Here's a little casting roundup of some leading men who have come aboard new projects in the past few days…
Let’s not forget that Nic Cage was once a great actor, in fact he probably still could be if called upon, but it seems like that tax bill of his hasn’t been paid off quite yet. He’s signed up to star in yet another generic thriller, this time penned by Jim Agnew and Sean Keller (who also wrote Dario Argento’s wretched “Giallo”) and directed by Paco Cabezas (“Neon Flesh”). “Tokarev” will follow a former criminal on the hunt for his daughter’s kidnappers while trying not to slip back into his old violent ways. Sounds dull, but it’s another paycheck at least for Cage. Production starts in May.
Sam Rockwell meanwhile will be following in the tried and tested footsteps of many great actors before him by stepping into the ring for a boxing biopic. Rockwell will reteam with his “A Single Shot” director David M. Rosenthal for the biopic focused on Billy Miske – a journeyman boxer from the 1920s who continued to box even after being diagnosed with a terminal disease. We’ll have to wait and see whether Rosenthal gets any of his other "A Single Shot" stars on board, but the film still needs a script, so it's a while off.
The film industry will continue to show its remarkable ability to be more introspective than any other as the ensemble dramedy “Cannes” begins to take shape. Adrien Brody is in talks to head the cast of the film set against a backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival, which will arrive under the stewardship of French writer-director Christopher Thompson. The film will follow a troubled director (Brody, presumably) presenting a film in Cannes alongside his wife, with whom he’s having marital difficulties. The film will shoot before, during and after this year’s actual festival, so expect cameos aplenty.
And finally, Mads Mikkelsen is set to star in a Danish western. No, we didn’t know there was such a thing either, but it turns out there is, and we wholeheartedly approve of Mikkelsen being in it. The Danish production company Zentropa are behind “Salvation,” which will be set in 1870s America and will follow a settler in a corrupt community attempting to avenge the murder of his family. The movie will be directed by Kristian Levring (who produced "The Hunt") and he promises that it will blend classic Western elements with inspiration from Nordic and Viking sagas. Color us excited for this one. Cameras roll this spring. [Variety/Screen Daily/Variety/Screen Daily]