Iron Man director Jon Favreau’s upcoming version of the family classic The Jungle Book has been rescheduled for an April 15, 2016, opening. The new 3D animated version features the voices of 12 Years A Slave‘s Lupito Nyong’o, Christopher Walken, Idris Elba, Giancarlo Esposito, Scarlett Johansson and Ben Kingsley. It’s ironic how Ridley Scott couldn’t cast any leading black actors in his box office failure Exodus: Gods and Kings, but this feature-length cartoon has three leads of color doing vocal work.
American Horror Story’s Denis O’Hare stars in the drama Nasty Baby, which makes its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, opening today. The story introduces a gay couple trying to have a baby with the help of their straight friend, played by Kristen Wiig. Other cast members include Arrested Development‘s Alia Shawkat, Breaking Bad’s Mark Margolis and The Wire alumni Neal Huff and Reg E. Cathey.
The Utah movie celebration will also screen the new comedy Grandma starring Lily Tomlin. The comedy icon plays Elle Reid, a grouchy grandparent who finds her stern facade cracked after Sage, her 18-year-old granddaughter, shows up and asks for help. They end up on a life-changing day trip where Elle is forced to face decisions of her past, and Sage must face the fork in the road to her future. The talented ensemble includes Marcia Gay Harden, Sleepy Hollow’s John Cho, The Fault in Our Stars‘ Nat Wolff, Sam Elliott and Orange is the New Black’s Laverne Cox.
Chris Evans‘ brother and One Life To Live vet Scott Evans will play half of a gay couple in the upcoming film I Do, I Do. The story places the pair at the center of national media frenzy following a morning TV show story that inadvertently makes them a poster couple for same-sex marriage. The comedy will costar Whoopi Goldberg, Celebrity Apprentice’s Vivica A. Fox, Broadway’s Rocky Andy Karl, plus White Collar vets Eric Roberts and Judith Ivey.
There’s trouble under the roof of another gay household in the film Daddy. The premise takes a troubled gay couple who have grown apart since they first got together in college. We find that Colin is still a head-turning hunk, while partner Stewart has let himself go and has become insecure. His doubts are validated when Colin begins stepping out with a much younger man. Smash vet Jamie Cepero, who played Anjelica Huston’s manipulative assistant Ellis, costars with Scandal‘s Mackenzie Astin and Police Academy’s Leslie Easterbrook under the direction of former CSI: Crime Scene Investigation cast member Gerald McCullouch.