LOS ANGELES, March 16, (RTRS): The screenwriting duo behind raunchy workplace comedy “Horrible Bosses” have tapped the competitive world of Las Vegas magicians to bring the absurd antics of “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” to the screen. “Burt Wonderstone,” opened in US movie theaters on Friday, is the creation of screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who made their writing debut with 2011’s “Horrible Bosses.” The duo found inspiration in the cutthroat industry of Las Vegas magicians for their latest film, which stars Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. “It’s a fascinating world, it’s one that you don’t really have to heighten or exaggerate all that much to get to comedy because it’s already a crazy world of Vegas magicians,” Goldstein said. The rivalry among Burt Wonderstone (Carell), Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) and Steve Gray (Carrey) was drawn from the real world of Las Vegas illusionists, after Daley and Goldstein talked to magicians such as Lance Burton, Penn Jillette and David Copperfield, who makes a cameo in the film. “Like rock stars or movie stars, these guys are very competitive with one another, and there’s not a lot of love lost between them,” Goldstein said.

Rocketed
Carrey channeled his outrageous comedic roots that rocketed him to fame in films such as 1994’s “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “The Mask,” bringing an unpredictable edge to street illusionist Gray’s absurd stunts, such as slicing his face open for a trick. “(Jim’s) role in this is a throwback to the stuff he did in the ’90s, where it’s very big and physical, and that is my favorite kind of Jim Carrey character,” Daley said.
The road to writing and directing feature films has been a long one for Daley, 27, and Goldstein, 44, who began their careers in television. Daley, who plays a psychologist in TV crime series “Bones,” found fame as a teenager acting alongside James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel in Judd Apatow’s coming-of-age sitcom “Freaks and Geeks” in 1999. But it took him nearly a decade to tap into writing and directing.
“You can only be taken so seriously when you’re 9 years old, that’s why acting came first ... you can work as a child actor but not as a child director and writer,” Daley said.
Goldstein spent 10 years working in television as a writer and producer, meeting Daley on “The Geena Davis Show” and teaming with the actor to work on features.

While “Horrible Bosses” became a box-office success, grossing more than $117 million in US theaters in 2011, alongside raunchy R-rated comedies such as “Bridesmaids” and “The Hangover Part II,” Goldstein said the pair did not want to be known as “the hard R guys,” referring to the rating for such films.
The duo expanded their screenwriting talents into upcoming animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2,” to “cover as many bases” within the comedy field, and bring humor rooted more in reality.
“There’s something of a tendency now to go to a pretty mean-spirited place, where everybody’s kind of nasty to each other. It’s a very dark, cynical place in that R-rated world, where it’s kind of the grossest thing you can think of, the most extreme, and it doesn’t really matter if you like the characters,” Goldstein said.
With the screenplay for “Horrible Bosses 2” in the bag, Daley and Goldstein will be making their directorial debut with the upcoming comedy “Vacation,” starring Ed Helms.
 

US rapper Jay-Z has teamed up with Australian director Baz Luhrmann to produce and perform on the soundtrack for “The Great Gatsby” which will open the 2013 Cannes Flm Festival in May.
Jay-Z said he would join some of the world’s top musical artists on the soundtrack which would bring modern “jazz age” energy to the latest film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of 1920s America.
The hip-hop entrepreneur said he was introduced to Luhrmann by Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the lead role of the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby in the movie and this led to a two-year collaboration.
“As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project,” Jay-Z said in a statement.

Extravagance
“‘The Great Gatsby’ is that classic American story of one’s introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion. It’s ripe for experimentation and ready to be interpreted with a modern twist.” Jay-Z will be executive producer of the soundtrack and contribute some newly written songs to the score by composer Craig Armstrong, who worked with Luhrmann on his previous films “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet”. The soundtrack of the film, which opens on May 10, will be released by Interscope Records. Luhrmann’s adaptation of Fitzgerald’s account of “Roaring Twenties” America will open the Cannes film festival, the world’s most important cinema showcase, with DiCaprio appearing at the event for the first time since 2007.

Organisers this week said the opening gala, preceded by a glitzy red carpet fashion parade and followed by parties along the palm-lined Riviera, will also be attended by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and Jay-Z.
Luhrmann’s first film “Strictly Ballroom” was screened at Cannes 21 years ago. DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby in the 3D movie, Carey Mulligan takes the role of Daisy Buchanan and Tobey Maguire is Nick Carraway, the narrator. The festival runs from May 15 to 26 and US director Steven Spielberg is head of this year’s jury.