Forest Whitaker

Mia Wasikowska to Star in TRACKS, Minka Kelly Joins THE BUTLER

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 23rd, 2012 at 6:24 pm

Two bits of casting news today for some lovely leading ladies (although only one of the roles is actually a lead).  Here are the headlines:

• Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) is set to join Tracks for director John Curran (The Painted Veil).  The Australian-set picture is based on Robyn Davidson’s trek across the heart of the island continent.
• Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) will join Precious director Lee Daniels‘ historical drama, The Butler, based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served on the White House staff from 1952 to 1986.

Hit the jump for more.

Casting Call: Willem Dafoe Joins OUT OF THE FURNACE, Rooney Mara Moves to BROOKLYN

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 26th, 2012 at 6:40 pm

Some big name casting news for you today.  Here are the headlines:

• Willem Dafoe will join Christian Bale and Casey Affleck in the dramatic thriller, Out of the Furnace, written and directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart).
• Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) will star in the 1950s period piece, Brooklyn, adapted from Colm Toibin’s best-selling novel about a woman torn between her family in Ireland and her new found love for an American.

Hit the jump for more on both projects.

Woody Harrelson and Forest Whitaker Officially Join OUT OF THE FURNACE

by Matt Currie    Posted: April 13th, 2012 at 1:46 pm

The cast of Scott Cooper’s revenge drama Out of the Furnace was already promising, with Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, and Zoe Saldana occupying major roles and a number of intriguing actors circling the villain roles. Today, we can upgrade it to “can’t miss” status with news that Woody Harrelson and Forest Whitaker have officially signed on to round things out. The film, which will be shot primarily in a handful of economically-depressed Pennsylvania mill towns, follows two brothers desperate to leave their Rust Belt roots behind. However, when one of them (Affleck) is murdered after getting involved with a vicious crime ring, the other (Bale) is inclined to dole out some payback. Hit the jump for more on Out of the Furnace, including a full press release.

Billy Bob Thornton and Forest Whitaker Eyeing Roles Opposite Christian Bale in OUT OF THE FURNACE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 22nd, 2012 at 2:47 pm

Two more fantastic actors may be joining the revenge drama Out of the Furnace. I was already high on the project given that it serves as the follow-up to writer-director Scott Cooper’s swell drama Crazy Heart, then Christian Bale signed on to play the lead. Bale plays a man who is released after serving four years in prison only to find that his younger brother has been brutally murdered. He sets out to avenge the death and track down the killer. Casey Affleck is onboard as Bale’s brother, Zoe Saldana is set as Bale’s ex-wife, and we previously heard that Viggo Mortensen was circling the villain role.

Buried in a different story (thanks to The Playlist for the find), Deadline now notes that Billy Bob Thornton is eyeing the villain role instead of Mortensen, and Forest Whitaker is circling the role of a sleazy bookie. Both Mortensen and Thornton are terrific, but the prospect of Thornton tackling a gritty villain opposite Bale is incredibly enticing. No deals have been made with Thornton or Whitaker, but Cooper is assembling an incredible cast for what’s shaping up to be one hell of a movie. Production begins this spring.

Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo in Talks for Lee Daniels’ THE BUTLER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 6th, 2012 at 3:06 pm

It looks as though Precious director Lee Daniels has settled on his lead for the period drama The Butler. Based on a Washington Post article, the film tells the story of Eugene Allen, a black man who served as the White House butler under eight U.S. Presidents from 1952 to 1986. Variety reports that Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) are now in negotiations to join the cast, with Whitaker tapped to play the lead. We previously reported that Oprah Winfrey is in talks to star, with a number of actors in the mix for cameo roles as the famous figures who come in and out of the White House. Hit the jump for more on the project.

