We’ve got a few casting stories to share this evening.  Briefly:

  • The very funny Bill Hader is in talks to star in the indie comedy Lawless, produced by Mike White and David Bernad.
  • Hailee Steinfeld has been tapped to star opposite Sam Worthington in director Phillip Noyce’s thriller For the Dogs.
  • Billy Crystal will lead the retirement community sex comedy Winter’s Discontent for director Frank Oz.
  • Shameless star Jeremy Allen White has landed the lead in DreamWorks’ found-footage time travel film Glimmer.

Hit the jump for more on all of the aforementioned films.

First up, SNL veteran Bill Hader may soon be toplining a film of his own, as THR reports that the actor is in talks to star in the comedy LawlessYes Man screenwriters Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel are making their directorial debut on the project, and Enlightened’s Mike White is onboard to produce.  Should he sign on, Hader would star as a high school reunion chairman in Middle American who is tasked with getting the most popular guy in high school to show up for the reunion.  Said popular guy is now a commercials actor in L.A., so the committee chairman flies out to California to try and get him to attend.  Producers are hoping to start production this summer in Atlanta.

Additionally, Deadline reports that True Grit actress Hailee Steinfeld has been set to star opposite Sam Worthington in the thriller For the DogsOren Moverman (Rampart) wrote the script based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Wignall, and the story centers on a solitary assassin who helps a young college girl seek revenge for the murder of her parents and brother.  No word on when filming might begin, but Salt helmer Phillip Noyce is onboard to direct.

Fresh off last winter’s Parental Guidance, Billy Crystal is lining up yet another feature film project.  The actor will lead Winter’s Discontent as a widower who moves into a reputed active adult community in hopes of reinvigorating his sex life.  The Muppets Take Manhattan and In & Out helmer Frank Oz will direct from a Black List script by Paul Fruchbom.  Sony Pictures will handle distribution.

Finally, The Wrap reports that Shameless actor Jeremy Allen White has nabbed the lead role in DreamWorks’ upcoming sci-fi thriller Glimmer.  The found-footage film centers on “a group of teenagers who take a camping trip to investigate a series of missing persons and wind up discovering a portal that takes them back in time and traps them in the 1970s.”  Naturally one of them does something to alter the past and dire consequences ensue.  Commercials director Ringan Ledwidge is taking the helm, and The O.C. and Gossip Girl scribe Josh Schwartz recently performed a rewrite on Carter Blanchard’s script.  The studio hopes the low-budget project will be a hit along the lines of Chronicle or Project X.