Check out the latest casting news below:
- Christian Slater (Broken Arrow) and Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard) join the indie drama Undiscovered Gyrl, an adaptation of Allison Burnett's novel which Burnett himself will direct.
- Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) has joined the latest McG project, previously reported as Three Days to Kill. The pic is a darkly comic action thriller that involves a Secret Service agent who comes out of retirement for one last mission in exchange for a drug that could save his life.
- Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly) is in talks to join Mississippi Grind, a road trip pic of sorts with a plot focused on gambling addiction. The indie also stars Jake Gyllenhaal who will produce.
Hit the jump for more on each picture.
First up, Slater and Long will join Undiscovered Gyrl, along with Martin Sheen, Robert Patrick and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. The picture features Britt Robertson (Dan in Real Life) as a teen who holds off on college for a year in order to find herself. Left with daddy issues due to her alcoholic father (Patrick), she engages in sexual relationships with "a young film professor (Long), the father of a baby for whom she nannies (Slater), and a rare book dealer with a dark past (Sheen). She voyeuristically chronicles her adventures in a blog, but her life spirals out of control when pieces of the past begin to emerge."
From Variety, it looks like Nielsen will join Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld and Amber Heard in McG's untitled picture/Three Days to Kill. Costner plays the Secret Service agent in question with Heard as his handler. Nielsen would play his ex-wife and Steinfeld's mother.
Also from Variety is word that Mendelsohn is in talks for the lead of Mississippi Grind, a picture that follows a gambler in debt along a trip through the southern U.S. along with a young gambling addict, both hoping to change their luck. Mendelsohn can next be seen in The Place Beyond the Pines and will star in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster.
Here's the press release for Undiscovered Gyrl:
(Beverly Hills, Calif.) January 7, 2013 – EuropaCorp and Relativity Media have closed deals with Amber Heard (The Rum Diary, Paranoia), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) for their Untitled Thriller project starring previously announced Oscar®-winner Kevin Costner (The Bodyguard, Dances With Wolves, Open Range). McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation) directs the gripping action tale from a screenplay by Luc Besson (Taken, Transporter) and Adi Hasak (From Paris With Love). The film is currently in production in Paris and will continue in Serbia, where it will wrap on April 22nd.
Collaborating with McG behind the scenes is a creative below-the-line team including: director of photography Thierry Arbogast (The Fifth Element), production designer Sébastien Inizan (Taken 2), sound editor Stéphane Bucher (Taken 2), costume designer Olivier Bériot (Taken) and editor Audrey Simonaud (Taken 2).
This darkly comedic action film tells a story about a secret service agent who’s agreed to return from retirement for one last mission - in exchange for access to an experimental drug that could save his life. Hallucinatory, narcoleptic action ensues as he tries to complete the mission while battling the side effects of the drug.
The film is being produced by EuropaCorp’s Besson and Relativity’s CEO, Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter). Marc Libert (Lockout) and Relativity’s President, Tucker Tooley (Immortals) will executive produce.
This marks the second of two films that EuropaCorp and Relativity will collaborate on as a part of a co-production and co-financing deal that was announced in May. The deal also includes the darkly comedic action film currently-titled Malavita (in theatres October 18, 2013) directed by Besson and starring Oscar®-Winner Robert De Niro (Limitless, Heat),Oscar®-Nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (Dark Shadows, People Like Us), Oscar®-Winner Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men, Men in Black), Dianna Agron (Glee, I Am Number Four) and John D’Leo (The Wrestler, Wanderlust).
Up next, Relativity will release the outrageous Movie 43 (in theatres January 25, 2013), the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling Safe Haven (in theatres February 14, 2013), the comedy 21 & Over (in theatres March 1, 2013) and the corporate espionage thriller Paranoia (in theatres October 4, 2013). Relativity is currently in post-production on Scott Cooper’s gritty dramatic thriller currently-titled Out of the Furnace.
EuropaCorp recently internationally released Taken 2, the sequel to its franchise hit
Taken (Liam Neeson), directed by Olivier Megaton. EuropaCorp is also in post-production on Mobius, directed by Eric Rochant, starring Oscar®-Winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Cécile de France (Here After), and Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, The Incredible Hulk).
Heard was represented by WME and Media Talent Group in her deal and Steinfeld was represented by ICM and Anonymous Content. Nielsen was represented by UTA and Principal Entertainment.
