Uma Thurman and Robert Pattinson will use each other in “Bel Ami.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Uma Thurman has been cast in “Bel Ami,” the adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s 1885 novel (and that’s novel, not short story as THR says; people keep making this mistake any time there is an article about this movie, and it’s really sad. What does it take, thirty seconds to look this up and find about a million non-Wikipedia sources? Come on, everyone, just try a little bit more).The reason this is news right now has, alas, less to do with the lovely and talented Ms. Thurman–who does, indeed, grow lovelier and more skilled with time–than with her co-star, Robert Pattinson. You may have heard of him. He’s starring in a little movie called “New Moon” this weekend.

In “Bel Ami,” Pattinson will play Georges Duroy, a lowly young journalist who rises to the top of Parisian society by sleeping with a series of wealthy, older women. Thurman plays one of his targets but one who eventually becomes his wife. Kristin Scott Thomas has also joined the cast as another of Duroy’s steps on the road to the top.

Theater director Declan Donnellan will make his film debut with “Bel Ami.” It’s set to start shooting next year in Paris. Presumably they’re working around Pattinson’s “Twilight” commitments; he’s the one who’s driving this bus, after all.

There are certain movie stars whose very presence in films seems to ensure box office success. Or maybe they’re just both fortunate and canny at picking the right scripts. However, the flip side of the coin are those stars who are a gamble to cast because their movies aren’t always box office smashes.

Forbes recently compiled its list of the top ten most overpaid film stars, and it includes some huge names. Some are surprises, some were always odds-on to appear in such a list.

The figures were compiled by analyzing the box office takings of the actors’ last three films and how much they were paid for each of them. The figure in brackets beside each name is how much the films made for every dollar paid to the leading actor.

1. Will Ferrell ($3.29m)
2. Ewan McGregor ($3.75m)
3. Billy Bob Thornton ($4m)
4. Eddie Murphy ($4.43m)
5. Ice Cube ($4.77m)
6. Tom Cruise ($7.18m)
7. Drew Barrymore ($7.43m)
8. Leonardo DiCaprio ($7.52m)
9. Samuel L. Jackson ($8.59m)
10. Jim Carrey ($8.62m)

No surprise to see Will Ferrell at number one. The main reason for his positioning is Land Of The Lost being such a dismal failure. No surprise either to see Eddie Murphy or Ice Cube included in the list.

However, Ewan McGregor at number 2 is a bit of a shocker, as is Tom Cruise at number 6, and Samuel L. Jackson at number 9. They’ve clearly chosen their scripts poorly over the past few years.

The latest Star Trek movie succeeded on a number of different levels. It pleased the fans, gave newcomers a chance to enter the series, and managed to successfully bring Star Trek from what it was to what it has to become in order to continue onwards.

One of the best moves by director J.J. Abrams was managing to persuade Leonard Nimoy to reprise his role as Spock. This in itself succeeded in bridging the gap between the original series and the re-imagining.

The question is whether Nimoy’s work is done or whether he could and should be back in the sequel? Nimoy doesn’t think the series needs him any longer, giving his thoughts on the matter to MovieWeb:

“I am very happy with the direction J.J. took this particular film. He has a great cast, and he’s in great shape. I was fortunate enough to work with an exceptional group of actors, and the fans really seemed to enjoy the film. I don’t think there is room for me to return in a sequel. I don’t think they need me. I am happy to see Zachary continue on with the role. I don’t believe a second film would benefit from me being a part of it. If J.J. asked me to come back, I would consider it. But I don’t think it is necessary, nor do I think that is part of J.J.’s plan.”

If Abrams reads these comments then he’s likely to take note and move on the series without Nimoy being involved. However, there could always be cameos made by other members of the Star Trek cast, not necessarily as integral to the plot as Old Spock was this time around and not necessarily from The Original Series either.

Is Anne Hathaway sharpening her claws?

Deadline Hollywood says that the latest “Spider-Man 4″ casting rumor revolves around Anne Hathaway. She’s the latest in a line of young actresses who have been connected with the film; speculation is that they are up for the role of Felicia Hardy a k a The Black Cat. Others who have been rumored are Julia Stiles, Romola Garai, and Rachel McAdams.

