1.) We kick things off with a bunch of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire casting news as Lionsgate has sent out a press release formally announcing the casting of Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) as Wiress. She’s an oddball character whose eccentricities earn her the nickname “Nuts” from fellow tributes.
In addition, it appears two other actors are nearing deals for sought-after roles in the sequel. Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman) is in talks to play Finnick Odair, who was one of the youngest Hunger Games winners at age 14 and Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) is the frontrunner to play Beetee, an inventor with a knack for using electricity as a weapon. [Variety]
2.) Meanwhile, Gary Ross might have found his post-Hunger Games vehicle in Disney’s Peter Pan prequel Peter and the Starcatchers. The source material is a 2004 children’s novel that was also turned into an off-Broadway play that won five Tonys. It follows a young Peter and his friend Molly, who work to keep a mysterious trunk away from the villain, pirate Black Stache (who becomes Captain Hook once he loses his hand). [Hollywood Reporter]
3.) Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks) are set to headline the The F Word, an indie romantic comedy from Goon director Michael Dowse. The film, whose title refers to the dreaded friend zone, centers on two people who meet at a party and hit it off. Unfortunately, she has a long-term boyfriend so they’re faced with the challenges of being just friends. [Variety]
4.) The reunion is off between Christian Bale and his The Fighter director David O. Russell, and Jeremy Renner is in talks to replace Bale in the crime drama formerly known as American Bullshit. Sort of. Bradley Cooper will shift over to fill the role vacated by Bale, that of a notorious financial con artist. Renner would fill Cooper’s old role, an FBI agent who works with the con artist to turn the tables on other criminals, mobsters and politicians. Eric Warren Singer’s script is based on a true story and shooting begins in February. [Variety]
5.) Louis D’Esposito (Co-Head of Marvel Studios) discusses the chance Edgar Wright‘s Ant-Man could come out in 2014, making it Marvel’s third release of that year after Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy.
That might be an opportunity where we do a third film, depending on his schedule when he finishes World’s End. But he’s such a competent filmmaker; the script is in great shape. The test will prove a lot of things on the visual effects front: how do we handle the shrinking, obviously, and the scale issues, because when he’s small he’s a half-inch. So we’re gonna work that out, maybe that’s when we do a third film.
[Collider]
BONUS: Here’s a little something extra to start your morning off. Inside “The Dark Knight Manual” from Insight Editions you get a map of Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City from Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. You can order the book here and check out the map below. Give it a click for a larger version.
