Kate Winslet has signed on to star in
"The Dressmaker", a film based on the book by
Rosalie Ham about a talented couturier (Winslet) who, after living many years in Europe, returns to her small Australian outback hometown from which she fled as a child after being accused of murder. Here she attempts to make amends with her eccentric mother, who will be played by
Judy Davis and unravel the secrets of her past. The film is written and directed by
Jocelyn Moorhouse (
"Proof") and has been described as
"Unforgiven with a sewing machine". Production will begin next year in Australia.
Harrison Ford,
Mel Gibson and
Antonio Banderas have joined the cast of
"The Expendables 3". It has also been announced that
Bruce Willis is out of the film. It is unknown what characters Ford and Banderas will play, but Gibson will star as the film's villain. In fact, Gibson's involvement had been rumored for some time, but no official confirmation was given, until now.
"The Expendables 3" is directed by
Patrick Hughes (
"Red Hill") and will also star
Jackie Chan, Nicolas Cage, Wesley Snipes, Kellan Lutz and
Milla Jovovoich, in addition to the cast of the previous films which includes
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and
Arnold Schwarzenegger. The release date has been set for August 15, 2014.
Meryl Streep will star in two new films. The first is an adaptation of
Lois Lowry's
"The Giver", a novel about a 12 year-old boy growing up in a utopian comunity, without war, pain and suffering. The boy is chosen to become the community's Receiver of Memories under the guidance of an elder called The Giver. During his training, he will learn about real pain and suffering, thus realising that his community is fake. Streep will star as
"the chief elder, the authoritarian charged with keeping order in a society that seems utopian.". The film also stars
Jeff Bridges and
Brenton Thwaites, with
Alexander Skarsgard and
Cameron Monaghan rumored to be in talks to join the cast.
The second film
Meryl Streep will star in is a "darkly comic drama" titled
"The Good House", an adaptation of
Ann Leary's bestselling novel of the same name. She will star as Hildy Good, a New England realtor and alcoholic who strikes up a relationship with an old flame (
Robert De Niro). The screenplay will be penned by
Michael Cunningham (
"The Hours"). Here is the film's official synopsis:
"The Good House is a wickedly funny look at denial, told through the eyes of Hildy Good (Streep), a New England realtor and not-so-recovering alcoholic whose perfectly compartmentalized life starts to come apart at the seams when she forms a new friendship with Rebecca McCallister. As Rebecca becomes the subject of town gossip, Hildy rekindles an old flame with Frank Getchell (De Niro), a tell it like it is Yankee, who tries to uncomplicate her complicated life in this darkly comic and strikingly authentic tale."
UFC/Strikeforce champion
Ronda Rousey is in talks to join the cast of director
James Wan's
"Fast & Furious 7". No other casting announcements have been made for FF7 and no plot details have been released, but it is expected that most of the franchise's cast members will return, including
Vin Diesel and
Paul Walker.
Ronda Rousey has also been cast in
"The Expendables 3" and she will shoot both films back to back in order to finish in time to meet the time needed to focus on training for her next fight, a championship rematch on December 28th with
Mischa Tate.
The big-screen adaptation of
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E." has been undergoing some serious casting operations. After
Tom Cruise dropped out of the film, he was replaced by
Henry Cavill (
"Man of Steel").
Hugh Grant and
Elizabeth Debicki (
"The Great Gatsby") have also joined the cast recently. The film centers on two agents, Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and Illya Kullyakin (
Armie Hammer), who work for the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.). Together they fight against evil forces determined to dominate the world, specifically the terrorist organization known as THRUSH. Grant will play the head of British Naval Intelligence and Debicki will star as a dangerous femme fatale.
Alicia Vikander is set to play the female lead,
"a British agent with a thing for cars". The film is directed by
Guy Ritchie (
"Sherlock Holmes").
Scarlett Johansson will star in Luc Besson's new action thriller "Lucy". Johansson will star as "a woman who is forced to become a drug mule. But the drug instead goes into her system, transforming her into an ass-kicking machine. She can absorb knowledge instantaneously, is able to move objects with her mind and can’t feel pain and other discomforts.". The actress is currently filming "Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier", and the Besson flick will be next after work is done on the Marvel sequel.
Marvel Studios in now in control of all future adaptations of the "Daredevil" comics. The rights were previously owned by 20th Century Fox who made a first attempt in 2003 with Ben Affleck in the lead role, but the film was not a huge hit and received plenty of harsh reviews, so the studio was left trying to figure out how to reboot the franchise. Several directors were called upon in the last two years to bring Daredevil back, but all deals ultimately fell through. Fox was faced with the contractual deadline of having to deliver a new big screen adaptation, or forfeit the rights back to Marvel. Since they couldn't meet the deadline, they lost the rights. Maybe it's for the best. Marvel has a much better track record with films they produce, which includes the awesome hit "The Avengers" as well as "Thor", "Iron Man" and "Captain America".
