Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) is replacing Greta Gerwig in Derek Cianfrance‘s dramatic thriller The Place Beyond the Pines where she will join Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta and Ben Mendelson. In the film Gosling plays Luke, a professional motorcycle rider who turns to bank robberies to support his newborn son, but when he crosses paths with a rookie police officer their violent confrontation spirals into a tense generational feud. The film began shooting two weeks ago in Schenectady and is the reason photos such as the one to the right (via NY Daily News) of Gosling-gone-blonde began popping up online. [Vulture]
Vera Farmiga is set to star with Mark Strong in Closer to the Moon, a period drama set in communist Romania to be directed by Romanian helmer Nae Caranfil. In the film Strong will star as Max Rosenthal, a former head of a criminal investigation unit for the Bucharest police force who is implicated in a bank robbery in which he and three others perpetrated the crime while assuring the crowds they were filming a movie. They are tried and sentenced to death because they are Jews, but only after the communist government forces them to re-enact their crime in a propaganda film. Farmiga plays Max’s former lover and mother of his child, who returns from studying in Moscow as the drama unfolds. Production is expected to begin early fall in Bucharest. [Deadline]
Mireille Enos (“The Killing”, World War Z) is in negotiations to play Josh Brolin‘s wife in Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad, the period crime feature based off the L.A. Times’ seven-part series “Tales From the Gangster Squad” penned by Paul Lieberman, which chronicled efforts by the LAPD to deal with a chaotic and corrupt Los Angeles by forming what was dubbed the Gangster Squad to keep the East Coast Mafia out of the city. Enos joins a massive cast that includes Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Michael Pena, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Holt McCallany, Emma Stone and Robert Patrick. [The Hollywood Reporter]
John C. McGinley is set to play Chief of Police Richard Brookwell in Summit Entertainment’s I, Alex Cross, the reboot of the James Patterson novels starring Tyler Perry in the lead role and Rob Cohen (xXx) directing. The film is described as an origin tale of the detective/psychologist Alex Cross and will follow the D.C. detective as he tracks a rapist who may have murdered his pregnant wife years earlier. Along with Perry and McGinley the film co-stars Matthew Fox, Edward Burns, Jean Reno and Giancarlo Esposito. Shooting begins this month in Cleveland. [Variety]
Stephanie Szostak (Dinner for Schmucks) is in negotiations to play the female lead opposite Ryan Reynolds in Universal’s supernatural action movie R.I.P.D. based on the Peter Lenkov comic. The story centers on Nick Cruz (Reynolds), a recently slain cop who joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department and tries to find the man who murdered him. Szostak will play Reynolds’ wife who can sense that he is still around and to whom he is trying to communicate with in regards to his murder. She joins a cast that also includes Jeff Bridges and Kevin Bacon. Robert Schwentke (Red) is directing with production expected to get underway in Boston in September. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Finally, a batch of new release dates were announced today beginning with The Smurfs 2 the sequel to this year’s live-action/animated hit, which has already taken in $135 million worldwide and given Columbia its own little Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise.
Next, Paramount Pictures has set a December 21, 2012 release date for Marc Forster‘s World War Z, the adaptation of Max Brooks’ novel of the same name that depicts a global zombie takeover a decade after the fact. The film stars Brad Pitt, James Badge Dale, Mireille Enos and Bryan Cranston.
And finally, FilmDistrict has set an October 12, 2012 release date for Parker, the action thriller directed by Taylor Hackford (Ray) and starring Jason Statham in the title role as a thief who follows a strict moral code, but a hard guy who’s willing to kill if crossed. Michael Chiklis and Nick Nolte co-star.
