation of the play Farragut North.
Pine may reprise Farragut North role for Clooney
Last summer Chris Pine received high marks for his work in the political play "Farragut North" at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Actor/director George Clooney has also been developing a big-screen feature adaptation of Farragut North and a new report states that plans to start shooting in February 2011. According to Vulture, Clooney has already cast Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti and plans to offer Chris Pine the role he played on stage – of a young presidential campaign press secretary who will do anything to get his candidate nominated. Clooney is also slated to play a small part in the film.
Chris Pine in last year’s "Farragut North"
The film has a distribution deal with Sony and is currently looking for production financing, but Vulture notes that with the names already associated with the project money should not be a problem. It isn’t clear if Pine, who recently wrapped up his stint on the LA stage, would be able to fit this project into his schedule. The new Captain Kirk will start shooting the Star Trek sequel movie next May or June and probably will need some prep time and training for that role. The actor is also attached to the Jack Ryan movie Moscow and the action comedy This Means War.
Here is some video of Pine from the summer of 2009 talking about the Farragut North play (with clips)
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Looks like Chris Pine will be the biggest star out of any of the new cast! Good for him! He deserves it!
Hopefully having anything to do with Clooney won’t make Republican Trek fans ban the next star trek film.
I mean Pine could use the role to not get typecast as Kirk, yet i don’t think there is a man more hated in America than Clooney, perhaps than Obama.
Come on now, 98% of the Trek fan base is already lining up behind Obama in 2012….don’t think anyone needs to worry about a handful of Conservatives undercutting the box office of the next film…
#2. People who consider religious or political persuasions of entertainers as factors in choosing their entertainment are stupid anyway.
Pine is obviously more versatile than the Kirk roll alone shows. No margarine commercials in his future, that’s for sure.
Wonder if Pine will become too big for his three movie contract before the 3rd Trek flick rolls around.
Seconded to #4
@2: The saddest part of your comment is that you think that lowly of people who disagree with you. For shame.
I work down the street from Farragut North, actually. Love it when obscure DC area references are the thing. Probably be another one of those movies where you really like it because it’s a great drama but forget about it in a couple of years.
skyjedi warning for political trolling.
Please do not let this thread get hijacked into stupid political debate.
Chris Pine once played a neo-Nazi…I dont remember anyone holding that against him, in fact the buzz from that movie helped him get Star Trek. He is an actor FFS
I probably wouldn’t see this movie anyway, regardless of its’ ideological leanaings. since political movies are boring.
5
That’s because there’s nobody butter!
4
Damn straight!
#5 “Kirk roll…….No margarine commercials”
If it was a Kirk ROLE, I would agree. But, with you describing it as a Kirk ROLL, maybe margarine is just what’s needed! :>)
I think if Chris can do the movie he should. He is on the fast track to becoming an A List Actor and that bodes well for his role of Capt Kirk on Star Trek and at the Box Office. A far as politicks. Let’s just all stay away from that. We all have our views and that’s great. But when ever someone expresses there politicle views all it does is get’s everyone Arguing and then Anthony hast to come on and star babysitting us.
12
Didn’t they do that with Shatner during the shirtless action sequences of TOS?
DIRECTOR: We need to make Kirk look really sweaty. Ideas, anyone?
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Well, we can butter him up for the action scenes by rubbing margarine all over him!
Ryan, you’re probably too young to remember, but the Shat used to do a series of margarine commercials.
15
When was that? ‘Cause, yeah, as you said, I’m probably too young to remember. I’m 29. Was it during the eighties, or the seventies, when he had nothing BUTTER going on?
I can see him outgrowing Kirk real fast.
17
Well, I believe Chris Pine is taller than William Shatner, so he has already “outgrown” Kirk. The original, at least. :-)
I was not airing my political views i am an independent. I was stating the known views of the Right, and saying i hope they don’t hold a role against Pine.
I was recalling back to how certain people treated that Heath Ledger who played the joker in the dark knight because he was in brokeback mountain.
16
If memory serves, it was in the 1970’s. Back when his skin was “like buttah!”
Also has anyone seen The American, I have only seen the trailer. Looks like a decent film. Not sure i buy Clooney as a James Bond type though anymore than i bought him as Batman.
Touche, Ryan.
This goes back to an earlier thread, though. With all this success and opportunity, I find it easily plausible that Pine could and would walk away from Trek. Other than the paycheck, he doesn’t seem like a lifelong fan or anything….