I’m not enough of a Marvel expert to tell who would be the best choice for the part. The only one in the group I really don’t care for is Julia Stiles; the others would all be fine with me. To be honest, the quality of the script is more important than the casting of these roles; Garai, McAdams, and Hathaway are all basically interchangeable to me. They’re all competent, they’re all pretty, so fine, whichever. Just give us a good, clean script this time. Please.

The sunglasses are a dead giveaway that Brad Pitt is a movie star. 

No, the “Dark Void” isn’t the black hole that is Brad’s ”Moneyball” adaptation. Instead, Variety’s Risky Business blog reports that Pitt’s production company Plan B has picked up the film rights to the not yet released video game “Dark Void,” with the possibility that Pitt may star.

“Dark Void” the game comes from Capcom and is set to be released in January. Here’s the description:

“Dark Void” centers on a a cargo pilot named Will (Pitt’s presumed character) who, after crashing in the Bermuda Triangle, ends up in a parallel universe where a band of humans must fight an alien threat they had long been thought extinct. Will and the other humans are outmanned but have a number of weapons and powers to help them beat back the alien incursion. 

Of course, the game to big screen translation hasn’t been particularly successful so far, but “Void” may be different. Why? Let Capcom senior vp licensing Germaine Gioia explain:

“As a game, ‘Dark Void’ was developed with a wide-screen mentality – a world full of adventure presented in cinematic scope and scale.”

Well, that could help…maybe.

From the description, it sounds like this could be a fun project for our man Brad. If you think about it, he hasn’t done many full-fledged action pictures–I guess we could say “Troy,” and maybe we would say “Inglourious Basterds”?–and I certainly don’t believe he’s done any scifi. Put him on a planet, give him a big gun, and let him blow away a few CGI aliens. It would be a nice change of pace. You don’t always have to go for the Oscar.

The Academy bears no love for Canadian rockers.  

The Oscars documentary category has always been independent. When you talk about Oscar snubs, the documentary jaw-dropping leave-outs could form a critically acclaimed festival on their own–”The Thin Blue Line,” “Hoop Dreams,” and “Grizzy Man” are a few of the much-admired documtaries that never even got a nomination.

Today the Academy announced their “shortlist” of fifteen documentaries out of 89 contenders. From the fifteen, five will actually receive nominations. Here are the candidates:

“The Cove”

“Food, Inc.”

“Valentino: The Last Emperor”

“Every Little Step”

“The Beaches of Agnes”

“Burma VJ”

“Facing Ali”

“Garbage Dreams”

“Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders”

“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”

“Mugabe and the White African”

“Sergio”

“Soundtrack for a Revolution”

“Under Our Skin”

“Which Way Home”  

As usual, there are some high-profile, well-known (and often well-liked) titles left off that list: “The September Issue,” “It Might Get Loud,” “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “We Live in Public,” and saddest of all, the little doc that could, “Anvil! The Story of Anvil.” Rock on, Anvil.

Of the docs that did make it, my favorite is “Every Little Step.” I adored it when I saw it and even when I walked out out of the theater, I would have gladly taken a ticket to go back in and see it again right then. So that one has my vote…which means it’s unlikely to make it out of the shortlist.

If you’re not aware of what Call Of Duty is then you must have had your head in the sand for the last few weeks. The latest game in the series, Modern Warfare 2, was released on Nov. 10, and has broken the record for all entertainment media.

In its first five days, the title racked up $550 million in sales, which beats not only every other video game ever released, but also every movie and music album ever released as well. In other words, it’s a big deal.

And now there could be a movie made based on the series. At least according to speculation by Kevin McKidd, Lucius Vorenus on HBO’s Rome. The actor has voiced parts in the previous two games and told The New York Post that, “there are talks of a feature film.” He also said of the game:

“I had no idea it would be so huge. They were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood, they probably couldn’t get Gerard Butler, so they got the No. 2 Gerard Butler, me. If the script is good, and Gerard [Butler] isn’t available, then absolutely.”

It’s not clear who is talking about a feature a film - it could be a reference to the developers or just the fans - but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a Call Of Duty movie made, as this is one video game series with no shortage of fans.

