And now the latest sequel call from Movieline Central Casting: "So, what do you need to do to get on set? You need to get busy... 1. Follow us on Twitter and retweet any of our tweets. 2. Like us on Facebook and share any of our posts. The more you tweet and share, the more chance you have to be cast so, tweet and share early and often. We’ll be selecting an extra this Friday afternoon and flying the selectee and a guest to LA this coming Monday, May 14th - all expenses paid. Or, most expenses anyway - flight and hotel for two nights. By the way, while you’ll definitely be an 'extra' on set, we can’t really guarantee you screen time. But... we can certainly guarantee you a good time. We’ll make sure you get some cool swag too." Whatever, just give me one of those smoldering hats. [Atlas Shrugged]
Besides William Forsythe, that is: "Director Martin Guigui is currently scouting for: YOUNG JAKE LAMOTTA. To play 14-20 years old, and already a tough bare knuckles fighter. He takes his father’s frequent beatings without a sound and makes money fighting much bigger opponents in back alley fights set up by his drunken, abusive father. Please submit over 18 to play younger OR emancipated. GUISSEPE [sic] LAMOTTA. Portrays 40s-70s, Jake’s father, a tough-looking Italian man, he’s a mean drunk who handcuffs and beats his son. He sets up the back alley fights with Jake and much older, stronger opponents. Later he refuses to help the grown-up Jake when he asks for money. Late in life, a frail old man, he reconciles with Jake just before his death. STAR NAME ONLY." Good luck, Mickey Rourke! [Moviehole via The Playlist]
In case you haven't heard, Lifetime is stepping out of its comfort zone of original cancer movies, royal couple dramatizations and New Adventures of Old Christine reruns to develop a Lady Gaga biopic called Fame Monster: The Lady Gaga Story. In celebration of this news, Movieline asks its readers to find their best casting (meat) hats and choose the best actress to portray Stefani Germanotta in her cable close-up!
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The casting blitz for Zack Snyder's Superman reboot Man of Steel keeps adding surprising but well-liked members to its cast (see Movieline's growing gallery here), with Deadline reporting that Law & Order: SVU's Emmy-nominated Christopher Meloni is negotiating for an unknown but "major" role in the pic.
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Donald Sutherland -- the film legend (and, weirdly, zero-time Oscar nominee) who starred in M*A*S*H* and Klute among many others -- is slated to play President Snow in The Hunger Games, the movie based on Suzanne Collins' blockbuster book series. Snow uses the violent games to maintain control as an autocratic ruler. Mr. Sutherland's white, wintry mane -- like angelfood cake in the wind -- makes him a shoo-in for the part. To me, anyway. For the full Hunger Games cast list, click on over to our comprehensive gallery. [Deadline]
After casting pretty much all of the characters (with the notable exception of President Snow, still yet to be announced) Lionsgate and director Gary Ross revealed their choice to play District 12 stylist Cinna, the kindly primper who helps Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) in The Hunger Games. Musician-actor Lenny Kravitz will don Cinna's metro duds; hear what Ross & Co. had to say about the casting after the jump and tell us if you approve.
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More news out of the bustling Cannes marketplace: Naomi Foner, producer, screenwriter and mother to Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, will direct Very Good Girls from her own script. What's more, she's got acclaimed up-and-comers Dakota Fanning and Sundance It girl Elizabeth Olsen attached as her leads, playing two friends trying to lose their V-cards during a summer in New York City. But who will play the "charismatic street artist" both gals fall for?
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At long last, the announcement of the final two tributes in Gary Ross's The Hunger Games brings Lionsgate's ridiculously drawn-out casting search to a close. After the jump, meet the familiar teen faces who'll portray intimidating District 2 tributes Cato and Clove, two of the more fearsome adversaries Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) must face in the arena.
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Well, well, looks like we finally have our Haymitch for Gary Ross's 2012 The Hunger Games! Woody Harrelson nabbed the sought-after role of alcoholic former Games winner Haymitch Abernathy, who mentors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) through the televised battle royale against 22 other skilled and lethal young killers. Approve/disapprove after the jump!
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In a huge development for this week's Movieline interviewee Wes Bentley, the actor has landed a high-profile gig in Gary Ross's 2012 adaptation The Hunger Games! The role marks Bentley's first major advancement since bouncing back from career-threatening personal demons, and pits him against the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as sinister foil Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker in charge of devising deadly obstacles for heroine Katniss Everdeen and her fellow tributes. More on Seneca Crane and what this means for Bentley after the jump.
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A week after reportedly battling fellow funny ladies Kristen Wiig and Gillian Jacobs for the role, Anna Faris is in talks to star in the Larry Charles-directed The Dictator opposite Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Kingsley. Cohen will play the titular "heroic" dictator, who is replaced by a lookalike and gets lost in America; Faris will play an organic food store owner who comes into his life. Paramount is already set to release the improvised comedy on May 11, 2012. [Deadline]
Hot on the heels of today's confirmed Hunger Games casting of Katniss and Prim Everdeen's mama (to be played by Paula Malcolmson) comes a bit of rumormongering: According to Vulture, John C. Reilly has been offered the part of District 12's victor-turned-lush-turned-middle aged mentor, Haymitch Abernathy. Chime in, mockingjays -- would Reilly fly as your big screen Haymitch?
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The Hunger Games roll call continues with today's casting bit: Irish actress Paula Malcomson will play the mother of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Primrose (Willow Shields) in Lionsgate's upcoming novel adaptation. TV watchers may know Malcolmson from her extensive small screen work (Trixie from Deadwood! Amanda from Caprica! The lady that Sun shot on the boat on LOST!); she's a character actress who leaves memorable marks even in small parts, which sounds perfect for the role of Mama Everdeen -- a woman left despondent and emotionally crippled after the death of her husband. [Press release]
On the heels of today's confirmation that 20-year-old Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence will play Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old heroine of Lionsgate's The Hunger Games adaptation, EW caught up with director Gary Ross to get his explanation of the casting move. According to the interview, Lawrence's age and her blonde hair -- details that raised fan eyebrows when the Winter's Bone star first emerged as a front-runner -- are of no matter to Ross, who says the choice was "the easiest casting decision I ever made in my life." And if it makes any difference, Suzanne Collins apparently agrees.
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