Caffeinated Clint
Mama
“Game of Thrones” star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been cast opposite Jessica Chastain in ”Mama”, the horror film that Guillermo del Toro is producing for Universal. Coster-Waldau, will play twins — a father and uncle to a pair of young girls who are haunted by a ghostly woman that could be their mother. Chastain already had been cast as the female lead of the movie, which is based on a 2008 short film by Spain’s Andres Muschietti, who is also directing the feature… ” (More...)
The Locals
Shirley MacLaine is set to star and Alan Arkin and Vera Farmiga are negotiating to star in the Sue Kramer-directed indie feature ”The Locals”. The film puts a contemporary spin on the ”Romeo and Juliet” tale by injecting a Jewish/Italian twist. Kramer wrote the script. (More…)
Quartet
Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut will star Billy Connolly (“Her Majesty Mrs Brown”) and Maggie Smith (“Sister Act”); it’s currently filming in Buckinghamshire.
The official press release includes a synopsis : Lifelong friends Wilf (Billy Connolly) and Reggie (Tom Courtenay), together with former colleague Cissy (Pauline Collins), are residents of Beecham House, a home for retired opera singers. Every year on Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday, the residents unite to give a concert to raise funds for their home. But when Jean Horton (Maggie Smith), a former grande dame of the opera fallen on hard times, also Reggie’s ex-wife and the fourth and most celebrated member of their former quartet, moves into the home to everyone’s surprise, the plans for this year’s concert start to unravel. As old grudges threaten to undermine past glories and theatrical temperaments play havoc with the rehearsal schedule, it becomes apparent that having four of the finest singers in English operatic history under one roof offers no guarantee that the show will go on. QUARTET is a joyous and entertaining film about redefining old age and growing old with hope, demonstrating how art illuminates life and the human spirit remains undimmed even as the brightest stars start to fade.
Flight
Kelly Reilly (“Sherlock Holmes”) is in talks to join Denzel Washington in the Robert Zemeckis directed thriller for Paramount. Reilly is one of three actresses that were shortlisted for the role of a drug addict who is trying to get her life back on track. (More…)
The Railway Man
Colin Firth will star in Jonathan Teplitzy’s film based on former British army officer Eric Lomax’s best-selling account of his torture by the Japanese during the construction of the “death railway” during World War II and his mission decades later to seek revenge on his tormentor. (More…)