Michael Chiklis, Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, and Common Team Up for Crime Thriller PAWN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 28th, 2011 at 1:42 pm

The Shield co-stars Michael Chiklis and Forest Whitaker are set to reunite for the crime thriller Pawn. The indie centers on a hostage situation gone wrong, as an ex-con “becomes entangled in a manipulative chess game between the Feds, local police and the mob.” In addition to Chiklis and Whitaker, Deadline reports that Ray Liotta and Common are also set to star with David A. Armstrong making his feature directorial debut. Chiklis will be producing the pic alongside Brad Luff, Jeff Most, and Michael Becker. The script was written by Jay Anthony White and production is set to begin on December 1st.

Chiklis recently wrapped his role as the villain in the revenge thriller Parker opposite Jason Statham, while Whitaker just starred in The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Common can currently be seen on AMC’s western drama series Hell on Wheels.

Andy Garcia, Forest Whitaker, and Eva Longoria Set for THE TRUTH

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 24th, 2011 at 12:16 pm

A number of actors are set to star in the action thriller The Truth. Andy Garcia, Forest Whitaker, and Eva Longoria are poised to star in the pic, written and directed by Damian Lee (King of Sorrow). The story centers on an ex-CIA operative (Garcia) who is now working as a political talk show host. He’s approached by a corporate whistle blower to “expose her company’s cover-up of a massacre in a South American village.” Deadline reports that the cast also includes Kim Coates, Deborah Kara Unger, Kevin Durand, Devon Bostick, Lara Daans, and Steven Bauer. Garcia, Coates, and Jeff Sackman are executive producers on the project. Production begins later this month in Ontario and Puerto Rico. Whitaker is currently filming the actioner The Last Stand alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Forest Whitaker and Johnny Knoxville Join Arnold Schwarzenegger in THE LAST STAND

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 17th, 2011 at 11:27 am

Filming has begun on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback film The Last Stand and the movie has added two more actors to its cast.  Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker and masochist Johnny Knoxville have signed on to Kim Jee-Woon’s crime drama.  Schwarzenegger will play sheriff of a sleepy border town who serves as the last line of defense against a drug cartel leader (Eduardo Noriega) headed for the Mexican border.  Harry Dean Stanton, Rodrigo Santoro, and Luis Guzman have also been announced to co-star.

There’s currently no word on who any of the supporting actors other than Noriega will play.  Whitaker recently signed on to star in the voodoo thriller Vipka, and Knoxville will co-star with Patton Oswalt in an untitled comedy from Todd Rohal.   The Last Stand also stars Harry Dean Stanton, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzman, Zach Gilford, and Jaimie Alexander.  Hit the jump for the press release, which includes the full synopsis.

Forest Whitaker, Anthony Mackie and Sanaa Lathan to Star in Voodoo Thriller VIPKA

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: August 2nd, 2011 at 7:06 pm

A trio of actors have signed on for the psychological voodoo-themed thriller Vipka. Variety reports that Forest Whitaker, Anthony Mackie and Sanaa Lathan (AVP: Alien vs. Predator) are set to star in the genre flick. Philippe Caland (Ripple Effect) is directing, and the story “follows two adversaries who go head-to-head in a game that will test each man’s belief in what they’re certain is the truth.” While the logline’s a bit vague, we know voodoo’s in there somewhere, so expect Whitaker and Mackie to go all crazy.

Whitaker will next be seen in the crime drama Catch .44 with Bruce Willis, while Mackie just wrapped Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and will move on to Ruben Fleischer’s all-star period cop drama Gangster Squad after shooting Vipka. Lathan stars in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion which opens this fall.

Robert De Niro Joins 50 Cent in FREELANCERS; Forest Whitaker in Talks

by Max Lichtig    Posted: March 26th, 2011 at 1:14 pm

If you thought 50 Cent couldn’t scoop up any more great actors in his cinematic wave of destruction, you were dead, dead wrong. We’ve seen the comical trailer for the trying-too-hard drama Things Fall Apart; the trailer for Setup showed the likes of Bruce Willis and Ryan Phillippe somehow drawn into its cast. NOLA reports that Curtis Jackson’s next movie, Freelancers, locked in Robert De Niro; Deadline adds that Forest Whitaker is in negotiations to join the cast. Jessy Terrero (who brought us the forgettable Soul Plane) will helm Freelancers, the story of the son of a murdered NYPD cop who joins the police academy, graduates, and gets recruited by a group of rogue cops led by his father’s old partner (De Niro). Freelancers is scheduled to shoot four weeks in New Orleans starting in April.

