It looks like Tom Hardy is getting some company in the Dennis Lehane adaptation Animal Rescue. We previously reported that Hardy was being eyed to star in the pic as a lonely bartender who rescues a puppy from a garbage can and “becomes the target of the dog’s abusive and mentally unstable former owner, while simultaneously getting caught in the middle of a criminal conspiracy playing out in his mob-controlled bar.”  Now Deadline reports that Hardy is in final talks to topline the project, while Noomi Rapace is being offered the female lead.

Bullhead’s Michael R. Roskam recently stepped in to replace Neil Burger as the film’s director, and Fox Searchlight is eyeing a March start date in New York for production.  Lehane is the author of the previously adapted novels Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River, and Shutter Island, and he penned the script for Animal Rescue based on his own short story.  The film’s action has been moved from Boston to New York.

The Tiger was pitched to us two years ago as the chance for Brad Pitt and Darren Aronofsky to reunite after they failed to get their version of The Fountain off the ground.  Pitt and Aronofsky are indeed producing—along with Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Mark Heyman, and Ari Handel—but that may be the limit of their involvement.  Deadline reports Michael R. Roskam (Bullhead) will direct The Tiger, an adaptation of the book by John Vaillant.  The script by Guillermo Arriaga (Babel) “takes place on the Siberian plain, where humans encroach on a tiger’s habitat with tragic results.”  The lead role is an animal activist who must figure out how to stop the tiger that is slaughtering the villagers.  Pitt initially eyed that role, but the new report only mentions him as a producer.

The Tiger will be the English-language debut for the Belgian director, who is riding a wave of buzz ever since his first feature, Bullhead, earned a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination last year.  Roskam reportedly turned down many offers before saying yes to Focus Features for The Tiger.  Hit the jump for the book synopsis.

Michael R. Roskam’s Bullhead is a dark, quiet, and intense meditation on masculinity.  It is a movie that comes to the crossroads of power and sex, and explores if a man can have one if he’ll never have the other.  Despite relying on a bland crime-drama, Bullhead crafts a fascinating character study, and Matthias Schoenaerts powerful performance combined with Roskamn’s thoughtful, intelligent direction manages to turn frustration into captivation, and predictability into tragedy.

Well, folks, it’s over:  another year, another week-long cavalcade of awesome at Fantastic Fest.  This year’s lineup included some big name movies (Melancholia, Take Shelter), some smaller ones (You’re Next, Extraterrestrial), and some complete unknowns (Zombie Ass, A Boy and His Samurai), as well as some truly amazing, non-screening events.  Who won awards at this year’s Fantastic Fest, and what were the highlights of the week?  Find out after the jump, folks.