Some brief casting notes for you here with more details after the jump:

• Angela Bassett (Malcolm X) is set to join Gerard Butler (300) and Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) in Antoine Fuqua’s Presidential thriller, Olympus Has Fallen.
• Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) will star opposite Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) in Baggage Claim, from writer/director/producer David Talbert.
• Robert Baker (Out of Time) and Brian Howe (The Pursuit of Happyness) are the most recent additions to the cast of Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot, based on the true life saga of the West Memphis Three.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

If you’re a fan of the high concept action films of yesteryear (ie. the 1990s) like Con Air and Air Force One, this story may be of particular interest to you. Variety reports that Gerard Butler has signed on to star in the actioner Olympus Has Fallen. The story is described as Die Hard in the White House and centers on a “down-on-his-luck ex-Secret Service agent who becomes America’s only hope when 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is taken over by terrorists.” Despite the absurdity of the premise, I think this sounds like a sufficiently fun action pic. In a sea of gritty/realistic/gimmicky action movies, an over-the-top story fronted by a hardened lead is actually kind of refreshing.

The script was written by first-timers Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, but no director has signed on just yet. Hopefully they get someone who doesn’t take the film too seriously, and decides to have some fun with it. Butler will be seen later this year in the surfer film Of Men and Mavericks and the romantic comedy Playing the Field. He recently replaced Eric Bana in the diamond heist pic Brilliant, which begins shooting this spring.