Sounds interesting? Well, let’s not count our chickens before the trailer hatches.

Dakota Fanning to Star in MISSISSIPPI WILD; Robert Duvall, Mickey Rourke, and Forest Whitaker in Talks to Co-Star

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 16th, 2011 at 1:33 pm

Dakota Fanning and Ryan Donowho (Bandslam) have signed on to lead the indie thriller Mississippi Wild.  Variety reports that Robert Duvall, Mickey Rourke, and Forest Whitaker are in negotiations to co-star.  The plot follows a teen (Donowho) “who has to go on the run with his girlfriend (Fanning) after stealing diamonds that belong to a local gangster.”  Rourke is being courted for the role of the gangster while Whitaker is in talks to play a gangster who’s after Rourke’s character.  There’s no word yet on who Duvall would play.  Production is scheduled to begin on March 21st in Atlanta.

Fanning recently signed on to star in Girls Night Out, but Variety says she’ll first be starring alongside Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff in The Motel Life.  Filming on Life is expected to begin this month.

REPO MEN DVD Review

by Ben Begley    Posted: August 12th, 2010 at 5:03 am

Repo Men is like a sci-fi greatest hits album compiled into one film.  It has a heaping helping of Minority Report and Repo: The Genetic Opera mixed with Blade Runner, and a dash of Jacob’s Ladder for good measure.  The plot follows a sociopathic Repo Man name Remy (Jude Law) whose job is to repossess high tech organs from people when they miss a payment.  Lots of gore and sci-fi action ensues and the inevitable reversal when the hunter becomes the hunted.  The question is, does this film offer enough new to an already full table of sci-fi hits and misses?  My full review of Repo Men after the jump.

THE EXPERIMENT Starring Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker Going Straight to DVD/Blu-ray

by Jason Barr    Posted: July 9th, 2010 at 5:30 pm

While Adrien Brody may be spending time on another planet in Predators, his film The Experiment will not be spending any time in theaters. According to Movieweb, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the Paul Scheuring (television’s Prison Break) film straight to DVD/Blu-ray on September 21^st. The drama/thriller is a remake of the 2001 German film of the same name (but, in classic German style, with Das replacing The) and also stars Forest Whitaker, Cam Gigandet (Twilight), Maggie Grace (Taken), and Clifton Collins Jr. (The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day).

For more info on the 2001 original as well as the absolutely necessary remake, hit the jump.

Malin Akerman, Forest Whitaker, and Bruce Willis to Star in Indie Crime Drama CATCH .44

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 4th, 2010 at 9:55 am

Malin Akerman, Forest Whitaker, Kate Mara, and Bruce Willis are set to star in Aaron Harvey’s indie crime drama Catch .44.  Per Variety, the

“The story focuses on three women — led by Akerman’s character — being thrust into an extraordinary situation involving a psychopathic hitman (Whitaker), a grizzled trucker and a delusional line cook. Willis will play the head crime boss, the mastermind behind everything that happens.”

While I’m reluctant to see Whitaker play yet another psychopath (he has more range than that), he’s a fantastic actor and this is a strong cast.  It’s also got an intriguing premise so I’m gonna keep this flick on my radar.

The Buzz on Network Pilots, Including Projects from J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Brett Ratner(!)

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 25th, 2010 at 9:38 am

Pilot season is a wonderful time in TV Land; countless fledgling writers and would-be stars compete for the few slots available on the fall network lineup, where the survival rate of new shows making it to a second season is 31%!  Recently, both The Live Feed and Deadline put together a report on the series that have risen through the ranks and stand a good chance of making it to air.

After the jump, you’ll find a breakdown of the hottest pilots at FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC, including projects from producers J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Brett Ratner as well as stars Kathy Bates, Forest Whitaker, and William Shatner.

Thanks to The Futon Critic for all the plot synopses and cast information.

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