What is Casting Couch? It’s just trying to cram its foot into this shoe.
Just last week, we learned that Cate Blanchett was likely to be Mark Romanek’s wicked stepmother in the new Cinderella movie that he’s doing for Disney, and now Variety gives us word that the project is closing in on its Cinderella as well. According to the trade, Atonement actress Saoirse Ronan, Anna Karenina actress Alicia Vikander, and The Three Musketeers’ Gabriella Wilde have all been in to see Romanek for screen tests. So, clearly, the sweet spot for getting this role is to have an interesting accent and some period work under your belt. Keira Knightley better watch her back, because it looks like there’s a whole upcoming generation of ladies gunning for her roles.
Tom Sizemore
Given his past problems, you might have thought that Tom Sizemore was possibly sitting in a jail cell somewhere these days, but actually he’s been getting a pretty steady string of work. Not only did he just complete work on roles in John Herzfield’s star-studded Reach Me and Daggen Merrill’s Deep Burial, but Variety is reporting that he’s also just been signed for a starring role in Jac Mulder’s upcoming political comedy Three Pegs. The film is about an American, an Australian, and an Israeli soldier who all get accidentally locked in a Middle East communications base together, leading to a series of wacky events. Given how awesome Sizemore has been as an actor in the past, hopefully we can take this starring role as a sign that he’s gotten his act together and is getting ready to experience a full-fledged comeback.
Chandler Riggs
Chandler Riggs, the kid who annoys everyone as Carl on The Walking Dead, and Joel Courtney, the kid who was kind of a delightful surprise in Super 8, are reportedly going to be combining their positive and negative energies for Mercy, a new adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “Gramma,” which appeared in “Weirdbook” magazine back in 1984. THR reports that Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut) is directing the horror thriller, which is about a pair of brothers who travel to visit their grandmother…only to find out that she’s a witch! A witch! Burn her!
Janet Montgomery
Variety reports that stunning English actress Janet Montgomery, who has appeared in things like Black Swan and Our Idiot Brother, is the latest to join suicide comedy 10 Things I Hate About Life—that not-a-sequel of 10 Things I Hate About You by Gil Junger. She’ll be joining the film as the Evan Rachel Woods’ character’s dog-grooming best friend, who is very concerned with her recent suicide attempt. Also, the trade says that her character is unhappily married, but, you know, that tends to take a backseat once people start trying to kill themselves. Sounds…funny?
Colin Firth
It turns out that film audiences were so thoroughly pleased with the concept of aged Brits going off to live together in a rundown hotel in India that John Madden’s comedy from this year, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is getting a sequel. And, more than that, it’s also going to be getting a couple new cast members. Showbiz 411 reports that, in addition to the already impressive ensemble of actors from the first film returning, Colin Firth and Helen Mirren are likely to come on board as well. This puts them in the company of names like Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, and a host of others; which is probably the most impressive roundup of veteran actors put together since Wilford Brimley found out that you could be made young by taking a dip in an alien swimming pool back in Cocoon.