Justin Theroux, looking like a director. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Justin Theroux will do a rewrite of “Space Invaders,” a romantic comedy originally written by Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger (Empire says the script has been kicking around since 2007). Theroux may also direct the film.

The romantic comedy is about “a man who decides to go to space after he suspects that his longtime girlfriend, an astronaut, is cheating on him with another spacewalker.” Will Arnett is supposed to star. Sounds like a good match for him.

Theroux is an actor, don’t forget (remember him in “Mulholland Drive?” Or more recently, the HBO “John Adams” miniseries?), but has recently won some success as a screenwriter. He wrote “Tropic Thunder,” and then followed that up with the script for “Iron Man 2.”   

If he gets the directing gig, this won’t be his first turn in the big chair. Theroux also directed “Dedication,” which starred Mandy Moore and Billy Crudup. S

47 Ronin is shaping up to be a brilliant project. Fast & Furious and Wanted scribe Chris Morgan has written the screenplay, Keanu Reeves is attached to star, and now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Carl Erik Rinsch is attached to direct.

Rinsch is a commercials director who has made his name with futuristic concepts for companies such as Mercedes and Heineken. 47 Ronin will be his first feature and it must be considered a bit of a gamble for Universal to give him directing duties.

Rinsch narrowly missed out on directing the Alien prequel. His name was attached but Ridley Scott, originally only producing, has now moved up to directing duties.

47 Ronin tells the story of a group of 18th century samurai determined to avenge the death of their master. It’s a Japanese legend that has already been filmed at least half a dozen times. It’s not associated with Frank Miller’s Ronin, which is also in the works.

Look! It’s medievalish and magickal!

Variety says that Lorenzo DiBonaventura has bought the film rights to Michael Scott’s “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel” books. DiBonaventura is known for producing such action epics as “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “Transformers.”

Scott’s series is about “fifteen-year-old twins Sophie and Josh as they adventure across several continents with the immortal alchemyst of the title, Nicholas Flamel.” DiBonaventura says, “Michael’s fantastic series is a natural evolution from Harry Potter.”

That’s everyone’s dream, isn’t it?

The first three books in the series, “The Alchemyst,” “The Magician” and “The Sorceress,” are available now; the fourth book, “The Necromancer,” will be out in May.

(Apparently they are set in that far away time period before the letter “i” was invented.)

Whenever something becomes a hit, a thousand authors, publishers, producers, etc., try to find a way to reproduce it. So now we’re stuck with a million faux Harrys, and mini-wizards, alchemists, psychics, etc. Post “Twilight” we’re getting more vampires, probably more werewolves, teen witches, and of course, forbidden Frankenstein romances.

I am weary of kids’ books of ye olde stories with lots of Magick.

Jennifer Hudson: more than just a pretty voice.

Variety reports that Jennifer Hudson will star in “Winnie,” a biopic of Winnie Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, the activist who led the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Darrell J. Roodt is directing a script written by Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson; the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography “Winnie Mandela:A Life,” serves as the script’s main source.

Winnie Mandela was known as the “Mother of the Nation,” for her role in supporting Nelson Mandela’s work. Later she became a controversial figure, for her extremist views and seeming acceptance of violent means. She also was convincted of fraud. Nevertheless, by 2009 she had won enough support to gain a spot on the South African presidential ballot (she lost). Winnie and Nelson Mandela are divorce.

Hudson won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in “Dreamgirls,” and if you saw that movie, you know that wasn’t a token award for her singing; she nailed the role of Effie cold. I haven’t seen her other two film appearances, “Sex and the City” and “The Secret Life of Bees,” but I do believe she is one of those doesn’t-happen-everyday cases of a singer who actually can act, not just one of the many singers who think they can act.

“Winnie” will begin filming at the end of May in South Africa.  

On the back of reports that Hollywood is changing to reflect the success of low-budget movies and the failure of some big-budget blockbuster comes news that Johnny Depp is guaranteed to be paid at least $35 million for playing captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Depp is clearly worth the extra cash.

There was speculation that Depp could pull out of appearing in Pirates Of The Caribbean even though he’d signed up to play the lead once again. This came after the departure of Disney Chairman Dick Cook in September.

