Scarlett Johansson, coming off two of the biggest hits of the year in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Lucy," is the latest A-list name lining up a TV project. The actress will star in a limited series adaptation of Edith Wharton‘s "The Custom Of The Country." Penned by Christopher Hampton (“Atonement,” “Dangerous Liaisons”), the story follows "Undine Spragg [who is] as unscrupulous as she is magnetically beautiful. Her rise to the top of New York’s high society from her nouveau riche roots provides a provocative and thoroughly modern commentary on the upwardly mobile and the aspirations that eventually cause their ruin." The project will run eight episodes and is currently seeking a premium channel home. [Deadline]
Casey Affleck is returning to Massachusetts for "Boston Strong." The actor will star in the movie about the Boston Marathon bombing and "the massive manhunt to apprehend the two men believed to be responsible for the bombings." “The Fighter” scribes Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy penned a script based on the book by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, and the project will go out to studios next week. [Variety]
Already stretching his talents considerably for the awards season contender "Foxcatcher," Steve Carell is looking to show he can do even more. He’ll star in a new movie from Gore Verbinski that has no logline or title just yet, but is described as a "paranoid thriller." Production begins in March. [Deadline]
Bill Nighy, Catherine Zeta Jones, Toby Jones, Daniel Mays, Michael Gambon, Bill Paterson and Tom Courtenay will star in the feature film version of the Brit comedy "Dad’s Army," with Oliver Parker ("Johnny English Reborn") directing. Filming begins in October, and this is the setting: "It is 1944 and World War II is reaching its climax. The Allies are poised to invade France and finally defeat the German army. But in Walmington-on-Sea morale amongst the Home Guard is low. Their new mission then – to patrol the Dover army base – is a great chance to revive spirits and reputation, that is until glamorous journalist Rose Winters arrives to write about their exploits, setting the pulses racing and putting the local women on red alert. MI5 then discover a radio signal sent direct to Berlin from Walmington-on-Sea. There’s a spy on the loose! The outcome of the war is suddenly at stake, and it falls to our unlikely heroes to stand up and be counted." [THR]
Bryan Cranston will star in the spy flick "The Infiltrator," set to be directed by Brad Furman ("The Lincoln Lawyer"). Penned by Ellen Brown Furman and based on the autobiography by Robert Mazur, this tells one pretty wild true story. Here’s the Amazon synopsis:
Federal Agent Robert Mazur spent five years undercover as a money launderer to the international underworld, gaining access to the zenith of a criminal hierarchy safeguarded by a circle of dirty bankers and businessmen who quietly shape power across the globe. These men and women control multibillion-dollar drug-trafficking empires, running their organizations like public companies. Accountants, attorneys, and financial advisors, their roots run deep in their communities, and they are laundering billions of dollars a year, manipulating complex international finance systems to serve drug lords, corrupt politicians, tax cheats, and terrorists. In 1987, Mazur began infiltrating BCCI, bankers behind the Medellín cartel. He meticulously gathered evidence for years until, during a fake wedding, federal agents arrested over 40 high-ranking criminals, who were all found guilty and sent to prison. Never before told, this is the incredible, true story of how he did it.
Cameras will roll on the film in January. [THR]