Scary Movie writer-star cast as Ripcord in the film to start shooting in L.A. next month. Plus, Ray Park preps for Snake Eyes!
Paramount has conscripted actor Marlon Wayans (White Chicks) to play Ripcord, "leader of the military unit" in the live action G.I. Joe motion picture, reports Variety's TATIANA SIEGEL.
Wayans joins Ray Park, Sienna Miller, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Said Taghmaoui, Rachel Nichols and Byeong-Heon Lee in the Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) directorial that was scripted by Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean).
According to STEPHANIE SANCHEZ at The IESB, the role of Ripcord was recently rumored to have been offered to Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3), while Blackfilm.com had announced Wayans as Heavy Duty, the part that went to Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost).
Variety also reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun) is negotiating with Paramount to join the team in an undisclosed role, which Cinema Blend's JOSH TYLER sees as great news, the exact opposite of his reaction to the Wayans casting.
Over this past weekend, The IESB's photographer RICK CHAVEZ briefly chatted up Park (X-Men) about his preparations for playing the most popular Joe of all--the silent-but-deadly Snake Eyes.
Martial arts expert (and life-long G.I. Joe fan) Park added "heavy sword training" to his regimen, and his fight prep included Wu Shu and various other arts.
Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers), Hasbro's Brian Goldner, Sommers and his partner Bob Ducsay, G.I. Joe begins Los Angeles filming in February toward an August '09 release.
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