Filed under: Drama, Casting, Deals

If you had to pick one of the break-out stars in 2007, chances are Ben Foster would be one of the names at the top of the list. Between his performances in 3:10 To Yuma and 30 Days of Night there is no question that this young actor has earned the right to get his own starring roles. Besides, anyone that can make me laugh or scare the crap out of me in equal amounts deserves a little respect. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Foster has signed to star in the military drama, The Messenger.

The story centers on an army man (Foster) who has been given the unpleasant assignment of informing families that a loved one has died in combat (talk about being the bearer of bad news). Forced to work with a partner he can’t stand, things become even more complicated when he begins to fall in love with a soldier’s widow. So far, only Foster has been officially attached to the film, so there is still plenty of time to fill out the rest of the cast.

The film marks the directorial debut of Oren Moverman, who is probably most famous for co-writing Todd Haynes‘ Dylan ‘biopic’ I’m Not There. Alessandro Camon co-wrote the script for The Messenger and is already hard at work on the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller, The Chancellor Manuscript. Foster has also lined up a role in the dysfunctional family comedy Birds of America, but for that role it looks like it’s going to be another ensemble piece. Luckily for Foster, he’s not the type of actor who fades into the background. The Messenger is scheduled to start shooting in April.

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Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Games and Game Movies

The big-screen version of Namco’s best-selling game Tekken has been kicked around Hollywood since 1992. At one point Jet Li was even involved. But, after numerous false starts it looks like we are finally going to get an honest-to-goodness movie. Hellboy II villain, Luke Goss, just announced on his MySpace page that he had signed to star as Steve Fox. The character’s first appearance was in Tekken 4; Fox was a British boxer who was robbed of his memory and was on a search for answers about his past.

For a lot of fans of Tekken, the sum total of the storyline consisted of listening for “Fight”! and then mashing buttons frenetically for the next 90 seconds. The official story was about a group of fighters in a global competition to the death sponsored by some shadowy corporation. Michael Colleary’s script takes a bit of a detour with the story and makes it a shade more sci-fi. This time they are rebels who are out out to overthrow the evil Tekken Corp.

Back in December, Monika gave us a few more details about the film, mainly that it looked like the story was going to be a one man show and focus on only one main character. I’m not sure if Fox will be that guy or if he’s just part of a larger cast. Production is set to begin this month in Louisiana, so no matter what you think about video game flicks, I guess it’s just about time we all just resign ourselves to the fact that until they run out of titles, just about everyone of them will be headed to a theater near you. Tekken is set for release in 2009.

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Filed under: Drama, Independent, Casting, Cinematical Indie

Brittany Snow hasn’t made a huge name for herself yet, but she’s been in the biz for ages. (And heck, maybe she’s known, but not well-known because she isn’t a young actress barreling towards a solid brick wall.) As a wee young thing, she was in SeaQuest DSV. That was soon followed with Guiding Light, American Dreams, and then some mainstream fare like John Tucker Must Die and Hairspray. Now, while she’s just wrapped production on some independent fare — Finding Amanda — Snow is signing up for her next indie feature.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, she will star in a new film called Vicious Kind, from writer/director Lee Toland Krieger. Snow will star as “a woman targeted by the obsessed older brother of her boyfriend after he brings her home for Thanksgiving.” So this is yet another reason not to meet the family. It’s just too much hassle.

Adam Scott will play the older, creepily obsessed brother named Caleb. You might recognize him from one of his many television stints, from Party of Five to Tell Me You Love Me, or in flicks like Art School Confidential and Knocked Up. The dumb boyfriend who gets Snow into this mess hasn’t been cast yet, but he should be soon as production is scheduled to begin on March 1.

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Filed under: Casting, Family Films

On the heels of the utterly ridiculous rumors that Uma Thurman might be pregnant because she once again has curves, but which turned out to be a little weight gain from the actress quitting smoking, she’s now becoming a nanny. Ouch. The woman gains a little weight, which looks great on her frame, gets called puffy, and now is an aged nanny. Variety reports that she has signed on to costar in Eloise in Paris as the young girl’s caretaker. This is Nanny. At least, how she has been previously.

It looks like the role got changed a little for Thurman. Variety says that while they are searching for the child lead, the role of Nanny was adopted “with Thurman in mind.” I don’t quite get that, unless they’re trying to bank in on that whole Nanny Diaries thing. There are a lot of great and bankable actresses who could take on the role, and honestly, as much as I like Uma, her dramas and Tarantino movies work much better than her mainstream comedy. So, why the utter need for Thurman to headline this? So much so that you’d change a classic character?

It looks like we should get used to seeing Uma this way — Handmade Films is hoping to make this a series that’s followed with Eloise Goes to Hollywood.

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Something is looking up for Britney Spears at last – the troubled pop star has been voted one of Playboy magazine’s 25 Sexiest Celebrities.

The…

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