Archive for the ‘Rumour Mill’ Category

The rumour mill has been working overtime this week concerning Michael’s future projects. Yet another story has emerged about a possible role.

According to The Filmstage, Michael is in talks to play the lead in a film version of Mariah Mundi & the Midas Box, based on the 2007 young adult novel by G P Taylor. The story centres around a 15 year old boy, Mariah Mundi, whose world is torn apart by the disappearance of his parents, then the kidnapping of younger brother by unknown assailants.

Michael is rumoured to play an Indiana Jones-ish adventurer, called Captain Charity,with whom Mariah Mundi sets off in pursuit, arriving at the Prince Regent, a hotel hiding a fantastical underworld. Sam Neill will appear as an arch villain, Lena Hedley as his witch-seductress, and Ioan Gruffud has also been suggested as being connected with the project.

Gavin Scott (Small Soldiers), Rob Sprackling (Gnomeo & Juliet) and John Smith (Gnomeo & Juliet) are writing the screenplay, and produced by Entertainment Motion Pictures. Shooting is set to commence April 30th.

According to Deadline.com, Michael Sheen has recently been cast as the lead in a Showtime pilot called ‘Masters of Sex’ portraying 1960s human sexuality pioneer William Masters’.

This would be Michael’s first series appearance, and at the moment this has not been confirmed. The article does go on to say that Paul Bettany was supposed to take the role, but pulled out last month.

William Masters was an American gynecologist, best known as the senior member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team. Along with Virginia Eshelman Johnson, who he later married, he pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1990s.

For now, I am filing this in the Rumour Mill, but I will keep my eye on this topic. It would be interested to see what Michael makes of a series.

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is being tipped to direct a biopic about the passionate relationship between screen stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

Their tempestuous romance saw them marry and divorce twice, and made them the most famous couple in the world at the time, and the relationship is to become the subject of its own film which will chart the couple’s life together from the time they met on the set of the 1963 film Cleopatra.

Hollywood is already buzzing with rumours about who will take on the roles of two of the biggest names in showbusiness.

Michael Sheen is seen as a frontrunner to play Burton, who was also from Wales. Angelina Jolie is among those tipped to play British-American Miss Taylor, who died two months ago aged 79.

Tim Burton is currently casting for his new project ‘Dark Shadows’. He has already secured a great cast, some of them are the usual suspects (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter) along with Michelle Pffeifer, Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green, and Bella Heathcote. There is also rumour that Michael Sheen is also in negotiations for a supporting role.

There is apparently mutual interest going on between Michael and Tim, which is no surprise as Burton is famous for working repeatedly with actors he likes. Michael Sheen voiced the role of the White Rabbit in Burton’s Alice In Wonderland epic from last year.

Dark Shadows was an American gothic soap opera from the late 60′s, about the vampire Barnabus Collins (Depp) who is searching for his lost love.  The series has become a bit of a camp classic, but still has a cult following.

Hopefully the rumour will be confirmed shortly as the film is due to commence filming in a month, with a expected 2012 release.

There is a rumour in the press that Michael Sheen is one amongst a few names being touted as a possible for playing troubled Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Other names being offered are Leonardo DiCaprio, Jude Law, and Chris Cooper. The front runners are Russell Crowe and Matt Damon, with the Bourne star being the bookies’ favourite.

Ever since Steven Spielberg purchased the rights to “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War On Secrecy“, written by Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding, speculation has begun on who could play the titular part of the controversial Australian website creator.

The ‘long shots’ on the books include George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Kevin Spacey – with Charlie Sheen the 66-1 outsider.

What are your thoughts? Could you see Michael in this role?

Last summer, when Peter Morgan was brought in to write the script of the, as yet untitled, new Bond film (commonly referred to as Bond23) rumours abound the internet that Michael Sheen would be given a part in this film due to their close working relationship in the past. This was never confirmed, and even denied by Michael Sheen.

Shortly after Morgan completed the first draft, the whole Bond franchise was ensnared in financial difficulties while its owners, MGM, were heading for bankruptcy.  The new owners of MGM, along with Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, confirmed last night that 007 will be back on 9 November 2012 and starring Daniel Craig. Production is set to begin at the end of this year.

This has, of course, caused a resurgence in the “Michael Sheen as Blofeld” rumours. This has been further fueled by a statement from producer Barbara Broccoli that Michael is a “perfect fit” for the role of the super-villain.

Back in the summer, I ran a poll on the site to see how you all felt about the possibility. It stood at 61% of voters feeling favourably about the idea. I have decided to re-instate the poll for any one who didnt vote last time, or for those who want to vote again. You can check it out on the right hand side of the main site.

Personally, I would kinda like the rumours to be true for once, though I am not sure how I feel about the thought of Michael appearing bald!