Comments Off on Casting Net: Michael B. Jordan to star in Just Mercy film adaptation
Michael B. Jordan will take on the lead role in the forthcoming film adaptation of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Short Term 12’s Destin Cretton and Andrew Lanham will adapt the memoir, and Cretton will direct. The book tells the true story of Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer who started the Equal Justice Initiative, who took on a formative case early in his career. [Variety]
Fast & Furious 6 actor Joe Taslim has signed on to another sequel in another blockbuster franchise: Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond. The follow-up to 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness has retained its core cast, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana, and already announced new additions Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella. The film will hit theaters on July 8, 2016. [The Hollywood Reporter]
The Last Man on Earth’s Kristen Schaal will be joining J.K. Simmons and Emile Hirsch on Gavin Wiesen’s The Runaround. The indie comedy, from a script by Seth W. Owen, is about a father who can’t find his adult daughter, so he teams up with her ex-boyfriend to track her down. Schaal will portray a “high-strung, New Age-y woman” who helps them out, according to THR. [The Hollywood Reporter]
LaMonica Garrett has joined the cast of XOXO, a romantic ensemble film written by Dylan Meyer and directed by Christopher Louie. The film follows six people who all cross paths against the backdrop of Portland, OR’s XOXO media festival. Garrett joins Sarah Hyland, Ryan Hansen, Graham Phillips, and Chris D’Elia in the cast. [Deadline]
Comedy-drama Burn Your Maps, directed and adapted from Robyn Joy Leff’s short story by Big Hero Six helmer Jordan Roberts, has found its stars in Vera Farmiga and Virginia Madsen. The film is about an American 8-year-old boy who is convinced that he is, in truth, a Mongolian goat herder, so he embarks on a journey of self-discovery with an Indian filmmaker. Shooting begins in Canada next week. [Variety]
It Follows actor Jake Weary is set to star in Juanita Wilson’s Tomato Red, based on Daniel Woodrell’s novel of the same name. Weary has been cast as the novel’s hero and narrator, Sammy, an ex-con who becomes involved with a strange family in the Ozarks. Anna Friel and Julia Garner also star. [Deadline]
Ira Sachs signed a trio of actors on to his next feature, an untitled dramedy formerly titled The Silent Treatment. Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and Paulina Garcia have all joined the project, which is about two best friends whose parents fight over the lease of a dress shop. [Variety]
