We've got three casting stories for you this afternoon, and all three feature talented actresses. First up, Elisabeth Moss will star in writer-director Bryan Bertino’s horror film, There Are Monsters. According to Screen Daily, "Bertino’s script follows a single mum and her terrified young daughter who are trapped and tormented by a mysterious creature." Moss picked up a Golden Globe for her work in the miniseries Top of the Lake, and she's been nominated for Mad Men every year since 2009. We're overdue when it comes to seeing her take the lead role in a feature film. Although, for all of her success, a part of me will always think of her as Zoe Bartlett (I mean that as a compliment).
Pre-production is set to begin this fall. Hit the jump for more casting news.
According to Variety, Leslie Mann will move from The Other Woman, a movie where she was part of a trio of friends, to Las Madres, another movie where she's part of a trio of friends. The film has her playing one of three unemployed friends "who decide their only chance at economic opportunity in today’s climate is to go after a criminal with a reward for his capture." Presumably, these three friends aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer if they think bounty hunting is the only way to make a living. It could still be funny, but I hope it has a better script than The Other Woman. Las Madres is based on an original pitch and script by Lona Williams (Drop Dead Gorgeous), which Pam Brady (Hot Rod) is currently rewriting.
Finally, Variety reports that Lena Headey will star in Jacqueline Ess, which is adapted from Clive Barker's Books of Blood. The disturbing premise has Headey playing a woman "who, in her thirst for change, achieves the ability to transform people’s bodies at will." The Books of Blood anthologies also provided the basis for the horror films Lord of Illlusions, Candyman, and Midnight Meat Train. Jovanka Vuckovick, who will make her directing debut on Jacqueline Ess, co-wrote the adaptation with Christian Francis. Production will begin late this year.
