Jeffrey Dean Morgan Unlimited

It’s that time of year again! The 3rd Annual Jeffrey Dean Morgan Birthday Project is launched.

Check out the invitation below, click to go to the Donate JDM site and do what you can to give Jeffrey a great 45th birthday present!

Last week Discovery Channel’s Sons of Guns reality show featured their visit to the set of The Courier to deliver a prop gun they built for the movie. It included a short interview with Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

First up is their meeting with JDM and the second clip is the initial meeting with the prop master. It’s worth watching though just to see his daughter’s reaction to hearing Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s name!

Doesn’t Jeffrey look great in this clip? This is definitely at the top of my list for must see JDM movies this year!

Great news! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is now signed to star in Magic City. Filming will start this year for a 2012 airing.

They’re also reporting that the roles of the sons are cast or close to getting cast. Also, check out below for character descriptions for the sons:

British actor Christian Cooke has been cast in the Starz period drama Magic City, about the political and criminal machinations of 1960s Miami.

And Deadline.com reports another actor is in negotiations to play another son:

British actor Christian Cooke and Steven Strait (Stop-Loss) are in final negotiations for co-starring roles opposite Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Starz’s upcoming 10-episode drama series Magic City. Set in Miami in the late 1950s-early 1960s, Magic City chronicles the collision of mobsters, politicians and entertainers at the first preeminent Miami hotel just as Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba and shuts down Havana as a gambling haven. It centers on Ike (Morgan), a suave Jewish-American man who builds the hotel and along the way makes some strange bedfellows and many powerful enemies. Strait will play Stevie, Ike’s oldest son, a high-living hedonist. Cooke will play Ike’s youngest son, a sweet young man who is attending law school while helping his dad.

Wow, are these brothers from a different mother!

Christian Cooke

Steven Straight

North American Jeffrey Dean Morgan fans have yet to see Shanghai and judging from comments made by director Mikael Hafstrom, we probably won’t, at least not for a long time.

While being interviewed for his new film The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins, he was asked about Shanghai and whether it would be released in North America:

Before we launch into The Rite I must tell you that I’ve seen Shanghai, which was beautifully shot.
I loved doing Shanghai. I always loved that time in history, but obviously when it comes to the second World War we usually deal with other parts of the world. So it was something that was great to investigate. I spent a lot of time in Shanghai. We ended up shooting in Bangkok, actually. It was a struggle, to do that film, but it was great to work with all these great Asian actors.

What’s been holding up the domestic release?
There have been a lot of problems, but one thing is that it was a Chinese co-production so we had to open in China before we opened here or anywhere else. So it opened in China, and it’s open in Asia and in other countries. But it’s really a question light of day in this country, but I’m glad it’s seeing the light of day in other countries.

Can you just call up Bob and Harvey Weinstein and say, ‘Let’s do this!’?
It’s not that easy. It’s about money. And you know, I’m sure if they wanted to release it now, they would; but they have their strategy and their politics and their money issues, so it’s out of my hands, really, at this point. If I had the money myself, I’d release it myself. But I can’t, so I have to rely on other people. But let’s see; the film is there. Just because it’s not been shown here yet, which is sad, but people are seeing it in a lot of countries so that’s good for now.

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Here’s the trailer aqain, one of the few looks we’ll get of this movie here in North America.

ETA: I have more details on the character Jeffrey Dean Morgan will play in Magic City.

Magic City will revolve around Jewish-American hotel boss Ike Evans, a man who aims to just make a living and raise his family in the world of mid-20th century Miami. That’s easier said than done as Evans has to handle an onslaught of scheming politicians, dangerous mobsters, and other less-than-respectable types who flock to the glitzy Florida town in the wake of Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba – and his subsequent shutdown of Havana as a gambling haven.

Thanks to @YeRose57 on twitter for alerting me to this.

Looks like Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be gracing our TV screens soon! According to news reports he’ll be starring in Magic City, set in early ’60s Miami.

Here’s the story from Deadline.com: Grey’s Anatomy alum Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in final negotiations to play the lead in Starz’s upcoming 10-episode drama series Magic City. Set in Miami in the late 1950s-early 1960s, Magic City chronicles the collision of mobsters, politicians and entertainers at the first preeminent Miami hotel just as Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba and shuts down Havana as a gambling haven. It centers on a suave Jewish-American man (Morgan) who builds the hotel and along the way makes some strange bedfellows and many powerful enemies. Production is slated to begin shortly in Miami for a 2012 premiere.

Morgan, who simultaneously recurred on Grey’s as heart transplant patient Denny Duquette who had a relationship with Izzie (Katherine Heigl), and on Supernatural as the mysterious father of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Deal (Jensen Ackles), recently starred in the features Watchmen and The Losers.

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