Principal actors Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen are already slated to return for the Taken sequel, but director Olivier Megaton (Colombiana) needs new actors to replace all the ones Bryan Mills (Neeson) killed in the original. We know the villain will be Rade Serbedzija (Snatch), playing the father of one of the slain kidnappers who takes Mills and his ex-wife (Janssen) hostage. Luke Grimes (Brothers & Sisters) has been cast as the love interest of Mills’ daughter (Grace) and will most likely play a part in helping her rescue her parents.

In other casting news, Barry Sloane (Holby City) will join Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) and Michael Keaton as Keaton’s partner in crime in Penthouse North. Lastly, Jerry Ferrara (Entourage) has been added to the cast of airplane-thriller, 7500. The film, by director Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge) also stars Ryan Kwanten, Amy Smart, Leslie Bibb and Jamie Chung. Hit the jump for more on each project.

We’ve got a couple of acquisition stories to report today. First up, Dimension has picked up U.S. distribution rights to the thriller Penthouse North. Directed by Joseph Ruben (Sleeping with the Enemy), the film stars Michelle Monaghan as a photojournalist blinded in Iraq who becomes entangled in a sadistic criminal’s (Michael Keaton) search for a missing fortune. The script was written by David Loughery (Lakeview Terrace), who will also produced alongside Jeff Sackman and Michael Baker. Production begins in Ottawa on December 7th.

Additionally, Tribeca Film has acquired the U.S. rights to the French thriller Sleepless Night. The film debuted to a wildly positive reception as part of the “Midnight Madness” portion of the Toronto Film Festival.  Matt caught the pic and loved it, and now Tribeca Film will release the film VOD and theatrically stateside in 2012. The story centers on an undercover cop trying to get his kidnapped son back from a drug-dealing nightclub owner. An English-language remake is already in the works at Warner Bros. You can watch the trailer for the French film here. Hit the jump to read the press releases concerning Penthouse North and Sleeplees Night.

Each year, a number of films are presented and sold at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. The 2011 AFM takes place this week, and in preparation for the AFM, Lionsgate has compiled production information and synopses for the properties that they plan to sell at the convention to both domestic and international buyers (for the territories that they have the rights). Lucky for us, that info is now public, and we’ve pulled together cast, director, and writer information as well as official synopses for some high profile 2012 Lionsgate films. We’ve got info on the Evil Dead remake, Spike Lee’s English-language adaptation of the now classic Park Chan-wook film Old Boy, Diablo Cody’s directorial debut, the comedy Murder of a Cat starring Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, and Rob Lowe, and much more. Hit the jump for all the details.

Veteran director Joseph Ruben will lead stars Michael Keaton and Michelle Monaghan in the psychological thriller Penthouse North. Written and co-produced by David Loughery (Obsessed), the film will center on a photojournalist (Monaghan) who has moved into a New York penthouse in an attempt to escape her sordid past. As the story goes, she becomes entangled in a criminal’s (Keaton) search for a missing fortune. According to THR, Penthouse North is scheduled to begin shooting this November in Ottawa.

As for Keaton and Monaghan, the latter can next be seen alongside Gerard Butler in Machine Gun Preacher which premieres at TIFF before hitting limited U.S. theaters on September 23rd. The former was last seen making a great turn as Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s captain in The Other Guys. With regards to director Joseph Ruben, Penthouse North seems to fall right in his wheelhouse as the filmmaker has made a living helming thrillers of various quality such as Dreamscape, Sleeping with the Enemy, The Good Son (a film that I still can’t refrain from yelling “He’s the one doing all of these horrible things!” while watching) and 2004′s The Forgotten starring Julianne Moore.