A quick search of the site archives tells me that we haven’t done much reporting on the upcoming movie Switch yet, and that’s kind of a shame because it’s an interesting project for a number of reasons. The biggest and most obvious of these reasons is that it’s an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, and a sort-of prequel to Jackie Brown. What does that mean exactly? It means that this story features some of the earlier shenanigans of the Louis and Ordell characters that Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson played in the Quentin Tarantino adaptation of Leonard’s “Rum Punch,” which became Jackie Brown. I said this was a sort-of prequel to Jackie Brown though, so don’t expect to see Tarantino or either of those actors back. This is a completely new take on Leonard’s material involving completely new people. But, the good news is that all of these new people kind of rule, too.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie collection of links, posters, videos, and other newsworthy mediums that mostly have to do with movies. Sometimes we mix in a bit of television. Other times we’re talking about something completely different. Call us unfocused if you must, but don’t you ever call us boring. Leading with a photo of Katy Perry, not my finest moment. Rest assured, though, as there is some actual movie news associated with the buxom pop singer picture above. Paramount Pictures — the studio that brought you the box office cow Justin Bieber: Never Say Never – is planning a Katy Perry 3D movie documentary concert film thing. Squee!

Charles Matthau’s upcoming adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel Freaky Deaky was all set to be a star studded, A-list affair. First, it scooped up William H, Macy in a starring role. Solid, sturdy, that’s a good choice. Then it began filling out the ranks of its cast with big names put in supporting roles. Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Craig Robinson, they were all on board, and it was looking like this could end up being a big hit like one of Leonard’s other page to screen adaptations, Get Shorty. But then, suddenly, the entire cast dropped out of the pic and were recast with names that are more, uh… B-list. Uh-oh, that can’t be a good sign.

Charles Matthau’s big screen adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel Freaky Deaky has been hiring actors right and left to fill out some of its bigger roles. Being a Leonard novel, I’m sure you can imagine the complexity of the plot, and the amount of roles that need to be filled, so it’s encouraging that Matthau and his casting crew seems to be off to a good start. We already knew that everybody’s favorite actor William H. Macy has signed on to play a drunken, irresponsible movie mogul, and that saucy young dish Camilla Belle is attached to do something as well, but today there’s a trio of casting announcements that really put what this project is going to end up looking like in better perspective. The film’s plot involves two former political activists and bomb experts who intend to use their pyrotechnic expertise to intimidate and trick Macy’s character out of millions of dollars. One of the activists, Skip Gibbs, we now know will be played by Brendan Fraser. Matt Dillon has signed on to play Chris Mankowski, a bomb squad officer who stumbles on Fraser and company’s plot and therefore gets sucked into the whirlwind of nonsense that is an Elmore Leonard story. And lastly, Craig Robinson has been hired to play Donnell Lewis, a former Black Panther who has become the assistant to Macy’s character due to a newfound love of capitalism. All of these actors have their strengths, and it sounds to me like the roles

I’ve been crushing on Camilla Belle pretty hard ever since I saw her show up on Conan last week to promote her upcoming film From Prada to Nada. So it was some strange serendipity when news came down the line that she has signed on to upcoming Elmore Leonard adaptation Freaky Deaky, seeing as I’d already been creepily Googling her name all day. It’s like she’s trying to tell me something! But the charm and beauty of the lovely Ms. Belle isn’t the only thing that this one has going for it. Elmore Leonard novels have a surprisingly decent track record going when it comes to big screen adaptation to begin with, and this one has already signed on everybody’s favorite actor William H. Macy to star.  Plus the story is about an estranged couple who made their living blowing things up reuniting one last time to cash in on a huge blowing things up score all while being hunted down by a Detroit cop who is having his last day on the bomb squad. I love movies about cops who are trying to retire, but get sucked in to chaos! So, to recap: This movie adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel has 1) Camilla Belle 2) William H. Macy and 3) Lethal Weapon plot tropes. Where I come from we call that a triple threat. And explosions! Source: The Playlist

Well, that’s not entirely true. You see, Elmore Leonard, famed author and all around interesting chap, created the character of Raylan Givens in a pair of stories. That character was then brought to the small screen via the excellent FX original series Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant. So like, speaking accurately, Elmore Leonard didn’t actually create the show. Just the character. But you know what? Shut up, I’m trying to give you a free book. With a career that spans 60 years, features forty-four novels, twenty-one feature film adaptations, and three honorary doctorates, Elmore “Dutch” Leonard celebrated his 85th birthday on October 11th. Also cause for celebration, his newest novel, Djibouti, was released on October 12th. If you didn’t immediately run out and buy it, you may be in luck: we’re giving away three copies.

The master of the edgy, humorous, gritty thriller will see his work on the screen again. This time it’s his 1988 novel “Freaky Deaky” that’s been tapped for a screen adaptation