People
NEW YORK — Jennifer Lawrence will star in the Adam McKay comedy “Don't Look Up” for Netflix.
The streaming giant on Wednesday announced that it acquired the project. McKay, who wrote the script, will direct the film about two low-level astronomers who go on a media tour to warn of an approaching asteroid heading for Earth.
Lawrence has been little seen on the big screen lately, most recently co-starring in last year's “X-Men: Dark Phoenix.” The 29-year-old actress took a roughly two-year hiatus from acting but has recently returned to work. She recently wrapped production on an untitled film for A24 directed by Lila Neugebauer.
“I'm so thrilled to make this movie with Jen Lawrence,” McKay said in a statement. “She's what folks in the 17th century used to call 'a dynamite act.' And the fact that Netflix sees this movie as a worldwide comedy sets the bar high for me and my team in an exciting and motivating way.”
McKay's most recently movie was 2018's Oscar-nominated “Vice,” starring Christian Bale as Dick Cheney.
“Adam has always had great timing when it comes to making smart, relevant and irreverent films that depict our culture,” said Scott Stuber, head of film at Netflix. “Even if he somehow ends up predicting planet Earth's imminent demise, we're excited to add this to our slate before it all comes to an end.”
Shooting on “Don't Look Up” is set to begin in April.
NEW YORK — When a new revival of “West Side Story” opens on Broadway, it will make history. The musical sees 33 young people making their Broadway debuts, a record.
The show,, loosely based on William Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet,” chronicles the affair between two lovers caught in a violent gang world not of their making.
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Ilda Mason isn't just making her Broadway debut this year. She's also making her feature film debut. Both are in versions of “West Side Story.”The 30-year-old dancer from Panama City, Panama, auditioned for the Broadway musical during rehearsals for the Steven Spielberg-directed film version, which opens in December. “Both are completely different versions of the same story,” she says.Mason has had a fascinating career so far. She won the Panamanian version of “Dancing With the Stars.” She performed “Legally Blonde” in China and toured the country with “On Your Feet!” and “Cinderella.” Now she's a swing on Broadway, meaning she understudies five roles and is ready to go on in case of illness or vacation.“West Side Story” is a recurring theme in her life. She's been in a production at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, and at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. In the future, she'd like to do film and TV, drawn by the opportunity to do the impossible onscreen. “I want to go to space and I want to be with dinosaurs. Basically, I want to be in a Steven Spielberg movie.”
