After getting into the political game with Netflix’s House of Cards, Kevin Spacey is jumping to some real-life history with a Winston Churchill biopic. THR reports that he’s set to play the iconic figure in Captain of the Gate, a $20 million production which follows the prime minister in the 1940’s and 50’s as he spearheads the war effort. Ben Kaplan, scripter of a Reagan History Channel film, is behind this screenplay, which is still looking for a director.
As his talents reach more eyes on Hannibal, hopefully it’ll encourage audiences to seek out Mads Mikkelsen in the extraordinary drama The Hunt, but in the meantime, the actor has found time to lead another Danish production. CineEuropa reports he’ll take the starring role in Men and Chicken, from Anders Thomas Jensen. The black comedy follows “two outcast brothers who reunite with their relatives, only to be faced with a cruel truth about themselves and their family,” and production begins next month.
Next up, it’s already deep into shooting, but Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Watson and more have found two more additions to their ensemble of Everest. Deadline reports that Sam Worthington and Robin Wright are joining the Baltasar Kormakur-directed true mountain climbing story, which recently moved from a February release to September 18, 2015. The Avatar star will take the role of climber Guy Cotter, while the House of Cards actress takes the role of Beck Weather’s (Brolin) wife, Peach.
In a small tidbit, William Monahan‘s drama Mojave has long since wrapped, but we have a new addition to the cast. Starring Garret Hedlund and Oscar Isaac (who last teamed in Inside Llewyn Davis), the project follows a man trekking into the desert, soon coming to find a doppelganger-like antagonist who takes him into a vortex of criminality and violence. In an interview with Collider, Mark Wahlberg says he has a small role in the film, which is looking for distribution and one can see the first images here.
They’ve been married for half-a-decade, and now Chris Pratt and Anna Faris have found another reason to team together on the screen, after Take Me Home Tonight, What’s Your Number and Movie 43. Deadline reports they’ve become attached to Vacation Friends, featuring a script by Tom Mullen and Tim Mullen. With direction coming from Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), the project follows them as a crazy couple who make friends with a more even-keeled couple while on vacation, but upon returning home, they want to continue the relationship.
Lastly, with Uma Thurman and Walton Goggins joining Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart in American Ultra, word of another player has come in. The Wrap reports that John Leguizamo has taken the role of Brad Gage in project coming from Project X‘s Nima Nourizadeh, but not much more details are known regarding his character. Scripted by Max Landis, the film follows Eisenberg as a pothead who lives a simple life in a small town with his girlfriend Phoebe (Stewart). Everything changes, however, when something from his past comes back to haunt him and the government wants to take him down.
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?