News Of The Week: Will Smith & Kevin Hart Teaming Up For 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' Remake

Hollywood was on temporary pause but productions are gearing back up, release dates continue to be tweaked in preparation for theaters reopening, and things are slowly starting to return to normal – or at least, our temporary new normal. Entertainment news has once again begun to drop with regularity. In case you missed it, here’s all the best news and tidbits from the last week.

Let’s hop to it.

‘Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone’ Finally Joins The $1 Billion Movie Club

It might be almost 20 years since it was first released, but thanks to China, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone has finally crossed the billion-dollar box office threshold. As part of China’s theater reopening strategy, like so many theaters around the world, classic films and repertory films are being rereleased to pad out the lineup while we’re still waiting on big-budget tentpoles to release. Harry Potter’s rerelease in China is for 3D and IMAX screenings, neither of which were available the first time the film was released in China back in 2002. But this past weekend, it made $13.6 million in China, just enough to push its global box office total past a billion dollars. Mischief managed.

Will Smith & Kevin Hart Set To Star In ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’ Remake

This is the kind of remake news you like to hear: Will Smith and Kevin Hart will be starring in a remake of John Landis’ classic 1987 odd couple road trip comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The original movie starred Steve Martin as a straightlaced family man who is forced to team up with John Candy’s brash, loudmouth salesman in order for them both to get home for Thanksgiving after their flight is canceled. Brooklyn 99 producer Aeysha Carr will be trying her hand at her first feature screenwriting debut and penning the script for the remake. It’s unknown whether the remake will be PG-13 or a firm R like the original, but Smith and Hart should have some incredible comedic chemistry together.

These Are The Top 10 Highest-Paid Actors Of 2020

Forbes has released its annual list of the Top 10 highest-paid actors of 2020, and, to the surprise of what should be nobody, Dwayne Johnson tops the list. However, the rest of the list holds a few surprises and shows just how the smartest actors are branching out with launching their own non-entertainment businesses. It also illustrates the changing landscape of the power dynamic in Hollywood; most of these actors are on the list thanks to lucrative Netflix deals or ones struck with other streaming platforms like Disney+ and Amazon. Streaming platforms seem to have bottomless bags of money, and right now, they’re throwing everything they can at A-list celebs in order to entice them to sign on for big-budget projects. Meanwhile, the highest-paid actresses list will be available next month.

Tig Notaro Is Replacing Chris D’Elia In Zack Snyder’s ‘Army Of The Dead’

Though he’s been in the news lately for his cut of Justice League, director Zack Snyder has been busy with another project, his Netflix zombie movie Army of the Dead. This week, it was announced that comedienne and actress Tig Notaro was replacing Chris D’Elia via reshoots. D’Elia has recently been at the center of a string of sexual harassment accusations from then-teenage girls and the decision was made to part ways with him on the project. As principal photography on Army of the Dead has already wrapped, Notaro’s scenes will be added with an innovative mix of using stand-in scene partners for some scenes and CGI to incorporate her into others.

Tom Holland’s Self-Tape Audition For Spider-Man Is A Freakin’ Delight

Is there a more charming young actor out there right now than Tom Holland? No, there is not, and his self-taped audition tapes for the role of Spider-Man just prove it. While snippets of his audition tapes and his screen tests opposite Chris Evans and Robert Downey, Jr. have made the rounds before, a new video started circulating that gathered all of them together, including one or two tapes that fans may not have seen before. Even without hair and makeup and a professional camera setup, it’s clear to see why Holland ultimately beat out over 200 other actors for the role of Peter Parker. There’s just an earnestness and open enthusiasm that emanates from him and makes him impossible not to root for.

Last but not least, check out our new Quick Hits column, which rounds up all the bits and bobs of news that don’t quite make the cut for a full article but are still interesting updates: