It looks like Garrett Hedlund is becoming the next Coen Brothers player. Sort of. The actor features in their funny, lovely and melancholy “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and in case you forgot, the sibling duo have also taken their pen to Angelina Jolie‘s next directorial effort “Unbroken.” Do you see where this is going?
Well, if you didn’t figure it out, Hedlund is boarding the WWII drama. Based on the book by Lauren Hillebrand, the film tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian who endured medical experiments, slave labor, and brutal beatings as a Japanese POW during WWII. He became the target of one sadistic guard in particular, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, whose goal it was to break Zamperini. He endured his harsh punishment right though until the end of the war, but later suffered terrifying nightmares and alcoholism, but on the verge of losing everything, he found God and forgave his captors. Hedlund will play fellow P.O.W. Commander John Fitzgerald, with Jack O’Connell as Zamperini. Production begins next month for a Christmas Day 2014 release.
Meanwhile, shifting gears entirely, the always reliable Tom Wilkinson is going on “The Business Trip” with Vince Vaughn. The project, which reteams the funnyman with Ken Scott, the director of the upcoming “The Delivery Man,” tells the “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”-esque tale of a business man whose European trip goes awry. By his side will be Wilkinson’s Tim McWinters, with cameras already rolling on the movie in Berlin. [THR/Deadline]
