- J.K. Simmons and Terry Bradshaw have signed on for Bastards. Long-time cinematographer Larry Sher will make his directorial debut with the comedy, which already stars Ed Helms and Owen Wilson as two brothers. The story follows the siblings in their quest to find their father after discovering that their mother had lied to them when she said he was dead. Simmons and Bradshaw, who will appear as himself, will play possible father figures to the brothers. Principal photography kicks off this September in Atlanta and Miami.
- Dave Franco will reprise his role as Pete in Neighbors 2. Zac Efron, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Carla Gallo, Ike Barinholtz, and director Nicholas Stoller are also back, and will be joined by newcomers Chloe Moretz, Kiersey Clemons, and Beanie Feldstein as sorority sisters. Stoller co-wrote the script with Andrew Jay Cohen, Brendan O’Brien, Evan Goldberg, and Rogen. Little is known about the story at this point, but the sorority headed by Moretz’s character is expected to have a major role in the fratty follow up. [The Wrap]
- Shohreh Aghdashloo is set for The Promise, which stars Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac. Terry George is directing the film, and he also wrote the script with Robin Swicord. The story tracks a 1922-set love triangle between a medical student (Isaac), an American journalist living in Paris (Bale), and a woman (Charlotte Le Bon), with Aghdashloo in the role of the student’s “strong-willed” mother. The Promise also stars Angela Sarafyan, Daniel Giminez Cacho, and Marwan Kenzari, and is scheduled to start filming in Spain in September. [Variety]
- Alexa Demie has been cast in The Godmother, which just enlisted director Gerard Johnson to take the place of Eva Sørhaug. The film, set mostly in the 1970s and 80s, tracks the life of the “godmother of cocaine,” Griselda Blanco, including her time as a Columbian teenage prostitute, her big part in Miami’s “cocaine cowboys” wars of the 1980s, and more. Blanco was arrested in 1985 and served 18 years; eventually, she was deported back to Columbia and was killed in 2012. Demie will play Blanco’s younger self, with Catherine Zeta Jones as her adult counterpart. [Deadline]
- Omar Metwally is joining Holly Hunter, Tony Shalhoub, and Cristin Milioti in Breakable You. The indie drama from Andrew Wagner has Metwally as a man named Sam who finds love as he’s experiencing an awful loss. Shooting is ongoing in New York City. [THR]
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