Some casting additions for you today. Here they are briefly:

  • Burt Reynolds, Joe Piscopo, Paul Sorvino and Erika Christensen cast in the mafia musical comedy, How Sweet It Is.
  • Sharlto Copley, Thomas Kretschmann and Joseph Morgan dig Open Grave.
  • Kate del Castillo joins Screen Gems thriller, No Good Dead.

Hit the jump for more on each film.

First up from Variety, the ensemble cast for mob comedy musical How Sweet It Is starts shooting this weekend in Los Angeles.  The story focuses on alcoholic theater owner, Jack (Piscopo) who needs a strong showing for his musical's opening night to dig himself out of debt with the mob.  The mob boss (Sorvino) insists that his friends get roles in the musical, which complicates things somewhat.  Reynolds will cameo as himself and Christensen will play Jack's daughter.  How Sweet It Is, directed by Brian Herzlinger (Baby on Board) from a script he co-wrote with Jay Black will debut this fall.

Copley (District 9), Kretschmann (King Kong) and Morgan (Immortals) will be joined by Josie Ho (Contagion), Erin Richards (Breaking In) and Max Wrottesley (Hugo) for the thriller, Open Grave. Gonzalez Lopez-Gallego (Apollo 18) will direct them in "the haunting tale of six desperate individuals who wake up with amnesia-like symptoms next to an open grave of rotting bodies in a remote, desolate forest. With nowhere to turn, they are forced to piece together the mysterious, and ultimately horrifying, set of circumstances that brought them together – before it’s too late."  Production is scheduled to start this Friday, May 4th.

Finally, per THR, telenovela star Castillo will join Idris Elba (Thor) and Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) in thriller No Good Deed. Sam Miller will direct the pic about a District Attorney-turned-stay-at-home mom (Henson) who has her two children kidnapped by a stranger (Elba).  Castillo will play Elba's cheating former fiancee.  Screen Gems, currently basking in the success of Think Like a Man, decided to choose Castillo in the role in part to court a Latino audience.  The character was originally intended to be white in Aimee Lagos' screenplay.