Here’s today’s latest casting news:

• Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) has been cast as the Prince in Disney’s live-action Cinderella feature, directed by Kenneth Branagh.
• Callan McAuliffe (I Am Number Four) has landed the lead role in Our Robot Overlords, directed by Jon Wright (Grabbers) and starring Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3) and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).
• Gary Cole (Office Space), Veronica Cartwright (Alien) and Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project) have joined the cast of The Town That Dreaded Sundown remake, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and starring Addison Timlin (Derailed).

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

[This review is a reprint of my review from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  The Lie opens today in limited release.]

Depicting marital infidelity is too easy a conflict. Warring couples have been done to death and they tend to hit the same predictable notes of anger, betrayal, and sadness but usually you don’t care because the film always makes sure you know that the cheater is bad and the other party deserves our sympathy. I find it far more challenging to write convincing couples who struggle with the work a relationship requires. Co-writer, director, and star Joshua Leonard has met the challenge with his new film The Lie. Coupled with a fantastic performance from Jess Weixler, Leonard crafts a story that is both heartwarming and bitingly funny. It takes about twenty minutes for the film to find its rhythm, but once The Lie finds its groove, it’s an absolute joy.

Sony Pictures Classics have acquired the North American distribution rights to Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut, Higher Ground.  I caught the film at Sundance and while it left me cold, I should note that some of my fellow critics absolutely adored the flick.  The film centers on Corinne (Farmiga), a devoutly-Christian woman who slowly begins to question her faith and the male-dominated power structure of her church.  It has some funny moments, but it rarely seems to be mocking faith, and I applaud it for that.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

Depicting marital infidelity is too easy a conflict.  Warring couples have been done to death and they tend to hit the same predictable notes of anger, betrayal, and sadness but usually you don’t care because the film always makes sure you know that the cheater is bad and the other party deserves our sympathy.  I find it far more challenging to write convincing couples who struggle with the work a relationship requires.  Co-writer, director, and star Joshua Leonard has met the challenge with his new film The Lie.  Coupled with a fantastic performance from Jess Weixler, Leonard crafts a story that is both heartwarming and bitingly funny.  It takes about twenty minutes for the film to find its rhythm, but once The Lie finds its groove, it’s an absolute joy.

Religion is a tricky topic.  It’s incredibly easy to mock it or to preach it.  But an honest exploration of faith requires complete commitment and a willingness to let non-believers scoff and the holier-than-thou scorn.  Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut Higher Ground manages the impressive task of fully committing to its characters’ faith.  Unfortunately, it never transforms that commitment into a more fulfilling experience.  Despite an earnest approach to the Christian faith, Farmiga never finds anything interesting to say about it.

The slate of films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January were just announced, and we’ve been given a slew of images from a number of films that will have their premiere at the prestigious festival. Higher Ground, screening in the in-competition category, marks the directorial debut of Up in the Air star Vera Farmiga. The actress also stars in the film alongside Joshua Leonard (Blair Witch Project), John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) and Dagmara Dominczyk (Kinsey). Scripted by Carolyn Briggs and Tim Metcalfe (Kalifornia), the synopsis is as follows: A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers, but after years of dogma and loss, she must find the courage to ask the questions that will help her reclaim her life.

HERE, also screening in the in-competition category, is directed by documentary filmmaker Braden King and stars Ben Foster, Lubna Azabal and Narek Nersisyan. The script, written by King and Dani Valent, centers on an American cartographer who’s on assignment to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia, who forms a powerful bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer. Hit the jump to check out the images from both films.