A “thunk” sound echoed round Hollywood on Wednesday, and it wasn’t the body of a Lucasfilm employee hitting the deck as George Lucas showed his displeasure with the bungled launch of the Star Wars Blu-Ray extras announcement website. Nope, it was director Adam Shankman locking down the last major piece of casting on Rock of Ages, with Watchmen’s Malin Akerman signing on to sing as Constance.
You might recall that the role – a snarky, muck-raking journalist who intends to pen an expose on wild boy rocker Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) – has been giving Shankman headaches for a while now. He’s approached the likes of Anne Hathaway and Amy Adams, but they both became unavailable thanks to roles in superhero movies (The Dark Knight Rises and Superman: Man of Steel, respectively.)
Thank goodness, then, for Silk Spectre II herself, who will ultimately fall for Jaxx’s charms, warble a duet on Foreigner’s I Want To Know What Love Is, then fall into bed with him.
But their story is just one strand in a musical adaptation that follows young lovers Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta as a naïve small-town girl and wannabe rocker who try to make it (and make out) in the tough world of ‘80s LA rock clubs. Not to mention the nasty party pooper (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is trying to ensure that the club run by Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand is shut down as she gentrifies the Sunset Strip.
With Paul Giamatti, Mary J Blige and Bryan Cranston also all aboard, Shankman will start shooting the film this month in Miami.