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TV Casting News
The Wire Vet Lands Huge Walking Dead Role
Let's start the day off with some wonderful news, shall we? As a fan of The Walking Dead comic book series, I had just assumed that the AMC series considered all black characters to be interchangeable, since "T-Dog" served as the token black character and the prominent comic-book character Tyreese is still nowhere to be seen. Well now I can happily report that I was dead wrong, as Chad Coleman, best known as Dennis "Cutty" Wise from The Wire, will enter the show as Tyreese later this season. Looks like Rick (Andrew Lincoln) has a new No. 2 coming down the pike.
Veep, My Girl Star Investigates Hannibal
NBC's upcoming take on Hannibal has added another recognizable face to its cast in Anna Chlumsky, currently recurring on HBO's political comedy Veep -- though, let's be honest, no one can help associating Chlumsky with her coming-of-age heroine in the My Girl films. In Hannibal, she will play an FBI trainee taking notes from Laurence Fishburne's character, who just might end up a snack for Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) himself.
Arrow Sets Its Sights on True Blood Shapeshifter
The beautiful Janina Gavankar, known as sexy shapeshifter Luna on True Blood, will join The CW's surprisingly watchable superhero series Arrow later on this season as a police officer with ties to Oliver's (Stephen Amell) past. Gavankar fits the mold of The CW's knack for casting outrageously attractive people in unbelievable roles. But hey, if Arrow continues delivering solid writing and action while unashamedly ripping off Batman Begins, I have no beef with the casting.
Eddie Murphy Snags Beverly Hills Cop Replacement
What Eddie Murphy wants, Eddie Murphy gets. The iconic comedian has hand-picked stand-up comic Brandon T. Jackson (Tropic Thunder) to lead CBS' upcoming Beverly Hills Cop series as Axel Foley's son, struggling with his police work while trying to escape the reputation of his father. In a shocking turn of events, Murphy will actually appear as the original Foley in the show's pilot. Not sure how I feel about the show existing at all, but Jackson might just have the chops to carry something of this size.
Movie Casting News
Dreyfuss and Glover Lead Ensemble Indie Killing Winston Jones
Indie comedies sure can scrounge up some interesting casts, can't they? Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Glover, Danny Masterson and Jon Heder will share the screen in Killing Winston Jones, a dark comedy following a teacher (Masterson) trying to name the school gym after his father (Dreyfuss), despite the pesky little detail that the person in question must be dead. The plot sounds like a solid, dark setup in the vein of Robin Williams's World's Greatest Dad, and the cast is promising. Actor-turned-director Joel David Moore (Avatar, Dodgeball) is at the helm, which is a tad worrisome; his first feature Spiral was a bit of a mess.
Insidious 2 Returns with Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson
Okay, so Insidious made nearly $100 million in box-office profits, I get it. The film was a passable little horror flick -- but do we really need a sequel? Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell are back on board, and stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne have just confirmed their return. I genuinely don't see any potentially interesting plotlines stemming from the first film's conclusion; approaching a sequel with a brand new cast and storyline seemed like the right way to go here. Or, you know, maybe letting the film stand alone would work just as well. Regardless, Insidious 2 is scheduled for an August 2013 theatrical release.
Benicio del Toro is Pablo Escobar
After playing a vicious cartel enforcer in Oliver Stone's Savages, Benicio del Toro is staying in the drug business, snagging the role of Colombian cocaine lord Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost from director Andrea Di Stefano. But this isn't your typical biopic: the film will follow Nick, a tourist who falls in love in Colombia, only to realize that the object of his affection is Escobar's niece. The project is intriguing, and with any luck, del Toro will actually earn some recognition after he was criminally ignored for his turn in Che.
Search for Spider-Man's Harry Osborn Narrows
With a slew of dark and brooding young actors out of the running for Peter Parker's pal Harry in 2014's Amazing Spider-Man sequel, we now have a fresh batch of contenders to mull over. Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman), Eddie Redmayne (Les Misérables) and Douglas Booth (upcoming Romeo and Juliet) are the top-three names currently in the running. Considering our new Mary Jane Watson is 21-year-old Shailene Woodley and Spidey himself (Andrew Garfield) is pushing 30, the massive age gap between these three dashing chaps doesn't seem to be an issue. Personally, I'm rooting for Redmayne.
