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

• Benicio Del Toro will star in the drama adaptation Jimmy Picard.
• Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine joins Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in Can A Song Save Your Life?
• Footloose star Kenny Wormald is set for in the true story indie Kid Cannabis.

Hit the jump for more on each film.

Criterion and IFC have formed a partnership which has offered Criterion access to their catalog, which means over the next couple we’re going to see more modern films from the company than ever before. This is surely a boom for both companies, and for those loyal to the Criterion label, it may foist more modern (and modern classics) upon them. The signature of CC still carries weight with any real cineaste. But more than that, foreign cinema has been taking it in the shorts due to the recession. Granted, the peak for foreign cinema was the post-war boom of the late 50′s and 60′s, but things are much more dire currently, and it’s hard for average theater goers to get their hands on foreign and indie cinema without a dedicated theater, and even then it can get hard. My review of A Christmas Tale after the jump.