A few casting notices:

  • Benicio del Toro is in final negotiations to play Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost, which is not exactly a Pablo Escobar biopic.
  • Scoot McNairy booked two roles.  He will star opposite Michael Fassbender in Frank, and joins Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson in The Rover.
  • The full cast list for Reach Me features Tom Berenger, Kevin Connolly, Thomas Jane, Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Kelsey Grammer, Nelly, Terry Crews, Ryan Kwanten, and more.

Details on each project after the jump.

Paradise Lost centers on Nick, "a young surfer who visits his brother in Colombia and falls madly in love with a beautiful local girl called Maria."  It is a beautiful romance until Nick meets Maria's uncle: Pablo Escobar.  According to Variety, Italian actor Andrea di Stefano (Eat Pray Love) wrote the script for Paradise Lost, his directorial debut. Dimitri Rassam's Chapter 2 will produce the $25 million thriller.  Rassam made sure to note this is not an Escobar biopic---he instead compared the structure to The Last King of Scotland, "weaving Nick and Maria's romance with Nick's ambivalent and destructive relationship with Escobar."  Shooting begins in Panama in March.

Deadline reported the news of McNairy's roles.  Frank, loosely based on the life of musician/comedian Chris Sievey, follows an aspiring musician (Domhnall Gleeson) “who finds himself in over his head when he joins an eccentric rock band fronted by Fassbender.”  Lenny Abrahamson will direct the comedy.

The Rover is the latest from director David Michod (Animal Kingdom).  Here is the intriguing synopsis:

“Set in the Australian desert, the futuristic western tells the story of Eric, who has left everything, everyone and every semblance of human kindness behind him, as he’s forced to join an injured gang member, Rey, to hunt down Rey’s gang after they steal the last of Eric’s possessions.”

We first heard about the indie drama Reach Me earlier this week with the announcement that Sylvester Stallone had wrapped a small role.  Seraphim Films Productions issued a press release that fills us in on the rest of the cast:

TOM BERENGER, KEVIN CONNOLLY, THOMAS JANE, SYLVESTER STALLONE, KYRA SEDGWICK, KELSEY GRAMMER, NELLY, DANNY AIELLO, TERRY CREWS, DAVID O'HARA, OMARI HARDWICK, LAUREN COHAN, ELIZABETH HENSTRIDGE, CARY ELWES AND RYAN KWANTEN ARE THE CAST OF JOHN HERZFELD'S FEATURE, ‘REACH ME’

Los Angeles, CA (November 15, 2012)—  Seraphim Films Productions, in conjunction with Paradox Entertainment, announced today that they are producing REACH ME,  which is on its third week of filming under the sunny skies of Los Angeles, California.  John Herzfeld (“2 Days in the Valley,” “15 Minutes”) wrote and is directing the film.

Rebekah Chaney is producing along with Cassian Elwes.

"I've been dreaming about working on this project with John Herzfeld for 10 years, and this dream has finally come true. I couldn't be more honored to work with John and my producing partner, Rebekah Chaney,” said Cassian Elwes.

REACH ME is an uplifting ensemble comedy/drama about a dozen fractured characters whose lives intertwine and eventually collide as a result of a self-published motivational book and its anonymous author.

Herzfeld won the Directors Guild of America Award and an Emmy nomination for his HBO film “Don King: Only In America.”  The film was nominated for two Golden Globes, won the Critics Choice Award, the Writers Guild of America Award, and the coveted Peabody Award, the industry's most prestigious honor. Herzfeld’s other feature credits include “2 Days In The Valley” starring Charlize Theron, Jeff Daniels, Teri Hatcher, James Spader, and Eric Stoltz; and “15 Minutes” starring Robert DeNiro.

“REACH ME has been my passion project for 12 years - everything I have to say as a filmmaker and a man is packed in this story of redemption and hope, and I am lucky and thrilled to be working with a phenomenally talented cast that are realizing my dream,” said Herzfeld.