Gamma/Eyedea/ZUMA PressWe already know Javier Bardem is a hunk. Now he's getting Biutiful.
The Oscar-winning actor is joining forces with acclaimed Mexican helmer Alejandro González Iñárritu for a Spanish-language drama. It also marks the latter's first film since his fallout with longtime scribe Guillermo Arriaga.
Per Variety, little is known about Biutiful's plot except that Bardem plays a man caught up in some shady business and is confronted by a childhood friend who's now a policeman.
González Iñárritu penned the screenplay himself, his first solo effort since landing on Hollywood's radar with three straight critical and commercial hits in partnership with Arriaga.
The duo began their collaboration with 2000's Amores Perros and then made the jump into English-language films with 2003's 21 Grams. But a squabble over credits for 2006's Babel prompted recriminations that led to Arriaga being barred by the filmmaker from attending the movie's Cannes Film Festival premiere and the pair ended up going their separate ways.
González Iñárritu will coproduce Biutiful through Cha Cha Cha, his production shingle with fellow directors Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro.
Intentionally misspelled title and all, Biutiful starts shooting on location in Barcelona next week, returning the No Country for Old Men star to the same metropolis where he recently scored a hit starring in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
In the day's other casting news:
- Getting a big thumbs-up, Alec Baldwin has come aboard to cohost Turner Classic Movies' film showcase The Essentials, joining longtime emcee Robert Osborne to introduce one esteemed classic a week. The 30 Rock star is no stranger to TCM, having previously appeared as a "guest programmer" and hosted the network special Role Model: Gene Wilder.
- James LeGros, Twilight star Ashley Greene and Haley Ramm are hitting the rink in Skateland, an indie coming-of-age tale set in the 1980s following Ritchie Wheller (Shiloh Fernandez), a teen who loses his job after a small-town roller rink closes and must deal with his parents' divorce and complicated relationships with friends Brent and Kenny. LeGros plays Brent's dad while Green plays Brent's sister
- The Georgetown cocktail party circuit is getting some new additions: HBO has tapped Jason Dohring and Kate Burton for Washingtonienne, its new comedy pilot produced by Sarah Jessica Parker about the professional and personal lives of three smart, twentysomething girls working on Capitol Hill. Dohring plays Spencer, a senior legislative assistant to a senator while Burton plays Joy, the senator's extremely harried personal assistant.
- Shannyn Sossamon and Scott Mescudi, meanwhile, have been added to the cast of HBO's How to Make It in America, a comedy about two aspiring twentysomething entrepreneurs trying to find success in New York and live the American dream.