However, according to The Cleveland Leader, Depp has not only signed on the dotted line, his contract makes him the highest paid actor in all of Tinseltown. He’s guaranteed $35 million for starring in Pirates 4 and a box office hit would see his earnings climb even higher.

It’s also being reported that Geoffrey Rush will be back as Captain Barbossa and that Penelope Cruz may be being lined up to take the female lead role from the departed Keira Knightley.

Whatever the truth, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides looks set to make Johnny Depp and even wealthier man than he already is.

It appears as though this year, and the performance of big-budget blockbusters vs. low-budget indie films, is going to change Hollywood and the way it makes films for years to come.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood is preparing to consider budgets and the wage demands of A-list actors much more in the future. The reason for this change is that small budgets with unknown casts are now doing as well, if not better than, the big-budget movies at the box office.

Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Entertainment and former head of Sony Pictures, said:

“The (major movie) machine didn’t fly last summer, if you look at the movies and the names, they were not star-driven movies, they really weren’t.”

The evidence is clear to see. Some of the biggest successes of 2009 have had minuscule budgets and relatively unknown actors at the helm. I’m thinking The Hangover, District 9, and New Moon, all made relatively cheaply but which made a fortune at the box office.

Compare these with the likes of Surrogates starring Bruce Willis, Funny People starring Adam Sandler, Land Of The Lost starring Will Ferrell, Imagine That starring Eddie Murphy, and Duplicity starring Julia Roberts. All of which cost a lot to make, mainly because of the lead’s wages, and failed to fly at the box office.

I’d love to think Hollywood is changing for good in this sense as I’m growing a little tired of big budgets and A-listers. Many of my favorite films this year have been low-budget indie films. But I can’t see this philosophy lasting.

Stuart Townsend is your Fandral.

So much for those rumors about Dominic Cooper, Stellan Skarsgard and Colm Feore being cast as the Warriors Three in “Thor.” Variety reports that the real warriors will be played by Stuart Townsend, Tadanobu Asano , and Ray Stevenson.

Their characters are described as follows:

Townsend plays Fandral, a character which was drawn in the comic book series based on Errol Flynn and his movies. Stevenson, the “
Rome” star, plays Volstagg the Valiant, a hard-living brawler, a character inspired by Falstaff. Asano, best known for starring in “Mongol,” plays Hogun the Grim, the third warrior and traveling companion of the hammer-swinging Thor, who is played by Chris Hemsworth.

I had no idea Fandral was based on Errol Flynn. That is an immediate plus in my book, as we all need a little Errol Flynn in my life. Sorry, Volstagg, I think Falstaff is the most overrated character in Shakespeare. Poor Hogun, inspired by no one apparently.

Townsend recently wrote and directed “The Battle in Seattle,” but I’ll always think of him as the guy who was fired from “The Fellowship of the Ring” allowing, thankfully, Viggo Mortensen to take his role as Aragorn. Stevenson was in “Rome,” which I didn’t watch, and Asano was in the epic “Mongol,” which I should see. 

Skarsgard and Feore are still in the cast but it looks like we still don’t know who they’re playing. ”Thor” is being directed by Kenneth Branagh and is set to begin filming early next year.

JJ Abrams on the “Star Trek” set, doing that director thing.

ComingSoon caught up with busy director JJ Abrams during the release party for the “Star Trek” DVD and got answers from him on one question that interests many people, and another, well, not so many. Let’s start with the latter:

Q: What’s the status on “Mission: Impossible IV”?

J.J. Abrams: We are working on the script and we have an incredibly cool story. It’s literally being written right this second.

As I said, I don’t know anyone who’s been sitting around wondering what on earth is going on with the “Mission Impossible” series (with the likely exception of Tom Cruise). The box office for the last installment was good, but not fantastic, and it was down from the previous film, a sign that the public is losing interest in the series. But it still did okay worldwide, and maybe the studio just considers it a good, safe bet to make lots of money overseas.

Onto the other question:

Q: What are the elements that would have to line up to make you direct the next “Star Trek” film?

