We’ve got a few casting notes to share with you.  Here they are in brief:

• Terrence Howard (Iron Man) will join A Girl and a Gun, a modern LA thriller from writer/director Filip Jan Rymsza that also stars Juno Temple, Luis Guzman and Christopher Walken.  
• Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) has been cast in The Counselor alongside Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt.  Ridley Scott directs from a Cormac McCarthy script.  
• Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) joins The Freezer as a kidnapping victim who is more than he appears.  The story, written by Tom Doganoglu and Shane Weisfeld, will be directed by Mikael Salomon.

Hit the jump for more details on each casting assignment.

The Counselor is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of 2013.  Ridley Scott is directing, the film marks the screenwriting debut of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road), and the cast is insane: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, and Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris.  The story centers on an attorney (Fassbender) who gets in over his head when he teams with Bardem’s character to sell $20 million worth of cocaine.  Though this may seem a simple premise, we can reasonably expect a great deal of depth given that this comes from the mind of McCarthy.

Production is now firmly underway and the first image of Pitt on the London set has hit the web.  This marks a reteaming of sorts for the actor and his Thelma and Louise director, and in this first image Scott looks to have Pitt back in the cowboy hat.  Hit the jump to take a look and to see what Pitt had to say about his involvement in the film.

In what’s shaping up to be one of the year’s hottest projects, The Counselor has just attracted some high-caliber acting talent to go along with the Oscar-nominated director, Ridley Scott (Gladiator) and the Pulitzer-Prize winning author, Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men). The project, of course, already features Michael Fassbender (Shame) in the starring role as a respectable lawyer who begins to dabble in the trade of illegal drugs while trying to avoid succumbing to its pitfalls. Previously mentioned for the villainous role in McCarthy’s first ever spec script, were Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Brad Pitt (Fight Club) and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover). Renner is now in early negotiations along with Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) for a part that seems less villainous and more enabling, as a criminal who introduces Fassbender’s character to the drug trade. Also in the mix for The Counselor is Natalie Portman (Black Swan), negotiating for a part opposite Fassbender as his fiancee.  Hit the jump for much more on The Counselor.

Though the sci-fi film hasn’t even come out yet, Michael Fassbender is already set to reteam with his Prometheus director Ridley Scott on Scott’s next project. When famed author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) surprisingly turned in his first spec screenplay a few months ago, Scott quickly attached himself to the project. We heard at the time that Fassbender was talking to Scott about possibly starring, and now Deadline confirms that the actor will star in The Counselor. While plot details are thin, the pic is described as “No Country for Old Men on steroids” and concerns a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip his toe in the drug business without getting sucked down.

Production is set to begin on May 1st, but Fassbender is also poised to reteam with Shame director Steve McQueen on the period pic Twelve Years a Slave so it’s unclear if he’ll do Slave before or after The Counselor. The actor recently committed to developing and starring in a film based on Celtic warrior Cuchulainn. A number of high-profile actors are apparently talking with Scott about joining The Counselor, and the director’s chair was a highly sought-after gig. While I’m super excited about Prometheus, I’m interested to see Scott take on a straight drama following a number of large-scale pics. [Update: Deadline has updated their story to add that Scott is now looking to cast the villain role, with actors like Jeremy Renner, Brad Pitt, and Bradley Cooper mentioned as possible candidates. This is shaping up to be one hell of a movie]

Author Cormac McCarthy’s first screenplay is looking like it’s on the fast track to production. McCarthy, whose books have been adapted into such fantastic films as No Country for Old Men and The Road, sold the spec screenplay The Counselor last month, and a multitude of directors jumped at the chance to take the helm. Ridley Scott entered talks a few weeks ago, and now Deadline reports that Scott is confirmed to make The Counselor his next film. Furthermore, Scott is apparently talking to his Prometheus star Michael Fassbender about starring in the drama.

The story is described as “No Country for Old Men on steroids” and centers on a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe in to the drug business without getting sucked down. He soon finds he’s in over his head and tries his best to get out of a desperate situation. Apparently a number of top actors are vying for roles in the pic, and Scott hopes to begin production on May 1st. Fassbender is a tremendous actor, and the idea of him tackling Cormac material is certainly exciting. He’s next set to reteam with Shame director Steve McQueen on the period drama Twelve Years a Slave. I sincerely hope he’s able to fit both films into his schedule.

