Diane Lane has joined the cast of the Disney movie Secretariat, about the relationship between 1973 Triple Crown winner and his trainer Penny Chenery. Randall Wallace is directing from a Micke Rich script. Lane will play Chenery, a mother and housewife who knew little about
horse racing when she took over her ailing father’s farm in Virginia.
James Franco is set to star in In Praise of Shadows, an indie drama written by Jay Anania (Day on Fire). The drama tells the story of William Vincent (Franco), and recounts his eccentric and curious journey that brought him back to New York City after four years in exile to rescue the woman he loves from a crime syndicate. Franco will do this film before heading to Ireland to film the comedy, Your Highness, with Natalie Portman and Danny McBride for David Gordon Green
via Variety
Actress Alessandra Torresani has landed the role of Lita Ford in Cherry Bomb, a biopic of the all-female punk band The Runaways. She joins Kristen Stewart, who will potray Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Curie and Stella Maeve as drummer Sandy West. Said Torresani of the part: “She’s the most incredible woman. I’m getting to meet her very soon, so
that’ll be amazing. I’ll get to hear all her old stories.” Pic will be written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, a music video veteran.
Ceremony, an indie from NALA Films to be directed by Max Winkler (Fonzie’s boy) in his debut, has acquired Michael Angarano and may also land Jesse Eisenberg. The comedy follows a young man (Eisenberg)
who falls hard for an older woman about to be married. The
infatuation prompts him to take along his unwitting friend
(Angarano) to a beach town in an effort to break up the wedding.
Upon arriving, the young men quickly realize just how out of place
they are among the stately British groom-to-be and his
guests. Jason
Reitman and Daniel Dubiecki are exec producing and production is set to start in the fall.
Matt Prokop (High School Musical 3) has joined Brendan Fraser in the comedy Furry Vengeance for Summit Entertainment. Prokop will portray a sarcastic city kid
transplanted to the country after his father moves them there to
build a housing subdivision. The two do battle with local wildlife
fed up with intrusions into their Oregon wilderness. Roger Kumble (Just Friends) is directing the Michael Carnes screenplay
Jonathan Sadowski and Keir O’Donnell have landed the lead roles in the pilot for Ghosts/Aliens for Comedy Central. Based on Trey Hamburger’s supernatural comedy novel released in
November, “Ghost/Aliens” centers on Trey Hamburger (Sadowski) and
his loyal best friend, Mike Stevens (O’Donnell), two potheads who
set out on a quest to expose the truth about the existence of
ghosts and aliens. They join castmates Rebecca
Wisocky as Trey’s volatile single mom Deb Hamburger and Kaylee
DeFer (The War at Home) as a member of Trey’s quartet of alien
hunters and his possible love interest.