Which begs the question: How many “Captain Kirks” are we going to have to get used to?
I won’t see any Jack Ryan movie without Ford in the role, and that is flat out the facts.
As for Pine as Kirk i can just ignore it because it is Universe B. One i don’t care for. Universe A for which they no longer make tv shows or movies is the real Star trek fictional universe in my own opinion. My opinion goes up against JJ Abrams and Orci and Kurtzman, but so be it. I aint no fanboy of the supreme court.
24 a) nobody cares and b) please unplug your keyboard when the mood strikes your fancy.
Congratulations to Chris Pine! The entire cast have great careers in and out of Trek. I think the Trek ‘09 group did a superb job writing, directing and most often overlooked, casting the movie!
@#1
Sorry but I think Zoe Saldana has already beat everyone by a long shot.
24 – it amazes me there’s Trek fans that think like you do.
I don’t think Chris Pine would turn against Star trek right away. The only reason he is getting some of these roles is because of the buzz playing Captain Kirk got him. Unless he really wants ’serious’ or prestige roles from now on, he’d better honor his commitments to Star Trek for the next two films at least. If he jumped ship before his contract was up for the third movie, then I’d think the studio might re-evaluate its commitment to him since they’re also offering him the Jack Ryan role. While he certainly wouldn’t become a pariah in town, other studios and casting directors probably would hold it against him that he left Paramount and the Star Trek franchise high and dry because he became “too big for it”. The only thing that might happen if he become a big time movie star is he might demand more money. If not before the third movie’s made, then certainly after it. The big question then would be whether Paramount would be willing to pay. It might be this time that a decision was made that a new cast for a television show would be cheaper to make than another movie.
#23. So you’ve never seen The Hunt for Red October?
@2
wow.
The Hunt for Red October was one of the best Movies of the franchise. Alec Baldwin in one of his best roles and of course Sean Connery at his best. Though I loved Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. I think Chris Pine will do a great job.
I think CP would love to play that role in the film……hope it will happen…just don’t know if his schedule will allow…. …yeah the beginning of next year it’s assumed that it will filming Moscow and then Star Trek!.. …..This Means War they will start filming soon (13th september ) I guess.
CP is a GOOD young actor so …..I want see him in Star Trek Sequel, Moscow(Jack Ryan), TMW and more….and more!!!!
He’s a good actor. Good luck to him. I’m confident, however, that we’ll get our Trek trilogy with the full cast. After that, who knows? As a fan, I would obviously like more than three new films. But even if I weren’t a fan, I’d still advise him to take the gig. For, the Trek films are a very small commitment (i.e., they’re years apart), they have been and promise to be commercially and critically successful, they’re a different genre (blockbuster), they will make him very rich and famous and quickly, and they link him to Paramount almost a la the studio system from the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s an excellent deal for him.
Bring on Star Trek 12: the search for a title.
Oh, didn’t you hear? They settled on a title:
Star Trek: The Search For More Money
Harry:
Thanks for catching my misspelling.
They even reference the Shat’s margarine ads in the SNL “Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise.”
As for Pine becoming ‘too big’ for Trek, he IS playing Kirk. When does ‘too big’ for Star Trek mean ‘just right’ for a Jack Ryan re-boot?
Of all the actors of his generation, who is now “too big?” Shia LeBoeuf? He is still in “Transformers.” Christian Bale starred in two ‘Batman” films and T4, and he has yet to be ‘too big’ for anything.
As Harry mentioned, if the films are generating massive profits, they’ll get him back. The tendency to poo-poo Star Trek as a tier-2 genre property is obviously still around amongst some fans.
26… Ms. Saldana was nearly unrecognizable in “Avatar” and her acting wasn’t very good (not her fault… acting in 100% CGI sets is almost always terrible) and the movies she’s had since (”Losers”, “Death at a Funeral”) were modest performers at best. So I wouldn’t really call her a breakout star yet.
@38 Agreed.
I believe CP likes to play Kirk!!!
@32:
“The Hunt for Red October was one of the best Movies of the franchise. ”
This is coming from one of the world’s foremost Harrison Ford fans, but it was the only one of that franchise worth seeing. The rest were crap IMHO. I walked out of the Ben Affleck one and then walked back in at the end because the other movie I went into (a reshowing of Attack of the Clones) ended.
Everyone else, cut out the political stuff. Anthony’s going to come in and spank all of us and we don’t want that, do we? All politicians — every last one of them without exception — is interested only in their own personal gain.
