The Mist is rolling into production, and the Frank Darabont film (his third take on Mr. Stephen King) has added two new cast members: Andre Braugher – a guy who should really be more famous and more of a leading man than he is now – and Laurie Holden, who last met up with the creepy and supernatural in Silent Hill and on The X-Files as Maria Covarrubias. They’re joining Thomas Jane in the adaptation of the King novella about a group of people trapped in a supermarket as a fog filled with Lovecraftian monsters rolls into their small town.
"(Holden) was my leading lady in ‘The Majestic,’ and she is stupendous, talented and gorgeous," Darabont told the Hollywood Reporter. "She plays a very key role as one the people trapped in this existential Stephen King nightmare. On the good side of the aisle, she is the female lead of the movie."
"(Braugher) is Thomas Jane’s neighbor, a high-powered attorney who has a weekend house in Maine. They have more of an adversarial relationship," Darabont said. "I’ve been a fan of Andre’s since ‘Glory.’ I’ve never met him, and I’m so looking forward to it."
When I interviewed him for the new DVD of The Green Mile, Darabont told me that he was making this one quickly. It starts shooting in just a few weeks, and is due out in November, so that is quick indeed. And so far this cast looks solid, and the story on which it’s based is one of King’s better reads. I’m very interested in seeing Darabont get into the monster-laden side of King’s ouvre… and I hope that one of the early victims is either named George or Lucas.