The “best friend” in romantic comedies can be the most unrewarding role.  Usually doting on the needs of the lead, the “best friend’s” wants and desires go unfulfilled (or just plain ignored).  She is a plot device given to voice the opinions of those around her.  In Warm Bodies, Analeigh Tipton (Crazy Stupid Love) pokes gentle fun at this stereotype – becoming increasingly indignant that her best friend (and STAR of the picture) Julie gets all the guys (even the undead ones), whilst she –Nora– remains forever alone.  Tipton injects the smaller-than-it-should-be role with just the right amount of verve and sarcastic edge.  Hopefully someday soon, Tipton will find herself the lead, accomplishing all her wants and desires to the encouraging but unfulfilled grin of her own ‘bestie’.

In the following interview with Tipton, she discusses playing the “best friend” role, what types of roles she looks for and her upcoming ‘lead’ film Two Night Stand.  For the full interview, hit the jump.

Casting additions today are as follows:

• Mike Epps (The Hangover) will portray comedian Richard Pryor in Nina, the Nina Simone biopic from writer/director Cynthia Mort that stars Zoe Saldana (Avatar) and David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland).
• Hip hop artist, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi will join the indie rom-com, Two Night Stand, which marks the directorial debut of Max Nichols.
• Jai Courtney (Spartacus: Vengeance) will star opposite Joel Edgerton (Warrior) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) in Felony.  Matthew Seville (Noise) directs from Edgerton’s script.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

Here are some casting updates at a glance:

• Selena Gomez (Monte Carlo) has joined Parental Guidance Suggested, a rock-and-roll odyssey from writer/director Tim Garrick.
• Josh Gad (Love and Other Drugs) is the latest to join Shawn Levy’s The Internship, a comedic reunion of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.
• Miles Teller (Project X) and Analeigh Tipton (Crazy, Stupid, Love) will star in Two Night Stand, a romantic comedy from Black List scribe Mark Hammer that will be the directorial debut of Max Nichols.
• Josh Hamilton (J. Edgar) is set to join Keri Russell in Dark Skies, a sci-fi horror picture from Priest director, Scott Charles Stewart.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Each year, Hollywood releases “The Black List.” The list is a compilation of the “best” unproduced scripts making the rounds of Hollywood, as voted on by hundreds of film executives. Past scripts that have made their way to the list include Diablo Cody’s Juno and Aaron Sorkin‘s The Social Network. This year, topping the list is Graham Moore’s script for the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game. Turning was a mathematician and codebreaker during World War II who was criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality, after which he elected chemical castration over prison, and eventually ended his own life.

The Imitation Game has been in the works for a while, and last we heard Warner Bros. was keen on getting Harry Potter director David Yates to take the helm. Leonardo DiCaprio is also said to have taken a liking to the role of Turing. Also appearing on the list is Matt Damon’s planned directorial debut Father Daughter Time and Chewie, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of Star Wars from the perspective of Peter Mayhew. Hit the jump to peruse the entire list, which includes two Pinocchio projects, a movie about catching a screening of Jurassic Park, and zombies!