Chris Pine is a great actor, *everyone* loved Heath Ledger as the Joker and everyone who disagrees with me politically is wrong. There. Let’s talk about how overrated Avatar was now.
It appears some of you thought my comments about this thread not being hijacked into stupid political thing was a suggestion…it wasn’t. Posts removed as will future political posts.
Thank you,
The Management
1
Excuse me…Let’s not forget about Zoe Saldana…
There was an article in, I think, the Daily Telegraph, recently, that points to the end of the “$20m star-vehicle” days, and the ascendancy of films based on themes (i.e. Superheroes) over actors.
The article pointed to Will Smith and Meryl Streep being perhaps two of the remaining reliable pulls for action and films aimed at older viewers, respectively ( I would add Harrison Ford). Other actors either make their money playing the same characters in each film, or in ensembles. “Avatar” was cited as sending a chill through Hollywood as it almost removes actors from the picture altogether.
Pine and the others in Trek will continue to be sought out for participation in multi-picture deals which are tentpole/franchise-based.
Saldana was already on her way to stardom when she signed on to do the movie. In a way, I think this is very good for all parties involved. It means she is a fan. And as was the case with Whoopi Goldberg (TNG), Zoe is associated with the franchise because she wants to be. It isn’t because she desperately needs the work and would mire in obscurity without Star Trek.
I sense a bit of Hollywood-style behind-the-scenes stuff going on with Zoe.
I read, for example, that Sam Worthington was recommended to director McG for ‘Terminator: Salvation’ by Cameron himself, the franchise’s creator. Maybe Zoe was similarly ‘recommended’ to JJ Abrams for ST09 to get their faces ‘out there’ prior to ‘Avatar’s’ release. And JJ responds by getting Yelchin into T4 as well. Maybe. Maybe not.
Cameron has certainly been one to publicly praise ST09 on many occasions, and ST2012 benefits by having a much more internationally recognizable ensemble cast
#43
Could you provide a link to that article? I’d like to read it.
I agree with the points you made, AJ. I would also add that, despite actors no longer being the main draw in genre fiction, certain directors still seem to be able to bring in “tentpole” sized audiences with their names alone—James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Christopher Nolan, Peter Jackson, and even Jon Favreau is becoming better known for being behind the camera than in front of it. So, I guess now more than ever what everyone really wants to do is… direct. ;)
Vultan, some would consider that a direct statement!
46
Everyone wants to direct movies and shows; no one seems to want to direct traffic anymore. Except for Anthony when he directs internet traffic away from political discussion.
I guess the advantage of directing over acting is that you get to tell everyone else what to do instead of them ordering you around!
Those who can, do, those who can’t, direct!
And those who can’t do either, sit back and watch.
Then point, laugh at, and pity the fools who think they can but are too stupid to realize they can’t direct shit!
(I’m looking at you, Michael Bay!)
Hey, you don’t have to be a hen to judge an egg!
And a cat can have kittens in the oven but that don’t make ‘em biscuits!
Not sure where I was going with that. I just like saying it. :D
Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine)
Batman (Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale)
Spiderman (Toby Maguire, Jesse Eisenberg)
Hulk, (Eric Bana,Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo)
James T. Kirk (William Shatner, Chris Pine)
Spock (Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto)
OMG!! I won’t go see any ________ movie without _________!
46/Vultan:
Here it is:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7598700/Have-the-stars-lost-their-shine.html
Also this:
http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/04/26/20-million-dollar-movie-stars/
On the other side of the coin, Pine and his Star Trek Friends seem to be doing well to avoid being typecast.
As expected, Quinto, IMHO, has the biggest challenge, coming from genre TV directly to the iconic Spock.
As much as I love Karl Urban’s take on the grumpy, but lovable McCoy, I still see him as the grumpy, but lovable Eomer from LOTR. I am sure the rest of the world has moved on.
And Zoe is in no danger at all, as has been mentioned here a dozen times. Pine isn’t either.
Chris Pine owes Clooney a favor from having led to White Jazz being scuttled.
