With his Star Trek Into Darkness arriving stateside this weekend, Chris Pine‘s agents are attempting to drum up the buzz even further with some casting announcements for the sought-after actor. We just got news he’ll be taking part in the next film from Joe Carnahan and now THR has word that he’ll be singing alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Rob Marshall‘s take on the hit musical Into the Woods.
The duo are in talks to join Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep in the Disney musical, marking their debut singing roles. While the fantasy story mashes together everything from Rapunzel to Cinderella to Little Red Riding Hood, the two actors would be taking the roles of brothers, and princes to the former two characters. Production is aiming for the fall and we expect more major casting soon.
In other casting news, Zach Braff‘s Kickstarter for his second directorial effort Wish I Was Here recently crossed the $2.6 million mark and continues to climb, so with certainty that things are coming together, he’s went ahead and grabbed another member for the ensemble. Starting things off on a promising note, Homeland star Mandy Patinkin will play the father role to Braff, who leads as Aidan Bloom, a 35-year-old struggling father and husband himself. Update: Josh Gad has been cast in the role of Braff’s brother.
Moving on, the Yes Man writing duo of Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel have been prepping their directorial debut 20 Year Itch (also referred to as Lawless, but perhaps should get a title change following John Hillcoat‘s feature) and now they’ve got their lead. According to THR, Bill Hader will lead the story of a man who is arranging a 20-year high school reunion in the midwest and has to do whatever it takes to get the most popular guy from high school — now a commercials actor — to show up to their 20th reunion, including flying to Los Angeles to penetrate the world of celebrities. Production kicks off in Atlanta this summer.
Lastly, we’ve got news some other comedic actors finding work, but not in the genre they are known for. According to Variety, Paranormal Activity‘s Jason Blum is prepping his next thriller and have word that Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass will lead the project. Set to be directed by David Gelb, who gave us the stellar doc Jiro Dreams of Suishi, film is titled Reawakening and “follows a team of research students that discovers the secret to bringing subjects back from the dead — however, their actions result in a series of sinister consequences.” It sounds like a wild turn for all involved, so hopefully Gelb can prove himself in the narrative realm.
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?