MICKEY ROURKE is trying to get his movie career back on track – despite his Celebrity Big Brother disgrace.
The veteran Hollywood star was booted off the ITV reality show earlier this year for his “unacceptable behaviour.”
But luckily for Mickey his name has been linked to two big-screen biopics.
One is about the life of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne while another will be on US country legend Johnny Cash.
One of my Hollywood insiders said Mickey’s name had repeatedly come up in meetings about the films when discussions turned to casting the older versions of the music legends.
They told me: “Producers here don’t even know about the Celebrity Big Brother thing, Mickey is golden in the States.
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“This town also loves an underdog, and movie bosses think Mickey still has an Oscar-worthy performance they can wring out of him.
“He was a top actor back in the day — he would have been on a par with James Dean and Marlon Brando if he hadn’t taken wrong turns and gone down a bad path.
If the evil overlords of Hollywood give us the green light we could be filming in the spring
Jack Osbourne
“There are scripts in the pipeline on Ozzy and Johnny, and Mickey’s name has come up in meetings about both projects.
“They want to portray Ozzy’s final days before that amazing show at Villa Park, and they want a performance like Mickey gave in The Wrestler.
“They’re confident he could do it.”
It’s understood streaming giants Amazon MGM and Apple are interested in both projects, with big-name directors in the frame to oversee it — including Martin Scorsese.
Ozzy’s son Jack Osbourne first told me they were working on a film about his dad’s life before Ozzy’s homecoming show back in July.
Jack said: “We do have the film on the way. We have a lot of good forward momentum on the Ozzy biopic.
“We have a director attached now and the script is done and Sony Studios is going to be producing it.
“We are really excited about it so maybe we will do the premiere here in Birmingham.
“If the evil overlords of Hollywood give us the green light we could be filming in the spring so maybe it will be out summer 2027 — fingers crossed.”
I’m sure Mickey will be crossing his toes, as well as his fingers, that he gets the part.
JAMIE LEE: IT’S FREAKIER ONLINE
HER long-awaited sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday – imaginatively titled Freakier Friday – went down a storm with fans.
And Hollywood legend Jamie Lee Curtis says she knows exactly why we are seeing a resurgence in sequels and prequels.
Speaking to comedian Geoff Norcott on this Times Radio show, Jamie said: “Nostalgia is very hot right now.
“Because people are feeling so freaked out by what’s happening that you cling, you cling to nostalgia to make you feel safe.”
Jamie, whose new film Ella McCay is out now, went on to slam cancel culture and attacks on free speech.
She added: “We’re all trying to figure out, what can we say? What can’t we say?
“The echo chamber is awful. Social media is awful. You say something that you believe in, you get hammered for it. I mean, hardcore.
“It’s hard to hold on to both the frustration you’re feeling but the sense of optimism and hope.
“I feel hope because I believe that the hatred is imploding, and I think we’re seeing it.”
Bizbit
GLASTONBURY might be two years away but festival boss Emily Eavis is busy curating the 2027 line up.
And Universal International’s official Instagram account has appeared to confirm that Tomora – made up of Norwegian singer Aurora and Tom Rowlands from The Chemical Brothers – have already been locked in.
The post also claims the supergroup will play California’s Coachella Festival next summer.
This would be incredible
IT’S STAR SHREK
THE life of a Bizarre reporter isn’t all red carpets and bubbly – sometimes you end up in a swamp with an ogre and a talking donkey.
Our Jack was invited backstage at the latest adaptation of Shrek: The Musical at Colchester’s Charter Hall to meet the cast before they kicked off their near sold-out run at the venue.
With Red Dwarf’s Danny John Jules as Donkey and CITV’s Chris Edgerley as Lord Farquaad, the show is based on the hit 2001 film starring Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy.
Shrek and Princess Fiona are played by Joseph Rawlings and Rachel Jerram.
A refreshing change from the annual festive panto, the cast delivered a brilliant version of the big screen hit with a seriously impressive set to match.
Shout out to Ceris Hine as the perfectly executed Gingy, delivering our favourite Gingerbread Man performance of the year.
Chatting backstage about playing the pint-sized villain, Chris explained how spending the show on his knees left him in agony at times.
He said: “I’m a lot taller than Farquaad so I’m knee-padded up to the hilt but it’s worth it.
“Halfway through rehearsals we had to add extra padding as it was hurting too much.
“Hopefully the audience will have as much fun as we do.”
Unlike the fairytale dictator, this musical certainly doesn’t come up short.
JAMIE’S SO FESTIVE
Jamie Cullum: The Pianoman At Christmas @ Royal Albert Hall, London
★★★★★
THERE’S nothing more festive than a trip to London’s Royal Albert Hall at Christmas – although a Jamie Cullum show there beats anything else to get you in the spirit.
Inspired by his criminally underrated 2020 album The Pianoman At Christmas, his two-hour seasonal spectacle, backed by a big band – “this is what expensive musicians sound like,” he half-joked – was an absolute treat.
And soon there will be more. He said of himself and wife Sophie Dahl : “We are trying to write the film of the Pianoman At Christmas.
“I told her I was going to announce it tonight so now we have to finish it.”
His voice is as smooth as a pricey whiskey and sounded just as great doing his original numbers as it did with family favourites Frosty The Snowman and Jingle Bells.
And as for Hang Your Lights, it deserves to be a modern Christmas classic.
Forget the turkey and mistletoe, Jamie Cullum’s annual festive show should be a staple of everyone’s Christmas.
HOWELL DAVIES
LILY’S SKIT ON STRANGER FLINGS
DAVID HARBOUR has another TV show to avoid, after his ex-wife Lily Allen called up Dakota Johnson to bring her infamous “Madeline” to life on Saturday Night Live.
During the show, Lily performed her explosive track Tennis – with Dakoka playing the “other woman” Madeline.
At the end of Lily’s performance, Dakota brought Madeline to life and appeared to reveal for the first time what this other woman may have told Lily about allegedly getting with David behind her back.
Dakota said: “I hate that you’re in so much pain right now.
“I really don’t want to be the cause of any upset.
“He told me that you were aware this was going on and that he had your full consent.
“’If he’s lying about that, then please let me know.
“Because I have my own feelings about dishonesty. Lies are not something that I want to get caught up in.”
Dakota then planted a kiss on Lily’s cheek as she said: “Love and light, Madeline.”