Monday
Oct202008
Monday, October 20, 2008 at 3:21AM Rumor Patrol: Paris in 'Sherlock Holmes,' Pirate Zac Efron
Super-heavy rumor mongering is nothing new. There are
new "reports" about actors being cast in movies all the time. Nobody ever gets
excited when J.K. Simmons gets cast in Burn After Reading, because he's
not George Clooney or Brad Pitt. Regardless, Simmons walks away with a pretty
good movie, and never has to get out of an office chair to do it.
But when you hear that Russell Crowe will be in Star Trek or that Ryan Seacrest is dating some actress, it's easy to become suspicious. Even some of the great rumors this summer, most of which have revolved around the sequel to The Dark Knight, have been highly suspect, even though they're entertaining.
The first rumor concerns Paris Hilton, who dropped a hint that she might wind up in Sherlock Holmes. For the record, once you repeat the quote to yourself, you realize that it's actually a non-story. That hasn't stopped a number of outlets, both reputable and not-so-much, from making it sound like there's more to it than there is.
Paris was spotted chatting with Guy Ritchie in a club in London. Said Paris, "I had a few words with Guy. He could be offering me a role in his new Sherlock Holmes movie." He "could be" offering her a role. Based on a quick "Hi, how are ya" in a nightclub. Don't bet on it. Still, Shots Daily says, "Paris Hilton to Play in Sherlock Holmes," while Monsters and Critics writes, "Paris Hilton is set to star in Guy Ritchie's new movie Sherlock Holmes."
First of all, consider the source. Secondly, consider the movie. Thirdly, consider the, um, "actress." That's not going to happen. No way.
The other rumor is more plausible, but I'm not convinced, in large part because this movie has already had so many pie-in-the-sky stories written about it in the past few weeks. Here's the lowdown: Disney is grooming Zac Efron to take over for Johnny Depp in the Pirates series, and has cast its young High School Musical star opposite Depp in the fourth movie.
What sounds true in this story is Disney finding a new angle for the Zac Efron brand and a way to extend the Pirates brand beyond a fourth movie. But those two things going hand-in-hand? Not sure I buy it. All you'll hear about the legitimacy of it is "according to reports," without any official word coming from anywhere. I thought Efron was pretty good in Hairspray, and he seems like a level-headed kid. But taking the reins on Pirates might be a tall order.
So, there you go. If there are actual developments on either one of these stories, we'll update you. In the meantime, let's consider both cases closed.
Reader Comments (2)
I'm thinking Mr.Ritchie was looking for a rebound...
Pirates!: The Musical Starring Zac Effron!