Let's start the day with some casting, shall we? Here are the headlines:
- Elizabeth Banks will topline What's the Matter with Margie?, a dark comedy from Alan Ball.
- Alfred Molina and Freida Pinto are set to star in Desert Dancer, based on the life of Iranian dancer, Afshin Ghaffarian.
- Sean Bean will join The 4th Reich, an action-horror film set in World War II.
Hit the jump for more on both projects.
Variety reports that Banks will play a downtrodden office worker who snaps after years of being overlooked and resorts to murder to solve her problems. Daniel Minahan will direct What's the Matter with Margie?, an original screenplay from Ball.   The True Blood creator will also produce alongside Anthony Bregman. Minahan, who has directed a number of episodes of True Blood as well as Game of Thrones, is aiming to start production in Los Angeles early next year.
Variety also reports that Molina and Pinto will join Reece Ritchie (The Lovely Bones) in Desert Dancer, the directorial debut of Richard Raymond. Penned by Jon Croker, Desert Dancer is set in Iran amidst the 2009 election protests. Ritchie stars as Ghaffarian, a man who is willing to risk his life to achieve his dream of becoming a dancer in a country where most forms of dance are outlawed. The picture is scheduled to shoot this summer in Turkey and Jordan. As a side note, Croker will also be handling the writing duties for the sequel to The Woman in Black.
Finally, from THR, comes news that Bean will stars as a "charismatic British sergeant major" in The 4th Reich, directed by Shaun Robert Smith. The story centers on a brigade of British soldiers who are sent into occupied Europe and come up against an all-powered fighting force, the titular group created by the Nazis. Set to shoot this summer, The 4th Reich also stars Sean Pertwee, Tom Savini and Craig Conway.