— Tempter of Spider-Man, daughter of Richie and Nicole Kidman substitute Bryce Dallas Howard has signed on to the currently-filming Clint Eastwood drama “Hereafter.” There’s no official word on who she’ll play, but from the script, it’s most likely to be ‘Melanie,’ a potential love interest for Matt Damon’s character – not a huge role, but a key part for a very important central scene. Cecile De France and Lyndsey Marshal also star.
— Not for lack of trying, but Steve Coogan’s yet to fully translate his success with British TV comedies to mainstream cinema, despite brilliant performances in Michael Winterbottom’s “24 Hour Party People” and “A Cock and Bull Story.” But, along with his villainous role in Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys,” Coogan’s finally close to bringing his trademark character Alan Partridge, a failed chat show host, to the big screen. He tells Empire that they’re close to a deal, and that filming will start next year. The character won’t be Americanized though – “It’ll be a British fool/idiot character in a movie that should appeal to everybody.” The actor’s also reteaming with Winterbottom for road movie “The Trip,” and set to star in an HBO series co-written by “Tropic Thunder” scribe Justin Theroux.
— Empire also talked to Ray Stevenson about his role as obese warrior Volstagg the Valiant in Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor.” The “Rome” star will be donning a fat suit for the part, and is pretty excited about it: “I’ve tried the suit on, and what they’ve done is kind of sex him up: he’s sort of slimmer, but rounder. He’s got every bit of that Falstaffian verve and vigour, and a bit of a beergut to suggest that enormous appetite, but he’s not the sort of Weeble-shaped figure he is in the comics. He’s Falstaff with muscles. I’ve got this amazing foam-injected undersuit that flexes with me. I can’t wait!”
— David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jody Hill, who lived together in their first year at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and have collaborated on HBO’s “Eastbound and Down” and the upcoming fantasy comedy “Your Highness,” have set up a production company together. Rough House Pictures, named after Green’s debut short film, is set up with a two year deal at Mandate Pictures, and Green tells Variety “Our aim is to bust out with a slate of comedy projects that are a little left of center, but our target is the bull’s-eye. Danny and Jody and I have been making movies with our friends since we were in college together. Rough House is an opportunity to expand the family and the ambition.”