By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --After a seven year hiatus from film, Jack Nicholson is expected to return to the big screen in an English language remake of the Oscar-nominated German comedy "Toni Erdmann." Nicholson and Kristen Wiig are attached to star, according to a person close to the production who requested anonymity because of a lack of authorization to speak publicly about the project.
The trade publication Variety first reported the news Tuesday.
Nicholson last appeared in a film in 2010 in James L Brooks's "How Do You Know" and has been considered by many to be retired from film acting.
"The movie business is the greatest business but I only want to do films that move people, films about emotions and people," Nicholson said in a 2013 interview with The Sun.
"Toni Erdmann," from writer-director Maren Ade, became somewhat of an international sensation after its Cannes premiere in May 2016. The film, about a father with a proclivity for corny pranks who tries to get his overworked grown daughter to lighten up, is up for a foreign language Oscar this year. Ade will executive produce the remake, but no director has been set.
In a 2016 interview with The Associated Press, Ade commented on the possibility of a remake.
"We've had interest but I have to think about it. It depends. There are so many things remade. I don't feel the need that it's remade but it depends on the conditions," she said. "Everybody has his price."
Representatives for Nicholson and Wiig did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs
A broad group of civil rights organizations called on the CEOs and board members of major companies Thursday to maintain their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack online and in lawsuits.
An open letter signed by 19 organizations and directed at the leaders of Fortune 1000 companies said companies that abandon their DEI programs are shirking their fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers and shareholders.
The civil rights groups included the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they're broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees," their statement read. "But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs."
Companies such as Ford, Lowes, John Deere, Molson Coors and Harley-Davidson recently announced they would pull back on their diversity, equity and inclusion policies after facing pressure from conservative activists who were emboldened by recent victories in the courtroom.
Many major corporations have been examining their diversity programs in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last year that declared race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional. Dozens of cases have been filed making similar arguments about employers. Critics of DEI programs say the initiatives provide benefits to people of one race or sexual orientation while excluding others.
In their letter, the civil rights organizations, which also included... Read More