What is Casting Couch? It’s a compilation of casting news that has word of a new project for Zero Dark Thirty’s Jason Clarke as well as a look at Johnny Depp’s upcoming schedule. Read on.
Bradley Cooper’s ego has gotten so big ever since he was nominated for an Oscar that he’s now decided he wants to take David Hasselhoff’s place as Germany’s favorite celebrity. According to Deadline, the Silver Linings Playbook actor has signed on to star in an English language adaptation of Kokowaah, which was Germany’s highest grossing film of 2011. The basic story here is that of a successful author and swinging bachelor who suddenly discovers he has an 8-year-old daughter from a brief fling he engaged in years ago. Cooper also has a producing credit on the film, and might even be stepping into the director’s chair to make this his directorial debut, but this is a casting report and not a feed Bradley Cooper’s ego report, so let’s move on.
John C. Reilly
Bleeding Cool sniffed out some exciting news regarding Adam McKay’s highly anticipated comedy Anchorman 2. Apparently a casting call went out yesterday looking for people who could pass as doubles for John C. Reilly. They would need to work on the set today, February 28, which pretty much means that John C. Reilly is currently on the set of Anchorman 2 and filming scenes for the movie. Given his smarts, his humor, and his rugged good looks, the inclusion of Reilly would be good news for any movie, but seeing as his inclusion in Anchorman 2 will once again pair the man up with his Step Brothers comedy soulmate Will Ferrell, this time it should be viewed as double-plus good news.
Lance Henriksen
There aren’t many actors out there who get geek blood pumping more than Lance Henriksen. He was in Hard Target, for the love of Mike. So try to keep your cool while we talk about the new role he’s taken. According to THR, Henriksen will be starring in Nevermore, a supernatural flick written and directed by first timer Dean C. Jones. The movie is one of those generic-sounding horror flicks where a couple moves into a house and then get harassed by the ghosts of little kids, but this one is made all the more exciting because Henriksen will be playing a priest who the couple turn to for help—a priest who might not be willing to give them the help they’re looking for. Ooo, spooky!
Susan Boyle
Remember Susan Boyle, that lady who through the power of reality television taught the world that you don’t need to be a 19-year-old underwear model in order to have a good voice? Well, she’s all set to make her feature film debut. THR is reporting that she’s going to be appearing in a hokey Christmas movie called The Christmas Candle. This one is based off of a novella by Max Lucado, and apparently it “tells a tale of angels, candles and Christmas wishes.” There’s no word on what role Boyle is playing in the 1890-set feature, but she made sure to assure THR readers that, “I’m really enjoying getting dressed in the period costumes and stepping back in time, and although it’s very cold filming on location, I’m wearing long johns under my bustle.” OMG, can you imagine a real singer like Ke$ha saying “bustle”? This lady is so weird!
Adam Driver
There are few things more exciting in the movie business than new actors turning heads and getting rewarded with more opportunities to shine. After breaking out in his role on HBO’s hipster, controversy-courting drama, Girls, actor Adam Driver has now been signed to star in his own feature, a period comedy called Coward. Max Winkler co-wrote and will direct this story of a nobleman whose family has a reputation for losing duels. When he’s challenged to a to-the-death duel with pistols, Driver’s character decides to hire a lowly criminal to take his place, but he experiences trouble when said criminal survives the encounter and proceeds to steal his identity. This one is being described as being a cross between Barry Lyndon and Trading Places, which sounds so weird that it just may work. [Deadline]
Jason Clarke
Hot on the heels of the news that Jason Clarke has signed up for a big role in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes comes word that he’s also locked in for yet another new role. Clarke told MTV that he’s joined the Stephen Gaghan film Candy Store, which is a project that’s come close to landing names as big as Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz in the past. This one is about a secret agent who tries to start over as a beat cop in Brooklyn, only to discover that the international crime organization he’d spent his life battling has set up shop and is operating right in his new back yard. Hopefully Candy Shop will serve as yet another step up the Hollywood ladder for Clarke, because he’s oh so awesome.
Johnny Depp
Even though it’s already been seen as all but official that Johnny Depp will be starring in longtime Christopher Nolan cinematographer Wally Pfister’s directorial debut, Transcendence, and that he is also toplining Barry Levinson’s Whitey Bulger biopic, Black Mass, today it was made completely official that not only are these two projects on Depp’s docket, but they’re going to be the next two things he does. His agency released word [via Variety] that the thoroughly accessorized actor will be shooting Pfister’s sci-fi film in the spring and then moving directly onto Levinson’s gangster movie in the summer. I don’t know about you, but I’m taking two Depp pictures in a row where he isn’t dragging out the old Captain Jack routine or putting on a silly wig for Tim Burton as a Godsend.