Before casting those young and sprightly singers, Clint Eastwood has turned to a fellow senior for some assistance: as Deadline report, his upcoming Jersey Boys has found a first cast member in the one and only Christopher Walken. He won’t be playing Frankie Valli or one of his Four Seasons, sadly, but Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo, a member of the Genovese crime family responsible for aiding the New Jersey pop group in their more formative years — in the outlet’s words, something of “an unofficial consigliere.”
Directing from a screenplay since drafted by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (John Logan had previously been attached), Eastwood has yet to fill out central roles — which are to be occupied by actors who’ve participated in the show’s various stagings — though a September start means we should see news on that front arrive in short time. (Deadline indicate he’s narrowing things down to Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, and John Lloyd Young; we’ll wait until an official announcement comes through.) No matter where things head, Walken is plenty fine for a start.
Other casting news comes from Variety, where it’s said that everyone’s favorite short-term summer star, James Badge Dale, and Sarah Bolger (Once Upon a Time, The Tudors) are to lead the 19th-century drama Relative Stranger, written and directed by Kane Senes. Dale is portraying a Civil War veteran who finds himself in “a lethal feud with the neighbors” after arriving at his brother-in-law’s home; as Bolger has been tapped for the role of his niece, one can infer that something about this relationship — i.e., they being the first two part cast — is especially important to Stranger‘s overall conflict. If nothing else, it’s likely to turn out more successfully than Ronald F. Maxwell‘s Copperhead.
Senes will jump behind the camera in September, thanks to the help of producer Stephen J. Berger.
The Joe Carnahan-directed Stretch — in which Dale also has a part — has made its own addition, with Deadline learning that Jessica Alba is will join in an undisclosed role. Patrick Wilson leads the action-comedy, playing a chauffeur who takes on a rich, mysterious client (Chris Pine) promising to eliminate his debt — as soon as our protagonist finishes the night’s work, which will take him “to hell and back.”
Ed Helms and Brooklyn Decker take supporting roles in Stretch, hitting on March 21, 2014 from Universal.
What do you make of these respective casting additions?