Director Ridley Scott is adding yet another project to his ever-increasing pile, but this one is poised to be his next film. Just over a week ago we reported that author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) had turned in his very first spec screenplay entitled The Counselor. The news was exciting as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is one of the great voices of our time, and now Deadline reports that Scott plans to bring the film to fruition. The story centers on “a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe in to the drug business without getting sucked down. It is a bad decision and he tries his best to survive it and get out of a desperate situation.”

Scott plans to make The Counselor his next project after he finishes up post-production on this summer’s Prometheus. He certainly wasn’t lacking for potential projects to choose from, as he was mulling over a Gertrude Bell biopic with Angelina Jolie and the thriller Child 44. Scott previously stated that the Blade Runner remake would be his next pic, but it appears he’s chosen McCarthy’s drama instead. I’m quite looking forward to seeing him return to the sci-fi genre with Prometheus, but it’ll be interesting to see him bring McCarthy’s voice to life.

Author Cormac McCarthy’s works have been mined for some stellar feature film adaptations over the past few years. All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men have all come from the mind of McCarthy. Now the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is trying his hand at feature films, as he’s turned in his first spec script. His agents were expecting McCarthy to hand in his latest novel when instead he turned in the script for a film called The Counselor.

Deadline reports that the setting of The Counselor is reminiscent of No Country, and it centers on “a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe in to the drug business without getting sucked down. It is a bad decision and he tries his best to survive it and get out of a desperate situation.” The contemporary drama is set in the Southwest and two of the leading characters are women. The film’s producers are currently talking to financiers and will quickly go looking for a filmmaker to attach to the project.

The trailer for the HBO Films production of Cormac McCarthy’s (No Country for Old Men, The Road) play The Sunset Limited has been released. The film stars Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones, and takes place entirely in one room.  Jones directed the film from a screenplay by McCarthy himself. As the film begins, Jackson’s character has just saved Jones’ character from jumping in front of a train, and he insists that Jones’ character come back to his apartment with him. The two proceed to discuss/debate a variety of topics, with opposing views on religion being the driving force.  The Sunset Limited will premiere on HBO on February 12^th. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Post-No Country for Old Men, was there any chance they wouldn’t adapt Cormac McCarthy’s Oprah-approved best-seller The Road? Well, they did, and The Weinstein Company produced it, and if you had read the book, you’d know why this was a tough sell, and eventually flopped (on top of being released by the struggling Weinstein Company). The story of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) trudging through a post-apocalyptic wasteland as they fend off cannibals and encounter strange people (including cameos by Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Michael K. Williams) as they cling to staying alive and keeping their souls, The Road is a heavy experience. My review of The Road on Blu-ray after the jump.

Viggo Mortensen has consistently earned acclaim for his work in a wide range of films, including most recently Eastern Promises, A History of Violence and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 2008, he starred again with and was directed by Ed Harris in Appaloosa.

We sat down with him this past weekend to talk about his new movie, The Road, the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the beloved, best-selling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote No Country for Old Men. Mortensen leads an all-star cast featuring Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and young newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father (Mortensen) and his young son (Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm.

Directed by John Hillcoat, The Road is an adventure story, a horror story, a road movie and ultimately a love story between a father and his son and a man and his wife. It’s also a celebration of the inextinguishable will to live, a thrilling evocation of human endurance and an unflinching examination of people at their worst – and at their best.  Read our interview with this great actor after the jump:

Tommy Lee Jones has signed up to star and direct Cormac McCarthy’s “The Sunset Limited”, which will also star Samuel L. Jackson, for HBO from a script adapted by McCarthy himself.  Hollywood seems to be riding the Cormac McCarthy love train as of late with “No Country for Old Men”, “The Road”, and two other films based off of Comac McCarthy novels in the works.  To find out which two adaptations those are and to know more about “The Sunset Limited” hit the jump.

Over a year after filming ended, Dimension Films has finally released a trailer for John Hillcoat’s “The Road”. If the name sounds familiar to you, that’s because it’s based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel and it was originally scheduled to be released last November. While people wondering why the release date was changed, supposedly the studio pushed it back to allow more time for post-production.

After watching this great looking trailer, it shows.

The film is about a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. And while many films have tried to tells stories in this type of environment, I think this one looks like the real deal. Of course it helps when you have a cast like Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce starring in the movie.

Anyway, I suggest watching the trailer after the jump. It looks really good.