Some casting news, release date news, rumors and new pictures for you today. And all in one post… Have at it.
Lee Pace has joined the cast of Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, playing the opportunistic New York City mayor Fernando Wood, a prominent early supporter of the Confederate cause. The mayor traded frequent correspondence with President Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis). Pace will next be seen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and will play the role of Thranduil in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. [Deadline]
Sony has set an October 12, 2012 release date for Kathryn Bigelow‘s Kill Bin Laden, putting it in prime Oscar positioning for next year and a likely 2012 Toronto Film Festival selection. The film stars Joel Edgerton (The Thing) in a story focusing on the black ops mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, which culminated in his death earlier this month during a high-stakes raid on his compound in Pakistan. Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) have been developing the project since 2008 and plan to incorporate recent events into the film. [Deadline]
There’s a new rumor surrounding the long in development “I Dream of Jeannie” film adaptation that places Katherine Heigl as the potential star. The film has been in development forever, at one time it had Gurinder Chada (Bend it Like Beckham) attached to direct Lindsay Lohan in the lead role and after those two departed Jessica Alba was then rumored back in 2005. Since then there’s been no movement and I don’t expect things to change now. [The Daily]
Nick Nolte is in negotiations to join Shia LaBeouf and Robert Redford in the political thriller The Company You Keep. Redford directs and stars in the film which chronicles the story of a former Weather Underground militant wanted by the FBI for 30 years, who must go on the run when his true identity is exposed by a young, ambitious reporter hell-bent on making a name for himself. Redford plays the former radical at the center of this nationwide manhunt and LaBeouf, the determined journalist doggedly chasing him and his story. Nolte’s role in the feature is currently unknown. The picture is currently in pre-production and is set to film in Vancouver in September. [Variety]
Finally, three new images (and one old one) from The Hunger Games have arrived online giving you looks at Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in the film based on Suzanne Collins’ novel. Check out the other three just below. [EW]
