1.) Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace are in talks to star in the thriller Child 44, an adaptation of the Tom Rob Smith novel from Safe House helmer Daniel Espinosa. The project is a Scott Free production, and a quick search through the archives tells me Ridley Scott was attached to direct it himself back in 2007. Hardy would play a disgraced intelligence officer investigating a series of child murders in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Rapace would play his wife, although the pair are first set to star together in Animal Rescue for Bullhead director Michael Roskam. [The Wrap]
2.) Bradley Cooper is already in discussions to reunite with The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance on the “culinary comedy” Chef, which could also mark the English-language debut of The Intouchables star Omar Sy. Cooper would play a chef who loses his highly rated restaurant in Paris and becomes inspired to get his old crew back together in an attempt to create the best restaurant London has ever seen. Eastern Promises writer Steven Knight penned the script, though it sounds like the film wouldn’t shoot until this summer at the earliest. [Variety]
3.) We’ve known for a few months that Seth MacFarlane‘s follow-up to Ted is going to be the Blazing Saddles-esque A Million Ways to Die in the West, which now has Charlize Theron in final negotiations to star alongside MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane’s character is a sheepish farmer who chickens out of a gunfight and sees his girlfriend leave him. The film is targeting a May start date, while I remember hearing MacFarlane has a pretty big gig coming up at the end of February. [THR]
4.) Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) has signed a deal with Legendary Pictures to direct their live-action adaptation of the video game Warcraft, taking over for Sam Raimi. The film is looking at a fall 2013 start date and a 2015 release. The project is expected to carry a budget north of $100 million, which is a big step up from Source Code ($35 million) and Moon ($1 million). I’ve crunched the numbers, and I’m coming up with a 32.33 (repeating, of course) percentage chance of success for this project. And that’s a lot better than we usually do. [THR]
5.) Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton have lined up to star in an adaptation of the August Strindberg play Miss Julie. Legendary Ingmar Bergman muse Liv Ullmann will helm this version of the classic tale of a woman being seduced by a servant. [Variety]