Abrams: The truth is, the idea of anyone else directing the next “Star Trek” film breaks my heart. I had the most fun ever with these people. But, it’s impossible to know when the script is done. That’s the time to look at it and ask, “is this the right thing for the movie? Is it the right thing for me? My family?” and all that stuff. It’s so hard to know a year out with no script in existance if I should direct the movie. I look forward to making that decision when the time comes.

Now we all certainly would hope that Abrams does get to direct the sequel, but if not him, who? I’m sure he would get to make the choice. Would it be a big name director, like (I’m just throwing  a name out there) David Fincher? Or an up and comer, say, Peter Berg (again, just tossing out random names)? My bet is that Abrams would choose an unknown, maybe someone who’s worked on one of his TV series or maybe a writer he’s worked with who wants to move into directing.

Oh, and yes, that “Star Trek” DVD is in stores now.

McG’s “Captain Nemo” has run into some roadblocks. 

Say, remember McG’s planned new film version of Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?” Of course you do, you read about it here, here, and here). It was supposed to start filming in February, but now Variety says that production has been suspended “indefinitely.” And if it does start up again, McG won’t be at the helm. Avast, ye villains.

There’s no explanation for why the Disney put on the red light or why McG is gone. The usual guesses would be a) too expensive b) creative differences or c) a combination of both, that is a director whose creativity requires more money.

Another possibility, alluded to in Variety, is that a fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” segment is locked in, so maybe Disney feels that another large scale “water” movie would detract from that. McG, meanwhile is busy enough that he could conceivably have chosen to get out permanently once Disney put a hold on the project temporarily. The director has “Dead Spy Walking” in the pipeline, as well as a possible follow up to his “Terminator Salvation” (though the rights to the Terminator films is hanging in the balance, as those are tied up in bankruptcy court proceedings for the studio that owns them, Halcyon).

So are we sorry that there won’t be a new “Captain Nemo” soon? I am sorry solely because I would have enjoyed some casting rumors for the title character. What good is a movie if I can’t find some casting rumors?

Good luck with “Chuck.” 

Usually we bring you casting news. Today, though, we have a special treat: non-casting news!

(Don’t take this subject lightly–film history is littered with actors who turned down roles and then watched in chagrin as the person who took the became a star what happened to James Caan after he made a splash in the Godfather movies? He turned down the lead in “Kramer vs. Kramer,” amongst other films.) 

Anyway, MTV’s Splash Page says that Zachary Levi, star of TV’s “Chuck,” was cast as Fandral, but turned it down. Why? Was he stupid? Arrogant? Not interested in being in a big, well-financed movie with a huge buildup coming, directed by the always interesting Kenneth Branagh? Does he have something againsts Norse mythology?

Actually, none of the above. He had to turn it down after NBC ordered more episodes of “Chuck.” This was probably the first time in the entire always-hanging-by-a-thread existence of “Chuck” that Levi found himself wishing the show would be cancelled. I mean, ”Chuck” has sometimes okay ratings, but if you ask most people on the street if they watch “Chuck,” they’ll probably say no. A good supporting role in a big summer movie would have been a good next step for him to prepare for ”Chuck’s” inevitable cancellation. So my sympathies to Mr. Levi (incidentally, he also says he was asked to audition for the title character, but felt he wasn’t in shape for it and wasn’t ready to embark on a brutal workout regimen to prepare for the audition. Okay…).

MTV says Fandral is “a heroic adventurer who along with Hogun the Grim and Volstagg comprise the trio known as the Warriors Three.” No other casting has been announced, although Dominic Cooper, who’s been seen with a “Thor” script, has been rumored for the role.

Casting for the other Warriors hasn’t been announced either, but they could be the roles meant for Colm Feore and Stellan Skarsgard, who have been confirmed as “Thor” cast members, but not attached to specific roles.

Well, anyway, back to Zach–good luck to him, and I hope his number comes up again. Though when you’re an actor, you don’t always get lucky twice.

Brian Cox–future dwarf? 

Well, “The Hobbit” movies are ages away from being made, which gives plenty of time for everyone to spread rumors. So let’s go.

