the industry

Helen Mirren to Explore the Tolstoy Family’s Nudist History

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Mirren and Plummer Get Their Tolstoy On: Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer will star in the Leo Tolstoy biopic, The Last Station. In a Hollywood switcheroo, they’re replacing previously announced Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep in the roles of Tolstoy and his wife. We’ll get excited when director Michael Hoffman gets replaced by Michael Bay and Tolstoy gets replaced by a bunch of explosions. [Variety]

Pressly Loves You: Jaime Pressly has snagged a lead in the upcoming DreamWorks comedy I Love You, Man. She joins Paul Rudd and Jason Segel in the story of a guy (Rudd) who’s about to get married but realizes he has no friends, so he decides to go on man-dates to find a best man. Writer-director John Hamburg last wowed audiences with Along Came Polly, although we have to assume this one won’t have a ten-minute scene of Ben Stiller pooping. [HR]

Kapur Lights the Way: Shekhar Kapur is going to direct “probably the most expensive film [he’ll] ever make and will ever make,” he told the Indo-Asian News Service. He’s talking about Warner Bros.’s Larklight, a space pirate epic based on the 2006 book by Philip Reeve. You may remember reading it by accident when your senile grandma bought it for you instead of Harry Potter. [HR]

TNT Still Loves Raymond: Ray Romano wants to once again dominate your DVR with his new TNT pilot, Men of a Certain Age. Show is about men in their forties having a midlife crisis. We’re going to take a wild guess that the crisis involves Romano trying to talk his wife into having sex with him. [Variety]

Aniston Hearing Echoes: Jennifer Aniston has signed a first-look deal with Universal under the banner of her new production company, Echo Films. She formed the company with producing partner Kristin Hahn, whom she’s known since their days together at Plan B with — cough — Brad Pitt. They chose the name Echo “to echo back an idea, a challenge, something that resonates through all of us.” Once they sober up, we wish them luck. [Variety]

U2 Live: U2 has signed a twelve-year deal with music promoter Live Nation, who will handle all touring and merchandising for the iPod-loving band. The band chose not to renew their contract with Ticketmaster, probably because their multi-million-dollar deal included a $16 service charge. [Billboard]

Helen Mirren to Explore the Tolstoy Family’s Nudist History