Movie News

Film Casting: PATIENT ZERO, ZOOLANDER 2, Katee Sackhoff in GIRL FLU

Katee Sackhoff

Patient Zero, Zoolander 2, Girl Flu, and other films have 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.

The Panopticon

Advertisement
 

Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in Tarsem Singh‘s action-thriller “The Panopticon”

“The Panopticon” follows a seemingly ordinary man who receives a mysterious package containing a pre-recorded message from himself, warning that the world is about to end and only he can save it. He must race against the clock to piece together the puzzle before time runs out for mankind.

The Mountain Between Us

Rosamund Pike is in early talks to star in Fox 2000 and Chernin Entertainment’s adaptation of “The Mountain Between Us” opposite Charlie Hunnam.

Hany Abu-Assad (“Paradise Now”) will direct the survival love story, which is based on Charles Martin’s novel about two people who survive a plane crash in the mountains.

J. Mills Goodloe and Scott Frank wrote the script.

Cowboy Ninja Viking

Reportedly, Chris Pratt is attached to star in an adaptation of writer A.J. Lieberman and artist Riley Rossmo’s graphic novel Cowboy Ninja Viking. And while that sounds like a fake project, we can assure you it’s merely a wild genre tale following an assassin with Multiple Personality Disorder who possess the skills of a cowboy, a ninja and a Viking.

The assassin works for a secret government program made up of other similarly skilled agents known as triplets, all with different personalities combined to make them deadly and somewhat crazy. However, our hero, Duncan, decides to make a run for it and track down the billionaire mastermind behind the program, and that’s when the real adventure begins.

Previously, the script came from Zombieland and Deadpool writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, but it’s not clear who has stepped up to rewrite it since then.

Boston Strong

20th Century Fox has moved fast to acquire rights to Boston Marathon spec “Boston Strong” with “Safe House” filmmaker Daniel Espinosa in talks to direct

“Boston Strong” follows the massive manhunt to apprehend the two men believed to be responsible for the bombings, as well as examining the city’s reaction following the events.

Advertisement
 

“The Fighter” screenwriters Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy wrote the script. The duo optioned the rights in July 2013.

X-Men: Apocalypse

Chloe Moretz, Elle Fanning and Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld are among the teenage leading ladies being eyed to play young Jean Grey in Bryan Singer‘s “X-Men: Apocalypse,” while Ben Hardy, Charlie Rowe and Timothee Chalamet are under consideration for the role of young Cyclops

Going In Style

Zach Braff is in talks with New Line to direct Going In Style, the remake of the 1979 caper pic.

The remake has a script by St Vincent writer/director Ted Melfi.

Dragonriders of Pern

Warner Bros. has hired author-screenwriter Sarah Cornwell to adapt the first installment of Dragonriders of Pern, the 22-volume fantasy book series by Anne McCaffrey.

The first novel, Dagonflight, centers on Lessa, a young girl who is the only one to survive the assassination of her family, which rules a part of the planet Pern. She disguises herself as a lowly servant in the house of the new ruler but when her telepathic abilities prove to be far stronger than she believed, Lessa finds herself on a journey that will restore the ancient tradition of dragon-riding and uncover the secret history of the planet.

Now You See Me 2

Sanaa Lathan has signed on to play FBI agent Natalie Austin in the magician caper sequel Now You See Me 2. Lathan joins the film’s original castmembers Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, as well as newcomers Lizzy Caplan, Jay Chou and Daniel Radcliffe.

Widows

Steve McQueen has been set to write and direct a heist thriller based on the 1980s British miniseries Widows…In the 1983 ITV six-part series written by Prime Suspect scribe Lynda La Plante, four armed robbers are killed during a robbery and their surviving widows come together to try to finish the failed job.

untitled Tinker Bell comedy-adventure

Fox is acquiring an untitled Tinker Bell comedy-adventure that will star Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous fairy heroine, with Shawn Levy directing…Nicholas Stoller will write the script.

Yucatan

Warner Bros. and Team Downey have set Oscar-nominated scribe Terry Rossio to write Yucatan, a potential star vehicle for Robert Downey Jr that is based on a 1700-page treatment written by iconic actor Steve McQueen in the late 1960s as a star vehicle for himself…His vision involved a renegade salvage expert’s search for Mayan treasure in the Yucatan Peninsula. The updated plot is under wraps, but Rossio and Downey Jr. are using the original premise as a jumping-off point for a mind-bending adventure story.

