There was a veritable whirlwind of casting activity reported today, so it was about time for a nice big rundown of the lot of it. A lot of cool names and cool projects-
You. Shall. Not. Recast!
UPDATE: The big news everyone’s been waiting for has come down from THR, Gandalf the Grey’s pointy hat will be once again filled by Ian McKellen. As if there was ever any doubt.
- Christopher Neil (member of the Coppola clan via marriage) has assembled a pretty impressive cast for his first feature film, following his gigs on Sofia Coppola’s films, and performance coaching on others. The story is based on the books Goats, and will star David Duchovny as “Goat Man,” while Sean Penn’s son Hopper Penn will play the child around which the story revolves. His real-life mother Robin Wright Penn will take on the maternal role in the film, which will also star Jason Schwartzman, Robert Schwartzman, and Josh Brolin. [Playlist]
- Andy Serkis has signed on the line that is dotted for The Hobbit. This joins news that Elijah Wood has signed on for a cameo. Deadline also mentions that Christopher Lee is in talks to return as Saruman- something I haven’t heard definitively stated before.
- Michael Fassbender –the up-and-comer who rocked every minute of his screentime in Inglourious Basterds and will be in the next X-Men film– is the newest rumored addition to the Genius cast, which could also include Sean Penn. The story centers around the relationship between famed American writer Thomas Wolfe and combative editor Max Perkins. Fassbender would play the young author. [Playlist]
- We Bought A Zoo has added John Michael Higgins (Glee, Community, Yes Man) to its cast that already includes Matt Damn, Scarlet Johansson, and Thomas Haden Church. This is the Cameron Crowe flick about a guy fixing up a zoo to fulfill his late wife’s dream. [THR]
- Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener have signed onto roles in the film A Late Quartet, which could also include in-discussion actors Christopher Walken and Imogen Poots. The story is about a long-running successful quartet that is struggling to stay together when their leader is stricken with Parkinson’s disease, to be directed by documentarian Yaron Zilberman. [THR]
Everyone’s keeping busy and singing on for their next year’s projects- and we’ll be tracking them all as they develop!