NOT SAFE FOR WORK Hires Max Minghella and Eloise Mumford; Rafe Spall in I GIVE IT A YEAR

Director Joe Johnston has gone from the big budgets of Captain America: The First Avenger down to the micro-budget of Not Safe for Work. He must be a good barterer because Universal Pictures has tapped Max Minghella (The Social Network) and Eloise Mumford (The River) to star in the Blumhouse Productions thriller.  Written by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, Not Safe for Work centers on a young paralegal (Minghella) trapped at work while a killer is on the loose with orders to destroy certain files and neutralize anyone who tries to stop him. Mumford is in talks to play his co-worker girlfriend.

In other casting news, Rafe Spall (Anonymous) is in talks to topline I Give it a Year for writer/director Dan Mazer (Da Ali G Show). The rom-com follows a young married couple trying to stay together through their first year of marriage. Production is scheduled to begin in London this spring. Hit the jump for more on both projects.

Variety reported on Minghella and Mumford joining the cast of Not Safe for Work. The project is part of a first-look deal between Blumhouse and Universal to produce low-budget genre films. Minghella was recently seen in The Darkest Hour and can next be found in Too Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar-director Beeban Kidron’s Hippie Hippie Shake. Mumford, who can currently be seen on ABC’s The River, will next star in So Undercover opposite Miley Cyrus.

Variety also reported on Spall’s headlining of I Give it a Year. I’m not much for romantic comedies, but Mazer has been a producer/director behind many of Sacha Baron Cohen’s projects and that’s more than enough to get me interested. Spall can next be seen in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus.