We've got a few brief casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi comedy, Chappie. The film tells the story of a robot (voiced by Sharlto Copley) imbued with artificial intelligence who is stolen by two local gangsters who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes. The movie stars Hugh Jackman and Dev Patel. Variety has no details on Weaver's character, but she's a welcome addition to any cast. Weaver is currently busy re-teaming with Ridley Scott for the biblical epic, Exodus.
Hit the jump for Judy Greer being in talks to join Jason Reitman's next film, Men, Women & Childen; and Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana looking to Kill the Trumpet Player in Don Cheadle's Miles Davis movie.
According to The Wrap, Judy Greer is in talks to join Adam Sandler, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Jennifer Garner in Jason Reitman's Men, Women, & Children. The story deals centers on "a family with junior high school students [that] deals with the navigation of sexual awakenings in a digital age where the internet has made pornography, blogs and social networking just a few clicks away." Greer is starring opposite Nat Faxon in a pilot for FX, and it's likely to be picked up. If that happens, Greer will try to find a way to fit Reitman's movie into her schedule. Assuming she signs on, she'll play "Joan Clint, a mom who posts alluring photos of her daughter online." I'm eager to see if Joan intentionally posts the photos because they're alluring, or if she's oblivious to the fact that the photos are alluring. Either one is possible, so I'll be interested to see which direction Reitman goes. Greer will next be seen in two of 2014's biggest films, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Tomorrowland.
Finally, Screen Daily reports that Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana are in negotiations to board Don Cheadle's long-in-development Miles Davis project, which is now entitled Kill the Trumpet Player. Over a year ago, Cheadle said the movie wasn't "a biopic, per se", explaining:
"It’s a gangster pic. It’s a movie that Miles Davis would have wanted to star in. Without throwing history away, we’re trying to shuffle it and make it more cubist."
Cheadle will make his feature directing debut on the picture and also play the influential jazz trumpeter. Screen Daily has no details on the roles McGregor and Saldana will play, but I'm excited to see the project slowly starting to pick up steam. McGregor will next be seen in August: Osage County, and is currently filming on the action-comedy Mortdecai starring Johnny Depp. As for Saldana, audiences can see her back on the big screen this December in the drama Out of the Furnace. She also recently wrapped filming on James Gunn's Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy.
