Vulture hero Hugh Jackman has dropped out of Fox’s Avon Man, in which he was to star as a laid-off auto-dealership employee who becomes a door-to-door makeup salesman, presumably because the role did not fit with his image as a “rough-hewn … young Clint Eastwood”. Instead, says Deadline’s Mike Fleming, Jackman will spend the fall working out in preparation for Wolverine 2, losing the weight he gained to play a flabby sheriff in Lee Daniels’s civil-rights drama Selma (which was supposed to shoot months ago but still hasn’t owing to funding troubles). Avon, on which Jackman is a producer, still might happen — it’s expected to enter production in October and other actors are being auditioned — but we’re hereby revoking its must-see status. [Source]

Hugh Jackman wants to drop the title of producer to focus solely on acting.

Actor originally partnered with John Palermo four years ago to form Seed Productions on the Fox lot where they shepherded such hit films as “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Deception” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” which have collectively made $850 million worldwide at the box office.

Palermo will continue as a producer at Fox with his own separate label which will cease in 2012.

Jackman plans to keep his name on a number of Seed films at Fox down the road: the “Wolverine” sequel, “Avon Man,” a “Barnum” biography and “Carousel,” based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

Palermo has a number of features in development including but not limited to a feature adaptation of Catherine Fisher’s “Incarceron,” a Ryan Gosling project “Drive” as well as a remake of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”

Originally, Jackman was set to star in “Drive” which is being independently financed by Oddlot Entertainment. “Drive” is based on a novel by James Sallis about a Hollywood stunt driver who learns he has a bounty on his head. Cameras roll in September with Nicholas Winding Refn directing.

“Avon Man” is another project that Jackman stepped away from.

Jackman will be appearing in Wayne Wang’s “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” and the comedy “Butter” alongside Ashley Greene. [Source]

The script for “Wolverine 2″ has been in place for a few months now, and Hugh Jackman recently cleared his schedule to begin the process of beefing up to bring the clawed Canadian mutant back to the big screen. One thing that’s still missing, however, is a director.

While “X-Men” director Bryan Singer had been rumored as a top contender to get behind the camera for “Wolverine 2,” Vulture is reporting that “Twilight: Eclipse” and “30 Days of Night” director David Slade is the current favorite for the role. “Red” director Robert Schwentke is also under consideration to helm the film, and both filmmaker will meet with Jackman next week.

The report cites anonymous “well-placed sources” in the studio, claiming both filmmakers have been approved by 20th Century Fox, and are only awaiting Jackman’s decision.
Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie’s script for the film is based on Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s story arc that saw Logan traveling to Japan, falling in love, and brawling with samurai.

“['Wolverine 2'] will be very different from the last ‘Wolverine’ movie, and that’s what I like about it,” Jackman told MTV News last year. “I didn’t want it to feel like the same thing. … It’s a whole new environment and the storyline is unbelievable. I wish I could announce to you some of the people involved.”

Filming for “Wolverine 2″ is expected to begin in January 2011. [Source]

The city of Leslie was abuzz with Hollywood fever Wednesday when actor Hugh Jackman came to town to film a scene from an upcoming movie at The Depot Restaurant.

A couple hundred local residents lined the corner of Main and Covert streets to watch director Shawn Levy (Cheaper by the Dozen, Night at the Museum) guide Jackman and other actors through scenes from Real Steel.

The movie, expected to be released in November of 2011, is a sci-fi action adventure from DreamWorks Studios. Most of the movie is being filmed in Michigan cities. The crew filmed a scene in nearby Mason on July 1.

Jackman, 41, is an Australian actor best known for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men series. In Real Steel, he plays an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter when human boxing is outlawed for being too violent. The new gladiators are 2,000-pound robots with human qualities. Read full article.

Hugh Jackman, the original big screen Wolverine himself, has weighed in on the rumors that Taylor Lautner could play a young Wolverine in “X-Men: First Class.”

“My only question is – can he grow mutton chops?” the “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” star told E! Online’s Marc Malkin, referring to his character’s furry face.

However, the star admitted that Taylor’s fans might rather see the young actor go less hirsute.

“Actually, I think people would probably prefer him as a hairless Wolverine than a rather hairy-chested version — certainly about a billion young girls would,” he said.

Unfortunately for that billion, the casting rumor, which was denied to E! Online by Lautner sources, would require some serious script revamping – in “X-Men” chronology as shown in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and the Marvel comic books, the character was born in the 1800s and was well into adulthood by the time he teamed up with the mutant superheroes.

Meanwhile, Lautner’s finding shirtless success elsewhere — “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” which features Taylor frequently showing off his famous abs, has already grossed $247 million since its June 30 release. [Source]

Australian actor Hugh Jackman, (‘Wolverine’ in the X-men movies) may be returning to Broadway in 2011 to star in Stories About McAlary, based on the life of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike McAlary.

Jackman recently took part in a staged reading of Stories About McAlary, a new play by Nora Ephron, which also featured Sarah Paulson and Richard Kind, and was directed by muliple Tony Award-winner Mike Nichols.

Stories About McAlary is based on episodes from McAlary’s life, including his Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalism about the torture of an Haitian immigrant by a group of New York police offices in 1997.

If Hugh Jackman agrees to star in the production it is believed it could arrive on Broadway in 2011. However, that may prove to be a big ‘if!’ Jackman has a busy film schedule ahead of him. In 2011 he is to star as ‘Logan / Wolverine’ in ‘X Men Origins: Wolverine 2,’ and in the film ‘Read Steel.’ As well as having either pre or post-production duties in 2011 for the films, ‘Selma,’ ‘Butter ‘ and ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.’

Jackman last appeared on Broadway in the 2009 premiere of Keith Huff’s ‘A Steady Rain,’ starring along side Daniel Craig. [Source]