Interesting. “Farragut North,” huh? How many ["versed"] ST fans familiar with ST canon and trivia thought/realized, upon reading initial story above, that in TOS, James T. Kirk [Chris's ST character, which in the so-called "Prime Universe" was portrayed in the 1960's Desilu series by William Shatner] was said to have been posted to the starship USS Farragut, which was attacked by the cloud creature, killing Capt. Garrovick and many of the crew? Not far from [alternate reality] in the Los Angeles play-to-big-screen Life, I suppose. Although, it might be pointed out that we all know that, at least in the JJ Abrams film, the Starship Farragut was apparently one of the vessels destroyed above the planet Vulcan by Nero’s ship, the Narada….
Curiouser and curiouser.
#55 AJ
Thanks!
Well well well, looks like Pine Kirk gets to serve on the Farragut as well!
Great to see Pine doing so well
BND likes Geo Clooney…
Geo Clooney, love him or hate him or think he be stiff, has made some interestin’ choices wit’ films…
Tha’ Good German- looks and feels exactly just like a 50’s film noir flick, ‘cept wit’ cursin’ and sex…
Men Who Stare At Goats- funny, funny, funny… he be a Jedi…
Syriana- like DeNiro, he got a gut… hid his hollywoods face behinds a beard…
Confessions o’ a Dangerous Mind- who tha’ hell woulda’ made this movie aboot’ a crazed gameshow host? Geo did and it wuz’ interestin’
Good Night & Good Luck, Fail Safe… back ta’ tha’ fifties! Clooney must REALLY be influenced by his poppa…
Batzman & Robbings- dared ta’ show nipples gettin’ all frosty and point tha’ way fur’ a paycheck so he could do better films…
Michael Clayton- good movies mostly have bad endings… this wuz’ a borin’ film wit’ an incredible endin’…
OK… I be biased… I used ta’ watch and read Nick Clooney’s news and newspaper column a good deal… He’s Geo’s dad…
So I will see “USS Farragut North” just cuz’ Clooney dids it. Mayhaps it’ll come oot’ on a white Christmas…
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
So cool to see Pine getting all these offers. Especially because you know he was probably nervous about getting typecast as just a scifi guy.
I would be too look what happened to another Canadian, not Shatner, but Hayden Christensen typecast as the horribly wooden prequels Anakin Skywalker.
Also i am sure pine took the idea of typecasting seriously avoiding doing a Shatner impression and making the character his own, like Quinto did for Spock.
Ewan McGregor had a tough time finding roles after playing Obi Wan again typecast. I still believe he was passed over for James Bond because of that alone. His uncle Who played Wedge in the original films told him not to do the prequels because he would get typecast.
Mark Hamill found a hard time finding any serious film roles after the star wars films came out. Finally he hit his stride on Broadway and as a voice over actor.
Harrison Ford also found it hard to find work after doing both star wars and Indiana jones, yet his star power overruled such notions, and his ability to actually act stunned critics who thought he could not. In between jobs he was a contractor and a carpenter as his day job.
63/skyjedi:
I thought Ewan McGregor stepped out of that typecasting with his take as the villain in the DaVinci code sequel. Also his performance in “Trainspotting” still resonates over the work he did in the SW prequels.
Now Hayden Christensen, there is a problem. Natalie Portman quite skillfully pried herself out of the rut of her role as Padme in those disastrously written films, but Anakin was written (and performed) so poorly, he’ll need to work a bit harder at it. I think he’s in the new film “Takers,” so he’s on his way, theoretically. Maybe he can actually act.
#64
“Maybe he can actually act.”
No he can’t! I’ve watched him “act” (or try to act like he’s acting) in the tv series “Higher Ground”, the films “Attack Of The Clones”, “Revenge Of The Sith”, and “Jumper”. Same result in all of those. No range, no talent and a detriment to those films/shows. He makes Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves look like uber-talented Oscar nominees in comparison!
@ 63 Yeah, Mark Hamil and Carrie Fishers careers never really recovered after Star Wars, but I don’t see where Harrison Ford has ever had trouble landing work. The guy turns up on the big screen regularly, and though he’s not the draw he used to be, his movies make money.
Air Force One
The Fugitive
the Jack Ryan flicks..
Regarding Henry, etc…
Don’t think typcasting has been a problem..
66. Mark Hamill has been successful as the Joker in the Batman animated series and videogames. Carrie Fisher is a novelist with several bestselling books to her credit. Meanwhile, Harrison Ford was in the God Awful movie with Brendan Frasier.
