- Reese Witherspoon is attached to star in Cold, an original pitch written by Bill Marsilii that just sold to Lionsgate. Witherspoon is also set to produce along with Bruna Papandrea, through their Pacific Standard Films. THR reports that the project is “a dark thriller with supernatural elements.” [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Topher Grace is joining Brad Pitt on War Machine, a satirical comedy that will be released through Netflix. Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner will produce through their Plan B Pictures along with Ian Bryce, and David Michod will direct from his own script. Pitt will play a general in the U.S. military, and Grace will star opposite him as a civilian media adviser. Netflix’s acquisition of the project is its biggest distribution deal to date, and it will release War Machine both in theaters and online to Netflix subscribers in 2016. [Variety]
- Irrational Man is in theaters now, so that means Woody Allen is on to his next annual movie, like clockwork. The Sopranos’ Tony Sirico has signed on for the auteur’s untitled next project, to play a character named Vito. Parker Posey, Blake Lively, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, and Bruce Willis, among others, have already been cast as well. [Deadline]
- Angela Sarafyan just joined the cast of Terry George’s The Promise, in which she will play the wife of Oscar Isaac’s character. Set against the backdrop of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, Isaac, Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon will make up the three corners of a love triangle. George wrote the script with Robin Swicord, and production is scheduled to begin this fall. [TheWrap]
- Damien Chazelle’s La La Land keeps adding to its cast: Meagen Fay joined the LA-set musical today. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star as a jazz pianist and aspiring actress who begin a troubled romance, and J.K. Simmons and Rosemarie DeWitt have roles in the film as well. Fay will play Stone’s character’s mother. [Deadline]
- Zach Braff’s next project just picked up some new cast members: Matt Dillon and Ann-Margret have signed on to Braff’s Going in Style, a reboot of the 1979 heist comedy. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin will star as three retired friends who rob a bank when they lose their pensions. Ted Melfi wrote the script, Donald De Line is producing, and Tony Bill is executive producing. [Variety]
- Breaking Bad’s RJ Mitte has joined the cast of producer Adi Shankar’s directorial debut, Gods and Secrets, which he is co-directing with Stewart Yost. From a script by Shawn Deloache, the film “explores the darker ramifications of a world filled with superheroes.” Former Twilight vampires Kellan Lutz and Jackson Rathbone are set to star. [TheWrap]
- Indie comedy Pitching Tents has filled out its cast and started production. Michael Grant will star as a working class high school senior trying to choose between going to college and working at a local factory, and Eric Allan Kramer and Jim Norton will co-star as his father and his guidance counselor, respectively. The film will also feature Samantha Basalari, Spencer Daniels, Marco James, Jonathan Lipnicki, Vincent Pastore, and Booboo Stewart. Jayme Petrille and Rob A. Fox wrote the script, and Jacob Cooney is directing. [Deadline]
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