Image Credit: PRN/PR Photos; Sylvain Gaboury/PR PhotosJustin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Olivia Wilde are already starring in Andrew Niccol’s upcoming sci-fi film NOW (which was titled I’m.Mortal until the marketing department stopped laughing and got serious for a second). Now, Deadline reports that the cast’s Hot-o-Meter has just moved from “atomic bomb” to “universe-devouring supernova,” with news that I Am Number Four breakout Alex Pettyfer and White Collar star Matthew Bomer will also be acting in the dystopian drama. (Fox confirmed Pettyfer’s and Bomer’s casting to EW.) Combined with a nifty premise — in the future, people can live forever, but time itself becomes a currency to prevent overpopulation — Now looks like it might be the Andrew Niccol comeback that I (and maybe five other people on earth) have been waiting over a decade for.
Let me explain. Niccol had a kind of mini-Charlie Kaufman moment in the late ’90s, when he wrote and directed the twisty Gattaca and earned an Oscar nomination for writing The Truman Show. Niccol seemed to have a totally unique voice — sci-fi allegory, media satire, a nice intermixing of comedy and romantic melodrama. Unfortunately, his next movies were S1m0ne (featuring a way-overheated Al Pacino) and Lord of War (featuring a not-overheated-enough Nicolas Cage).
I’m hoping that NOW (or whatever it’s called by the time it’s finally released in 2012) is the Gattaca follow-up we’ve been waiting over a decade for. PopWatchers, are you excited by all this new casting news? If Bomer, Pettyfer, Timberlake, Wilde, and Seyfried all appear in the same shot, will it cause movie screens to spontaneously combust? Am I the only Andrew Niccol connoisseur in the world?
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I’m right there with you. Thought “Gattaca” was pretty great, and I figured Niccol was destined to be a Next Big Thing. Obviously that didn’t happen. (Even though I really like “Lord of War”, despite the fact that Nicolas Cage appears to be asleep through half of it.)
The casting news is nice, but I’m mostly happy this isn’t called “I’m.Mortal” anymore.
If Matthew Bomer exists in that world, how dystopian can it really be?
Exactly.
LOL I was thinking along similar lines. This will be a really gorgeous dystopia. Time may be precious, but there’s eye candy to spare. (And thank GOD they ditched the ridiculous “I’m.Mortal” title.)
I think it might be the most aesthetically pleasing dystopia of all time.
It’s still a shame that Justin Timberlake is the male lead. Terrible terrible actor. Why does Hollywood keep on giving him these roles?
I agree.
He is a horrible actor. He was one of the reasons as to why the 3rd Shrek sucked big time (the other being the story). He was annoying on Alpha Dog (where Hirsch was superb) and I thought he was way overrated in the Social Network. You don’t need a lot of acting range to play the character he plays and yet he does them badly.
This is going to be a must see.
Great additions, but I’m not feeling the new title. The first one at least was memorable (I don’t think it was awful, though it certainly wasn’t great). This is too generic and bland…similar to the Nic Cage sci-fi dystopian Next
So would “Now” be a prequel to “Next”?
The prequel to “Now” would “Yesterday”
I didn’t like the former title, I’m.Mortal. But I’m not exactly a fan of the new title, Now. Seriously, these are the only two titles they could come up with?
Timberlake must have hooked up with a slam-bang agent….he’s getting more work than Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise, and all the Alisters.
Or he’s banging an agent with lots of hookups
Someone please tell him to stop making movies and make another album already!
Mmmmm, Matthew Bomer. I would see any movie he’s in.
I’m totally with you on the Gattaca love. As a teenager I caught it accidentally on cable and it became one of my favorite movies then and there
Niccol is one my favorite writer/directors. I’ve seen Gattaca multiple times and it’s always awesome to see. Can’t wait for this to come out
O,M,Gosh ALEX PETTYFER is sooooo HOT i would see any movie hes in!
O,M,Gosh ALEX PETTYFER obviously the new it guy in hollywood.
Pacino isn’t way overheated at all in Simone actually.
Parts of that movie are quite clever and witty – though it doesn’t ever fire on all cylinders.
pretty sure the movie screen will explode if theyre all in one scene together. also, i love the truman show! i havent seen all of gattaca, but i liked what i saw.
I’m a big Andrew Niccol fan. Love “Gattaca”, “The Truman Show”, and “Lord of War”. You’ve got to focus on Jared Leto’s character in “Lord of War”. The self sacrifice at the end is heartbreaking.
Anyway, looking forward to this based just on Niccol’s name and the premise, but Matt Bomer’s inclusion just clinches my interest.