AICN says that British actor Brian Cox may be up for a role as a dwarf. And that’s all we have. Not which dwarf, or if he’s been seen meeting with Peter Jackson or Guillermo del Toro, or even been in New Zealand. But at this stage, it seems that’s all that we’re likely to have. Still, this is one of the first pieces of non-LOTR actor casting we’ve heard about, so it’s something, right? I suppose.

Cox has been in a number of movies (”X2,” and “The Bourne Supremacy,” just to mention a very few–oh, and yes, he was the original Hannibal Lecter in “Manhunter,” the original Hannibal Lecter movie). However, he’s also done a lot of TV in Britain and in the US, and even with all that, I still think of him as mostly a theater actor–and a great one, at that. As for how he fits into ”The Hobbit,” well, he seems like he’d be a good enough choice–prestigious, award-laden British actors were a big part of the LOTR cast. But it’s all just a rumor, and a vague one at that. I mention it mostly because I am hoping it is the first of many. Let the name-dropping begin!!

Do you have your ticket yet?

ComingSoon says that “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” has broken online ticket seller Fandango’s record for advance sales. Whoever bought a ticket around 8:00 on Saturday night (no word on whether that was am or pm) pushed the movie over the top, so congratulations, anonymous ticket buyer. Oh, and ”New Moon” still has four days to go to further kick dust in the movie poster face of previous record holder “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.”

Here’s the new top five for the pre-sale category (which really hasn’t existed that long–what would it have been like if Fandango had been around, say, when “Gone with the Wind” was opening?):

1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
2. Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005)
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Twilight (2008)

So what does this say about “New Moon’s” box office prospects? I mean we know they’re going to be good, but how good? You could argue that everyone who is going to see this movie is coming out the first weekend, leaving it in danger of a steep drop for week two. But even if the first part of that theory is true it doesn’t necessarily spell doom–”New Moon” is undoubtedly going to have a lot of repeat business, and with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend following the opening, it could benefit from tons of girls getting together and spending their days off seeing “New Moon” repeatedly.

The only other question now is what will happen when “Eclipse’s” June opening approaches. Will the third film out presell “New Moon?” Or could there be some “Twilight” fatigue by then? (not to mention kids in camp and things like that). Well, we’ll see. First let’s just deal with this one.

Oh, and if you don’t have a ticket yet, don’t worry–apparently delighted theater owners are adding shows to their schedules as fast as they can.

Possible plot points? Or just rumors? 

Are you so excited about “Sex and the City 2″ that you can’t wait until next summer to find out? Or are you not that interested but would like to see a few pertinent details so you can keep up with conversations about the movie? Well, whichever category fits you, we have something that you might want to read.

The New York Post reported that Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper, claimed to have gotten a hold of a copy of the script for the sequel to the successful film based on the successful TV series. Of course, it IS the Post, so the truth might just be that there Yedioth Ahronoth is a newspaper and that there is going to be a sequel to “Sex and the City.” Or if there was a leaked script, there’s no telling if it was a final draft or anything like that. But if you’re interested in reading about what may…or may not be in the upcoming film, keep reading. If you don’t want to know, well, then search our lovely site for other news that may interest you more. Thanks!

Spoilers here, courtesy of the Post:

* The situation looks bleak for Bradshaw, whose marriage with Mr. Big unravels after they lose everything in a financial scam.

* Seeking work, Mr. Big ends up in London, where he’s living in a rundown apartment, but cheats on Carrie — who dumps him before finding out she’s pregnant.

* At least she has a wedding to look forward to: Stanford Blatch, her gay best friend, will marry Anthony Marantino, one of Stanford’s former enemies. Performing at the reception is Liza Minelli, who sings a cover of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” (okay, that one may be worth the price of admission itself).

* Samantha, also hit hard by the financial scam, has to downgrade her glam lifestyle but can at least take comfort in the arms of Smith Jerrod, the ex she broke up with at the end of the previous movie.

* Miranda quits her law practice after getting sued. She and her husband Steve decide to open a restaurant. (If times are bad, isn’t opening a restaurant one of the riskiest things you can do? Why not be really practical and just become actors or performance artists?)

* Besides the characters’ heavy financial losses, tough times in the real world will also be reflected in the film’s wardrobe choices, which an unnamed production insider says will be “less over-the-top but still stylish.”