the industry

The Jonas Brothers to Make Fart Jokes

Jonas Bros. Make a Dog: The Jonas Brothers are coming to Hollywood, in a move that will almost certainly bump Titantic to No. 5 on the all-time box office list. The boys will be making their big-screen debut in Fox’s Walter the Farting Dog, an adaptation of a series of children’s books that may be directed by the Farrelly brothers. Bonus Jonas, Frankie, will also star in the family-friendly movie about a dog with flatulence issues and the band that loves it. Can you say rock opera? [Variety]

Natalie From the Block: Natalie Portman will star in and executive-produce indie drama Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, saving the film from the near death it faced after Jennifer Lopez pulled out. The movie revolves around a woman and her relationship with her precocious stepson, played by the kid from I Am Legend, Charlie Tahan. [Variety]

Tough Delivery: Adrien Brody will topline The Courier, an actioner about a daredevil delivery man. Screenplay will be written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, the team behind Wanted and 3:10 to Yuma, and will involve corrupt cops and crime bosses chasing down Brody, who’s trying to deliver a briefcase to a scary underground figure. This movie sounded just like The Transporter until Brody was cast. Now it has more of a Paperboy feel. [HR]

Princess of Sheba?: Amy Adams has signed on to play Jacki Lyden, the NPR Middle East correspondent who traveled to Afghanistan just after the fall of the Taliban, in Daughter of the Queen of Sheba. The indie flick will center on Lyden’s use of her mother’s craziness to empower herself. Think of her as a highly functioning Lindsay Lohan. [Variety]

Striking While the Efron Is Hot: After watching Zac Efron and Kenny Ortega tear up the box office with HSM3, Paramount is fast-tracking the duo’s remake of Footloose with hopes of starting production next spring. The remake is supposed to appeal to an older crown (15-year-olds), but something tells us the combination of singing, dancing, and Zefron will bring out everyone with a pulse. [Variety]

Fox’s Acid Trip: Fox Searchlight has picked up Gus Van Sant’s film adaptation of The Merry Pranksters’ epic road trip chronicled in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. If anyone out there is taking casting suggestions, may we suggest finding any way possible to fit Johnny Depp into this? [HR]

The Jonas Brothers to Make Fart Jokes