Reese Witherspoon Developing Cyber Thriller Adaptation ‘Second Life’ 0 680

reese-witherspoon-developing-cyber-thriller-adaptation-second-life

Continuing her quest to make sure more strong female-driven movies get made in Hollywood, Reese Witherspoon has set her sights on cyber thriller Second Life.

The Oscar winner is developing the adaptation alongside her Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea, following on from the action-comedy Hot Pursuit, in which she co-stars with Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara. They also produced Wild, for which Witherspoon was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and are working on a whole host of other adaptations.

Not to be confused with the online virtual world game of the same name, Second Life is based on the novel by S.J. Watson (Before I Go To Sleep, itself adapted last year into a film starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth) and follows a woman who creates a fictionalized online persona for herself in order to discover the truth about her sister’s violent murder, losing herself in the lies she creates as she goes.

There’s no word yet on if Witherspoon will also star in the film although it seems quite likely. That said, she did produce David Fincher’s hit mystery thriller Gone Girl – itself an adaptation of a best-selling novel – but Rosamund Pike took the crucial title role in that (to Oscar-nominated effect).

Whether she ultimately decides to star in it or not, it sounds like an intriguing film. I can’t say I’m familiar with the source material but I did enjoy the hokey mystery thrills of Before I Go To Sleep. Here’s hoping it delivers the same sort of thrills but with added depth this time.

Sources: Variety, Forbes (image)

Previous ArticleNext Article
I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Watch: Incredible New Trailer for ‘The Revenant’ 0 1238

watch-incredible-new-trailer-for-the-revenant

We don’t usually post trailers individually – saving them for the Trailer Watch – but this one was just too good to pass up.

The Revenant is the new film from acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who most recently won an Oscar for Birdman. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter in a tale of a forntierman in 1820 who sets out on a path of vengeance who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

We already had one amazing teaser trailer, now check out the equally great new trailer below:

Could this be the film that finally wins Leo his Best Actor Oscar? Quite possibly!

The Revenant is set for release in the UK on January 15th, 2016.

Vincent Cassel To Play Villain in Next ‘Bourne’ Film 0 1458

vincent-cassel-to-play-villain-in-next-bourne-film

After a fourth Bourne film in which Jason himself was conspicuous by his absence, things are returning to the old but brilliant formula of Matt Damon starring and Paul Greengrass directing.

We already know that in addition to Damon returning (rejoice!), Tommy Lee Jones and woman-of-the-moment Alicia Vikander are part of the cast, playing a tough CIA operative and (presumed) love interest, respectively, as well as Julia Stiles reprising her small but crucial role as Bourne helper Nicky Parsons. But now we’re getting word that one of the best French actors in the business is also joining the cast.

Variety has the news that the wonderful Vincent Cassel has signed on to the spy action sequel as its main villain, which will see him match wits and possibly even go toe-to-toe go with the former amnesiac hero. Although exact plot details are being kept secret for the time being, sources are saying that Cassel will play an assassin tracking Bourne. No doubt he will tie in with the Treadstone/Blackbriar history of the Bourne mythology – maybe he’ll be a scorned fellow assassin who feels Bourne somehow wronged him/was chosen ahead of him.

The series has a pedigree of casting great actors as assassins, whether it be Clive Owen in The Bourne Identity, Karl Urban in Supremacy, Edgar Ramirez in Ultimatum and Oscar Isaac in Legacy.

I was already looking forward to the return of the Damon-Greengrass team but the addition of Cassel – genuinely one of my favourite actors of modern times – only makes me wish next summer would get here sooner.

The as-yet-untitled Bourne sequel is set to start shooting this year for a July 29th, 2016 release date.

Source: Variety