It looks as if two new celebrities are the next for the big screen treatment, and sadly, two more actors gone this week…
Sydney Sweeney to play Christy Martin in new biopic
This week, Deadline announced that Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney has been cast to portray boxer Christy Martin in her own biopic, directed by filmmaker David Michôd, who is known for his 2010 Aussie crime drama Animal Kingdom.
26-year-old Sweeney, who has recently been busy in projects like Anyone But You, Immaculate, and Madame Web, confirmed her casting in the article, quoting that she was ‘honoured to tell Christy’s powerful story’. She also relayed her previous experience in combat sports, and gave more of her thoughts to the new project based on the Hall of Fame boxer:
“I grappled and did kickboxing from 12 to 19 years old. I’ve been itching to get back into the ring, train, and transform my body. Christy’s story isn’t a light one, it’s physically and emotionally demanding, there’s a lot of weight to carry. But I love challenging myself.”
Michôd, whose past work also includes War Machine and The Rover, said that Martin’s rise to fame in the 1990s boxing industry will make for a story that producers compare to a ‘female Rocky’ Balboa, telling Deadline:
“I have a history of making movies about damaged men and I’d been wanting to make a film about a woman with a ferocious energy inside her. When I came across the Christy Martin story two years ago I knew I’d found it. Her ferocity is intelligible and justifiable and audiences will crave it because of the circumstances she was forced to endure.”
Michôd also stated that the film will dive into Martin’s tumultuous first marriage to James V. Martin, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after his conviction of second-degree murder in 2012, for a 2010 stabbing attack on Martin.
Martin, the first female client of Don King, is known for her 1996 win in the World Boxing Council’s lightweight championship during a match against Deirdre Gogarty. Nicknamed “The Coalminer’s Daughter”, she was listed on the 1997 undercard of Mike Tyson’s infamous ear-biting bout against Evander Holyfield.
The biopic, produced by the independent studio Black Bear, will be listed for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival also according to Deadline.
Abbie Cornish to play Anna Nicole Smith in new biopic
Also set to be portrayed on the big screen is the late Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, with Jack Ryan’s Abbie Cornish taking on the challenge in the upcoming Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, based on the memoir of physician Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who was implicated in Smith’s fatal drug overdose in 2007.
The 41-year-old Australian actress was spotted filming in Toronto, in a recreation of the 2005 Pride Parade in Los Angeles, which Smith attended. In a statement to Deadline following the film’s announcement, Cornish said:
“Playing Anna Nicole Smith is such a dream. I am honoured to have been chosen by our amazing producers and talented writer/director, Thana Economou. And I am so excited to work with our incredible cast and crew. I am blessed to stand alongside the charismatic and gifted [co-star] Kal Penn and tell the tale of this moment in history. There are so many layers and chapters to Anna’s life story that I look forward to embodying on screen with all of my heart and soul. Truly grateful.”
Co-starring Harold & Kumar actor Kal Penn as Dr. Kapoor, the film will be set during the peak of Smith’s career and tabloid fame, through Dr. Kapoor’s perspective. After his incrimination around her death, Dr. Kapoor’s career was jeopardised when he and Smith’s psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich were charged with allegedly prescribing excessive medication to the former Playmate. They were, however, both acquitted in 2010 due to a lack of evidence needed for conviction.
In his own statement to Deadline, Penn said:
“We all know the tragic story of the iconic Anna Nicole Smith, but very few of us – myself included – knew much about her young doctor: flamboyant, old school, blurring the lines between patient and acquaintance, and ultimately arrested and charged following her death. It’s a wild story brought to life in an especially tremendous script.”
The film has also cast The Terminator star Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kapoor’s lawyer Ellyn Garafolo.
Actor Bernard Hill, known for Titanic and Lord of the Rings, dies at 79
Bernard Hill, the British actor known for leading his people into battle as King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings film series and going down with his ship in Titanic, has unfortunately died at age 79.
Agent Lou Coulson broke the news that he passed away early Sunday morning, with his family by his side. Tributes poured in from former co-stars like Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd, all of whom played the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, during their appearance at Comic-Con in Liverpool.
Astin started off by saying: “We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful.”
Boyd, reflecting on having watched the films with Monaghan, said: “I don’t think anyone spoke Tolkien’s words as great as Bernard did. He would break my heart. He will be solely missed.”
Hill, who was originally from Manchester, joined The Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2002 with the second film, The Two Towers. He reprised his role in Return of the King, which gained 11 Academy Awards.
One of the film’s more memorable moments is when Hill’s character rallies his overpowered army with a battle cry, causing them to face their enemies and possible fates head on.
Hill was also known for portraying Captain Edward Smith in James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster romance tragedy Titanic, one of the few actual figures portrayed in the movie. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the film also dominated the Academy Awards with 11 Oscars.
During the film’s sequence depicting the Titanic’s tragic sinking in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, Hill’s character guiltily stays within the ship’s wheelhouse as the icy water rises. As the water pressure gets too severe, the Captain grips the steering wheel and goes down with his ship as water bursts through the windows.
Hill first met with acclaim when he played in Boys From the Blackstuff, a 1982 British TV miniseries about an unemployed group of five men. He was nominated for a BAFTA award for his role in, and the show won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series.
His passing coincided with the second season of BBC drama series The Responder’s airing date, in which he played the father of the main character, played by Martin Freeman. Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, issued a response saying:
“Bernard Hill blazed a trail across the screen, and his long-lasting career filled with iconic and remarkable roles is a testament to his incredible talent. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”
Susan Buckner, known for Grease, dies at 72
Susan Buckner, who is best known for playing cheerleader Patty Simcox in Grease, has died at age 72.
Melissa Berthier, a publicist for Buckner’s family, issued a statement to People in a statement saying: “Susan died peacefully on May 2 surrounded by loved ones,” although no cause of death was revealed.
Samantha Mansfield, Buckner’s daughter, remembered her mother, stating “The light she brought into every room will be missed forever. She was magic, and I was very lucky to call her my best friend.”
Buckner’s character of Patty Simcox was the head cheerleader of Rydell High who befriends Sandy, portrayed by Olivia Newton-John, in the 1978 teen musical flick.
Born in Seattle in 1952, Buckner was crowned Miss Washington in 1971. She appeared on The Dean Martin Show as one of the Golddiggers, a female singing and dancing group, before going on to also appear in variety shows like The Mac Davis Show, Sonny and Cher and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
Buckner then starred as Patty, and cemented herself as memorable with her maniacally upbeat tone as runs onto the scene and screams that she “just loves the first day of school! Don’t you?” and her signature cheer that is “Do the splits! Give a yell! Show a little spirit for Old Rydell! Way to go, red and white! Go Rydell! Fight, fight, fight!”
Unfortunately, Buckner isn’t the first cast member of Grease to have already passed on. Most notably, Jeff Conoway, known for playing Kenickie, died in May 2011 at age 60 of multiple causes, and Newton-John died in August 2022 following a long battle with breast cancer.
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