In the last round of casting news, TV stars take to the big-screen and an Italian leading lady joins an Iranian director’s political passion project.
It’s come out that Community’s snarky leading man, Joel McHale will be joining Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg on Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane‘s live-action film debut Ted. Like much of Macfarlane’s fare, the plot centers on an everyman tormented by a crude talking-animal sidekick, in this instance, a foul-mouthed teddy bear named (what else) Ted. While Wahlberg will play the put-upon protagonist and Kunis will portray his commitment-seeking girlfriend, McHale is lined up to play her sleazy boss, a role that Parks and Recreation’s Adam Scott was previously rumored to fill. (Deadline)
In other news, Jimmi Simpson, who may be best known as one of the loathsome milk-guzzling McPoyle brothers of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has just signed on to join the cast of the upcoming horror thriller Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Simpson will be adding his dead-eyed savvy by playing an assistant to Flags of Our Father’s Benjamin Walker’s Lincoln, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) will play his Mary Todd. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) and Dominic Cooper (An Education) will also appear in this alternate history fantasy based on the popular book by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies scribe, Seth Grahame-Smith, which posits Lincoln as a key figure in the secret battle between man and vampire. (Variety)
And finally the Italian star Monica Bellucci is set to draw major attention to little known Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi’s next feature, Rhino’s Season. While Ghobadi’s films have earned international attention, he has yet to become a household name, but with an eye-catching leading lady like Bellucci, this could soon change. Plot details on the film, which will go into production next month in Turkey, are scarce. However, we do know she’ll play an Iranian woman and has described the movie as, “a political film…but also a great love story.” (Variety)
What are your thoughts on these new cast additions?