Marlon Wayans Enlists in 'G.I. JOE'!
Scary Movie writer-star cast as Ripcord in the film to start shooting in L.A. next month. Plus, Ray Park preps for Snake Eyes!
Paramount has conscripted actor Marlon Wayans (White Chicks) to play Ripcord, "leader of the military unit" in the live action G.I. Joe motion picture, reports Variety's TATIANA SIEGEL.
Wayans joins Ray Park, Sienna Miller, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Said Taghmaoui, Rachel Nichols and Byeong-Heon Lee in the Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) directorial that was scripted by Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean).
Set ten years in the future, the war-themed plot draws upon the Hasbro toy company's 25-year-old tale that spawned an action figure line, comic book series and animated TV program: the never-ending battle of the international military unit G.I. Joe against the terrorist organization COBRA.
Paul Lovett & David Elliot (Four Brothers) contributed an earlier draft of the screenplay, as did Skip Woods (Hitman).
According to STEPHANIE SANCHEZ at The IESB, the role of Ripcord was recently rumored to have been offered to Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3), while Blackfilm.com had announced Wayans as Heavy Duty, the part that went to Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost).
Variety also reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun) is negotiating with Paramount to join the team in an undisclosed role, which Cinema Blend's JOSH TYLER sees as great news, the exact opposite of his reaction to the Wayans casting.
"Levitt’s flat out amazing, easily the best young actor currently working in Hollywood," wrote Tyler. "He’s the anti-Wayans, and G.I. Joe would be lucky to have him."
This reporter will refrain from throwing in his own two-cents about Gordon-Levitt, and will instead move onto an update from the one actor upon whom everyone agrees.
Over this past weekend, The IESB's photographer RICK CHAVEZ briefly chatted up Park (X-Men) about his preparations for playing the most popular Joe of all--the silent-but-deadly Snake Eyes.
Martial arts expert (and life-long G.I. Joe fan) Park added "heavy sword training" to his regimen, and his fight prep included Wu Shu and various other arts.
"Ray is in [the] best shape of his life," testified The IESB's ROBERT SANCHEZ, who called Park's selection as Snake Eyes "the best casting news of 2007."
Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers), Hasbro's Brian Goldner, Sommers and his partner Bob Ducsay, G.I. Joe begins Los Angeles filming in February toward an August '09 release.
[Thanks to JARROD SARAFIN - Mania.com]