Chris Pine and the USS Farragut North LOL – perhaps it has something to do with the timeline trying to correct itself…
I don’t know if he will be able to do the George Clooney movie (Chris is the obvious choice for the role) because he is already contracted to do the Jack Ryan movie Moscow in February 2011, at the same time George Clooney plans to do Farragut North. Why can’t Clooney wait until after Chris has done Star Trek? What’s another few months when he’s been planning to do this film for more than three years now. In that time they’ve turned it into a play, Pine played lead at the Geffen Theatre in 2009. Another year has elapsed, in which Pine has successfully completed another summer season of theatre work playing the lead in another play…
What’s with Clooney’s timing?. – it is pretty lousy for Chris Pine. I think George Clooney’s timing would have to be one of those WTF moments. DUH!!!
I want to see Chris play Captain Kirk, Jack Ryan and what’s his name in This Means War, preferably in that order. Farragut North may have to wait a little longer.
Pine isn’t the only one who’s busy. Maybe Clooney has a GAZILLION projects on the go and that is the only timeframe that works FOR HIM! He is the bigger star, after all.
69. Perhaps. Anyway, it appears that the Farragut North movie is in its pre-production phase now, according to IMDb Chris Pine board. It would appear that the Jack Ryan movie is delayed, so maybe Chris Pine will get to do Farragut North first. I have heard good things about the play and Chris was a nominee for an acting award for his performance last year.
Gosh, Hollywood seems to be a real hierarchy as in when the “bigger” stars etc say “Jump”, everyone has to “jump”, no matter what. I guess Chris, being an LA homeboy, is used to seeing this and probably expects it. Unfortunately, it seems that Chris is swearing more often, as in interviews, his words are *beeped* sometimes. I guess the general cynicism that seems to afflict many people north of the equator is rubbing off on him too. Reading some message boards is a trial, an eye opener or is it eyesore?
I hope Chris is OK and is able to keep it honest and nice.
BTW, Star Trek is 44 years old today (8 September 1966)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STAR TREK!
and may it have many more..
Reading some message boards is a trial, an eye opener or is it eyesore?”
both but def, an eye sore, given how some (esp. the diehard fans) really just dogged him out before, during, and after the film in the streets and on the net. Yeah I know he’s not Shat but still he was good with the material in front of him and the skys the limit for him, so some just to to stop hating and/or wishing he’d go away just because in their minds, he “ruined Kirk for them” or whatever BS.
P.S. I think he doesn’t cusss so much, but he should keep himself in check, don’t step on the WRONG toes out there, and he’ll be just fine
I was referring to a lot of message boards in general, not this one or one or two of the IMDb boards. People are respectful here and don’t *beep* – at all, in fact, as far as I can see. Over the last year that I have been on the internet, I have been utterly dismayed, dumbfounded and disgusted by some of the stuff I have read – the name calling and the profanities thrown at other posters, at actors, celebrities, writers, etc. It is no wonder that Anthony Pascale is quick to quell any political debate, lest it grow ugly. A year ago, I would have wondered why you, Anthony , were so quick, now I understand. And this is a good board.
I had only recently become aware of the fact that Chris Pine had been the subject of a lot of vitriolic comment, even before the movie was released to the general audiences. The word “vitriolic” was how Chris Pine described what some of the blogs/messages/twitters said about him. He said he got curious about what people thought…now, apparently he does not have facebook, twitter – anything. Why am I not surprised? Nobody should have to put up with the kind of abuse that occurs on some boards.
Chris did a great job playing a young James Kirk. I have yet to see him to do a part badly. He’s great. He has to grow into the part, which I am sure he will do wonderfully well. To be fair, Chris did not cuss at anyone. Also I read that at the moment, the “f” word is being used very liberally by everyone, anyone all the time (in parts of the US at least), so maybe that is what Chris was doing – being a typical American. I just misunderstood. OKayee! Which begs the question – why are so many people swearing all the time? Habit?…
Profanity? Common everywhere you go. I swear, it’s true!
Meh, I dunno, keachick, I just don’t know
It seems that the latest buzz is that Chris Pine said he had no idea that George Clooney was considering having him play the character he played in the play Farragut North. He appeared surprised and elated, but still managed a “f***ing” word and a “Jesus Christ” as well. Perhaps he was paying homage for the idea of him being able to do this film with other actors he respects as well…:)
I wonder if Chris may not have been having people on about not knowing. After all, I knew about this since 2 September, more than two weeks now, and I live on the other side of the planet.
Anyway, good luck to him. I hope all goes well with This Means War which officially starts filming from next Monday, 20 September, in Vancouver.