- Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars) is heading up a big American adaptation. The young Paper Towns star is in final talks to lead director Adam Wingard’s take of Death Note. The seminal manga and anime series was made into a 2006 live-action movie in Japan. Wolff will play a teen who discovers a mystical notebook that has the power to kill anyone who has their name written in it. Filming on Jeremy Slater’s script is slated to begin in spring. [Variety]
- Russell Crowe is going big for his next feature. The A-lister will star in In Sand and Blood, written by Ronan Bennett (Public Enemies), based on a nonfiction book by Dean King, Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival. There is no director yet, but Crowe might helm the project, too. King’s book details an American ship crashing in the Western Sahara, where the 12 men working on board were tortured and forced into slavery. [The Wrap]
- Sarah Chalke is the newest addition to Mother’s Day. Garry Marshall’s forthcoming celebratory day ensemble will see Chalke as Gabi, the complement to Cameron Esposito’s Max. The movie also stars Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Timothy Olyphant, and more. It’s set for an April 2016 release. [Deadline]
- One of the two upcoming LBJ films appointed another politician. HBO’s All The Way, starring Bryan Cranston, adds Ned Van Zandt (The Blacklist) to play Sen. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Directed by Jay Roach and based on the Broadway by Robert Schenkkan, All The Way trakcs LBJ’s first year in office, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to his 1964 re-election. [Deadline]
- The upcoming Donald Sutherland indie Measure of a Man has tapped two more: Liana Liberato and Luke Benward. Jim Loach directs from David Scearce’s script, based on 2004’s One Fat Summer, the award-winning children’s book from Robert Lipsyte. Blake Cooper (The Maze Runner) plays the lead kid in the ’70s coming-of-age tale, seeking a job and a self-confidence boost. Liberato plays Cooper’s character’s older sister, while Benward plays an older boy who befriends him. Lensing has already begun in Rhode Island. [Deadline]
WANT MORE EW? Subscribe now to keep up with the latest in movies, television and music.
