Casting News: Megan Fox in Knocked Up Spin-Off, Matthew Fox in I, Alex Cross, and Jude Law in Anna Karenina
Posted 03.19.11 by Ryan
It's been a busy week for casting news, with several projects adding, announcing, or subtracting cast members.
In January, it was announced that Judd Apatow's next writing and directing project would be a spin-off of his successful, 2007 romantic comedy Knocked Up. The movie will focus on the married characters portrayed by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, instead of than Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen, in a story that has been kept under wraps so far.
Looks like Rudd and Mann will be getting some company, with THR reporting that Megan Fox is negotiating to join the comedy. What role Fox will play is also being kept secret.
It's no secret who Albert Brooks is playing, with Deadline reporting that the comedian is joining the cast as Rudd's dad.
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James Patterson fans will be familiar with the adaptation of I, Alex Cross based on one of the 17-novel Alex Cross thrillers written by the prolific author. The movie is a reboot of the character Morgan Freeman portrayed in two previous adaptations: 1997's Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.
British actor Idris Elba was originally tapped for the role in the David Twohy-directed movie, but in February it was announced that Tyler Perry (yes, that Tyler Perry) would replace Elba and Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) would replace Twohy. Screenwriter Marc Moss, who worked on the previous Cross movies and replaced screenwriter Kerry Williamson, explained the change to Entertainment Weekly last month.
When we came on, we looked at it freshly, and just built it from the bottom up. Sure, Idris is a great actor; Tyler Perry is a phenomenon. Tyler Perry is one of the most significant entertainers in all of media. He is a huge cross-media talent and presence — and he’s a terrific actor whose range is going to be shown here. You’re going to see Tyler Perry like you haven’t seen him. He’s 6’5? He is a linebacker. He is an awesome physical presence and is just going to tear it apart here. It’s an intense, dramatic role.
Deadline reports that Matthew Fox (ABC's Lost) will join the production as Cross nemesis and ruthless killer Michael Sullivan, one of the best-known villains from the novel series. Ed Burns is also joining as Cross's partner, Tommy Kane. The report claims that Moss's draft will also have some "twists different from the novel."
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It's been 23 years since the last theatrical adaptation of Anna Karenina debuted in 1997, and Joe Wright (Hanna) and Keira Knightley are the latest director and actress to tackle Leo Tolstoy's classic novel.
Variety reports that Aaron Johnson and Jude Law have also joined the cast of the production, which was adapted by playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love).
While Knightley will play the title role of a woman in a loveless marriage who suddenly becomes attracted to a soldier, the roles Law and Johnson will play were unspecified. Production begins this fall.