The Goldfinch

Warner Bros has set Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy scribe Peter Straughan to adapt The Goldfinch, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Donna Tartt novel…The novel focuses on Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker who survives an accident that kills his beloved mother. Abandoned by his father and unable to mesh in the elite social circle after he’s taken in by a wealthy friend, Decker stays connected to his mother through a small painting that eventually draws him into the art underworld.

Goblins

Disney has set Peter Segal to direct Goblins…a project based on Goblins! A Survival Guide And Fiasco In Four Parts, a book written by Ari Berk and illustrated by Brian Froud…Tom Astle & Matt Ember have been set to script the adaptation

Three Generations

Tate Donovan has joined Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning and Susan Sarandon in Three Generations, the indie drama…Fanning stars as Ray, a teenager transitioning from female to male as his mother (Watts) and grandmother (Sarandon) come to terms with the life-altering decision. Donovan will play Craig, a boyfriend of Ray’s mom who helped raise him years ago.

Gaby Dellal is directing from a script by Nikole Beckwith.

One Shot

Topher Grace and Taye Diggs are tuning up to star in the musical One Shot.

Singer-songwriter and record producer JC Chasez, a founding member of the seminal boy band *NSYNC, will join Grace and Taye Diggs in the film

Music video director Isaac Rentz will helm from a script by Gerry De Leon and Greg Lisi.

The comedy centers on a failed Broadway singer-turned-production manager (Grace) who, on opening night, must save the production by wrangling his eccentric cast and crew before they cause havoc. Diggs will play the role of Malcolm, a flamboyant actor.

I Would Only Rob Banks for My Family

Jason Reitman is set to team with Nick Hornby on a bank heist film for Fox Searchlight.

Reitman will direct and Hornby is onboard to adapt I Would Only Rob Banks for My Family, a true-life story based on a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth. The story revolves around a seemingly ordinary Texas family who pulled off two bold heists before they were caught attempting a third.

Girl Flu

Katee Sackhoff has been set to join Jade Pettyjohn, Jeremy Sisto, Heather Matarazzo, Judy Reyes and Isaiah Mustafa in the indie dramedy Girl Flu. Directed by Dorie Barton, Girl Flu focuses on Bird (Pettyjohn), a 12-year-old in crisis. After moving from the San Fernando Valley to Echo Park, the young girl experiences the worst week of her life as she: gets her first period; and is abandoned by her immature and stoner mother (Sackhoff) while learning she will never be able to go back home to the Valley.

Get It While You Can

Jean-Marc Vallee is signing on to direct Amy Adams as Janis Joplin in Get It While You Can, the working title for the biographical film that has a script by Ron and Theresa Terry

Adams has been attached to play Joplin and has wanted to do this for several years.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5

Brenton Thwaites was among a handful of heartthrobs Disney was courting for the role of British soldier Henry in the fifth Pirates Of The Caribbean romp. Now the studio in is final negotiations with the young Aussie

Patient Zero

Matt Smith will star in Screen Gems’ Patient Zero opposite Natalie Dormer. Stefan Ruzowitzky is directing the Mike Le-scripted action thriller

In Patient Zero, an unprecedented global pandemic of a super strain of rabies has resulted in the evolution of a new species driven by violence. An inexplicably immune human survivor with the ability to communicate with this new species must spearhead a hunt for Patient Zero in order to find a cure to save his infected wife and humanity.

You’ll Be The Death Of Me

E.L. “Evan” Katz has signed on to direct You’ll Be The Death Of Me for Lionsgate…from a script by Mark Hammer. The comedy thriller follows two single New Yorkers whose budding romance is complicated by the attention of a masked knife-wielding psychopath.

Zoolander 2

Penelope Cruz is signing on to star with Ben Stiller in Zoolander 2, the comedy that puts Stiller back behind the camera again, with a Justin Theroux script…Stiller will reprise his role as empty headed supermodel Derek Zoolander, and there have been rumors that Will Ferrell will be back as the sinister Mugatu and Owen Wilson as Zoolander’s supermodel rival Hansel.

Leave your thoughts on this film casting, screenwriting, and director news below in the comments section. For more film news, visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Google+ Page, our Movie News Facebook Page, and consider subscribing to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “like” us on Facebook for quick updates.

Source: Thewrap, Variety, Firstshowing, Hollywoodreporter, Deadline

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

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.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend