Movie News

Film Casting: CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY, Dave Bautista in BOND 24

Dave Bautista

Catherine, Called Birdy, James Bond 24, and other films have all made recent film casting, screenwriting, and director news. These films come from movie studios primarily based in the United States. The castings, screenwriters, and directors are subject to change.

Catherine, Called Birdy

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[Lena Dunham] is adapting the 1994 book that’s set in late-13th century England. Karen Cushman’s YA novel centers on a 12-year-old girl who tries to shoo potential suitors after her father deems her ready for the altar.

James Bond 24

Dave Bautista has reportedly been cast as a major henchman named Hinx in Sam Mendes’ Bond 24. Bautista fits the description producers gave a few weeks back about what they were looking for in the Bond 24 villain:

We are looking to follow in the tradition of JAWS and ODDJOB in finding an iconic baddy.

Hinx (Male, 30 – 45)

Ideally over 6 foot 2 inches. Hinx is the main henchman/assassin. We are looking for an imposing extremely physically fit actor. He has several fights with Bond and will have to have stunt training. He has to drive. We are looking for someone very unusual, possibly from a sports background.

Bautista is 6 foot 6 inches tall

The Trials of White Boy Rick

Universal has optioned true-crime story The Trials of White Boy Rick with Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski attached to direct.

Journalist Evan Hughes wrote the article, which centers on Rick Wershe, a teen living in Detroit in the 1980s. He joined the ranks of the drug kingpins on the predominantly black East Side to become a prolific cocaine trafficker, going by the name “White Boy Rick.”

Hughes’ story uncovers the true identity of Wershe, who worked as an undercover informant for the FBI and DEA while simultaneously rising to become one of the biggest drug dealers in the city.

Untitled football concussion movie

Luke Wilson is in negotiations to play NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in Sony’s untitled football concussion movie, which stars Will Smith…David Morse and Arliss Howard have closed deals to join the ensemble, which includes Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha Raw and Paul Reiser.

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Peter Landesman is directing the movie, which is based on the GQ article “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas.

Smith is set to star as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a professional football player and brought awareness to the public. As he blows the whistle on player injuries, Omalu’s quest humanizes the price paid by professional athletes in impact sports — and the political, cultural and corporate interests that fuel the business of pro sports.

Goodell is the incoming NFL commissioner who leads a summit to investigate the connection between playing football and CTE. He eventually recognizes the connection and donates huge amounts of money to scientific research.

Morse will play former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, while Howard will play the NFL’s chief neurologist Joseph Maroon.

Little House on the Prairie

Sean Durkin…[has] entered negotiations to direct Little House on the Prairie, taking over after David Gordon Green fell away.

Little House on the Prairie began as a series of semi-autobiographical children’s books by Laura Ingalls Wilder about a pioneer family living on a Midwestern farm in the 1870s and 1880s. They were famously adapted into a television series than ran on NBC from 1974 through 1983

The script comes from Abi Morgan

Mr. Right

Anson Mount has joined the cast of Mr. Right, the hitman action romance starring Anna Kendrick as girl unlucky in love and Sam Rockwell as the assassin she accidentally falls for. Paco Cabezas…[is] directing from a script by Chronicle‘s Max Landis.

Mount will play Richard Cartigan, a member of a New Jersey crime syndicate who’s jockeying to become head of the family. Also joining Mount alongside Rockwell, Kendrick, Tim Roth, RZA, and James Ransone in the cast are Michael Eklund (Bates Motel, The Call) as the tattooed thug Johnny Howl, and Katie Nehra (Alex Of Venice), who’ll play the bookish roommate to Kendrick’s Martha.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Olivia Thirlby (Juno, Dredd) and Nelsan Ellis (True Blood) have joined the ensemble cast of The Stanford Prison Experiment…Thirlby will play Christina Zimbardo, Professor Zimbardo’s wife and fellow academic…Ellis, who had a beloved run as Lafayette Reynolds on HBO’s True Blood, will play Jesse Fletcher in Stanford…Also landing key roles in the ensemble of youngsters are Tye Sheridan (Mud, Joe, Tree Of Life), who’ll play prisoner Peter Mitchell; James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom, The Drop) as guard Townshend; Johnny Simmons (Klondike, Frank And Cindy, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) as prisoner Jeff Jansen, and Ki Hong Lee (The Maze Runner, The Whispers) as prisoner Gavin Chan.

 

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Source: Deadline, Thewrap, Slashfilm, Hollywoodreporter, Latinoreview

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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