Sean Penn in Talks for INHERENT VICE; Chris Evans Eyes TEN O’CLOCK PEOPLE; Li Binbing Joins TRANSFORMERS 4

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Sean Penn in Talks for Paul Thomas Anderson’s INHERENT VICE; Chris Evans Eyes TEN O’CLOCK PEOPLE; Li Binbing Joins TRANSFORMERS 4

By Adam Chitwood

Published May 20, 2013

Sean Penn may join Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, Chris Evans might star in Ten O'Clock People, and Li Bingbing joins Transformers 4.

We’ve got a few interesting casting stories to share today. Briefly:

Sean Penn is in talks to join the increasingly impressive cast of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film, Inherent Vice.
Looking to expand outside of the Marvel world, Chris Evans is eyeing a starring role in the Stephen King adaptation The Ten O’Clock People.
Li Bingbing (Resident Evil: Retribution) is the first Chinese actress to join the cast of Michael Bay’s sequel Transformers 4, which will feature a host of Chinese stars.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

While the two have been trying to work together for years, it appears that Sean Penn will finally be appearing in a Paul Thomas Anderson film. Cigarettes and Red Vines reports that Penn is in talks to sign on in an undisclosed role. Joaquin Phoenix is set to star in the Thomas Pynchon adaptation, and Anderson has assembled a fantastic cast thus far that includes Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro, Reese Witherspoon, Jena Malone, and Martin Short. Filming is set to get underway shortly.

Additionally, Empire reports that Chris Evans is being eyed for the starring role in the adaptation of Stephen King’s Ten O’Clock People. The story originally appeared in King’s 1993 Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection and centers on a man in Boston “who in trying to kick his smoking habit uncovers a frightening aspect of reality that he plans to extinguish through extreme measures.” Justin Long was initially onboard in the lead role, but the actor was subsequently forced to drop out due to scheduling issues. Fright Night helmer Tom Holland is directing, and if a deal makes with Evans then Ten O’Clock People should be moving forward soon with a fall start-date in Atlanta being planned.

We previously learned that a good portion of Michael Bay’s Transformers 4 will be filming in China with the country’s China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises partnering on the production with Paramount, and now the first of many planned Chinese actors has been cast. Paramount announced today that Li Bingbing has been set to appear in T4, with a number of other “well-known actors as well as newcomers” joining the film shortly. Production on the sequel will begin later this year, with Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammar, and Stanley Tucci set in starring roles.