It’s hard to believe, but by the time 2012 rolls it will have been five years since we’ve seen Catherine Zeta-Jones on the big screen. You have to go back to 2007’s middling double whammy of “No Reservations” and “Death Defying Acts” but since then — and not counting the 2009 comedy “The Rebound” which is stuck in some kind of terminal sales/distributor limbo — she’s been laying low (taking care of her husband, cancer survivor Michael Douglas, and generally being there for her family). But 2011 has seen her quickly ramp up with a trio of projects. She’s a got a role in the big ’80s musical “Rock of Ages,” she’s dabbling in comedy with “Playing the Field” with Gerard Butler and she’s got a part in Stephen Frears’ gambling pic “Lay the Favorite.” Well, she’s adding another movie to her busy dance card.
She’ll be paired up with Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe in the neo-noir “Broken City.” The gritty crime thriller, set to be directed by Allen Hughes with a 2008 Black List script by Brian Tucker, is a dark-as-night tale that follows Billy Taggart (Wahlberg), an ex-cop thrown off the force after shooting a 16-year-old kid. Eight years on, he’s working as a private detective and is hired by the colorful incumbent in the New York mayoral race to investigate his wife’s infidelity, but Taggart digs up much, much more including a shady real estate deal in a story of city corruption that is not unlike “Chinatown.” Crowe will play the mayor, with Zeta-Jones as his philandering wife.
Sounds like a pretty great part in what should be a pretty grimy little crime flick. A great choice for Zeta-Jones who is certainly mixing it up with a variety movies as she makes a big return to the silver screen. Filming begins in New York in November, and while no release date has been pegged just yet, we figure it’s a safe bet that it’ll arrive by the end of 2012. Which could potentially mean four CZ-J movies in one year. Who does she think she is? Jessica Chastain? (We kid.) [Deadline]
