New York Times Blogs – Actor Javier Bardem has turned down a role in the sequel to Oliver Stone’s seminal 1980s treatise on greed, “Wall Street.” The Oscar winner was to have played the world’s villain du jour: a hedge fund manager. Forbes reported that the actor’s publicist said he turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts.

It was reported in June that Mr. Bardem was circling the project although he was not yet officially cast. Starring in the film are Michael Douglas, who will reprise his role as Gordon Gekko, and Shia LaBeouf. Shooting is expected to start next month.

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Tags: 1980s, blogs, conflicts, forbes, gordon gekko, greed, hedge-fund-manager, javier bardem, michael douglas, new york times, oliver stone, oscar winner, publicist, rsquo, sequel, shia labeouf, treatise on, villain, wall street

Huffingtonpost.com – I’m told that screenwriter Allan Loeb (21, Things We Lost In The Fire) will hand in his second draft of the long-awaited Wall Street 2 to 20th Century Fox later this week. (Although the great Stanley Weiser and his film school pal Oliver Stone were credited as writers of the original pic, Stephen Schiff was first to script the sequel.) I heard Loeb’s first draft was "so great" that Stone didn’t feel the need to touch it — yet. But no one expects the director to keep hands off on the second draft since principal photography starts on August 10th. The film’s release is now planned for February 2010. So here’s the oh-so-secret plot of Wall Street 2 and who’s playing what:

Michael Douglas, as everyone already knows, reprises his Best Actor Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko. But what hasn’t been reported is that, as the movie begins, it’s 21 years later and Mr. Greed Is Good has finished serving his prison sentence. He finds himself on the fringe of the financial community. ("Kinda like Jim Cramer or Mike Milken after their disgrace," an insider with the pic tells me.) Gekko is cautioning Wall Street that the "end is coming" — but nobody is listening. So Gordon is obsessed with trying to repair his ruptured relationship with his daughter. That juicy actress role isn’t cast yet. (But I’d love it if Oliver had the balls to bring back Sean Young as Mom in spite of their notorious falling out during the filming of the original.)

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Tags: 20th century fox, best actor oscar, disgrace, film school, first draft, gordon gekko, greed, jim cramer, loeb, michael douglas, mike milken, oliver stone, principal photography, prison sentence, school pal, sean young, secret plot, stanley weiser, stephen schiff, things we lost in the fire