Fox’s big romantic drama “The Mountain Between Us” has had a few bumps along the way. Gerardo Naranjo (Mexico’s Best Foreign Language Film entry with “Miss Bala" in 2011) was scheduled to direct and Michael Fassbender was set to star alongside “The Wolf Of Wall Street” actress Margot Robbie. But a lot has changed since those original announcements. Robbie is still on board, but most of the other principals have changed. Michael Fassbender has dropped out of the project, and replacing him is “Pacific Rim” star Charlie Hunnam. That’s not a trade up, but on the flipside, two-time Academy Award-nominee, Israeli-born Palestinian film director Hany Abu-Assad ("Paradise Now," “Omar”) has taken over the director’s chair. It’s now a radically different project in our minds, but it’s still one to watch. The film is a harrowing tale of survival and a love story, where a plane crash strands the two leads. [Deadline]
The casting of a Coen Brothers’ movie is always an event, as they always attract major talent. And their latest, “Hail Caesar,” is no different. The movie already stars (deep breath) George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Josh Brolin, Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. And two more have joined: Alden Ehrenreich (“Tetro”) and Frances McDormand. That last one isn’t much of a surprise per se, because she’s married to Joel Coen and they cook up a role for her every few pictures, especially ones with a comedic edge. This one’s about a Hollywood fixer in the 1950s who works to keep the studio’s stars in line. [Daily Beast/Variety]
In other casting bits, “Noah” star Douglas Booth has joined the cast of “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies,” Jackie Chan can welcome Johnny Knoxville to the ensemble of “Skiptrace” and MGM’s "Me Before You” has added “Game Of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin (“The Hunger Games”) to its line-up.
