Casting News: Garrett Hedlund in Akira; Andy Serkis in Rise of the Planet of the Apes Sequel; Emma Stone in New Comedy
Posted 11.04.11 by Ryan
Late last month, Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) was reported to be the "front-runner" for the lead role in the live-action adaptation of Akira, and now he's officially landed the role.
THR reports that Hedlund is in negotiations to star as Kaneda, the heroic leader of the Capsule biker gang in the post-apocalyptic city of New Manhattan (replacing Neo-Tokyo in the classic Japanese manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo). Eventually, Kaneda has to fight his fellow gang member Tetsuo who takes over the rival Clowns biker gang once his telekinetic powers awaken.
While Hedlund is the only cast member who has accepted an offer, other cast members could follow. Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter were offered the roles of The Colonel and Lady Miyako, respectively, at the end of last month, and, reportedly, Keira Knightley has also been approached for a role.
Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company has been developing Akira for the past three years, with Warner Bros. finally approving the budget last month. Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) will direct a script that was written by a collection of writers, the most recent being Steve Kloves (the Harry Potter series). Production on Akira is currently scheduled to begin in late February or early March.
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After becoming one of the surprise
comic book movie hits of the summer, it's no surprise that a sequel is on the way for
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which earned
$453 million worldwide.
Deadline reports that the first cast member that Twentieth Century Fox has already locked down go-to motion-capture actor Andy Serkis (Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the upcoming The Hobbit ), who played the lead ape Caesar in Rise. According to the report, Fox is also planning to mount an Oscar campaign for Serkis' performance in Rise.
Whether James Franco and Freida Pinto will return has yet to be determined. Director Rupert Wyatt and co-producers and screenwriters Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa all had options for the sequel and are therefore also locked in to return. No script yet exists for it, as the movie is still in the idea stage.
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Emma Stone is finding herself consistently busy after starring in hits The Help and Easy A. Currently shooting Gangster Squad with her Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, she is already lining up her next possible role.
Deadline reports that Stone is in negotiations to star in the upcoming comedy He's F**king Perfect, which will see the actress play a "social media savvy girl" who doesn't believe in love and uses her skills to check out her friends' dates. When she discovers the perfect guy, she attempts to posit herself as his perfect match.
The movie (which is likely to get a new title before it hits theaters) was written by newcomer screenwriter Lauryn Kahn, who has worked as an assistant to director Adam McKay (The Other Guys, Anchorman) for the past four years. McKay and actor Will Ferrell will produce the movie.
There's no production start date currently scheduled for He's F**king Perfect, which could start as soon as Stone finishes Gangster Squad, since the actress has no other movie lined up.