Rooney Mara is taking a stage play to the big screen. The actress will star alongside Ben Mendelsohn in "Blackbird," an adaptation of David Harrower‘s work that follows "a confrontation between a man and a woman, estranged former lovers, who clash when the woman shows up unexpectedly at the man’s office." Benedict Andrew will direct, with filming kicking off next summer. [Variety]
Asa Butterfield is now confirmed for Tim Burton‘s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.” Ella Purnell is also boarding the pic, which has Eva Green attached, in the adaptation of Ransom Riggs‘ novel about "about a teenager who finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures who are out to destroy them." Cameras are aiming to roll in early 2015. [Variety]
Christina Hendricks will go into the eye of "The Hurricanes." The Jonathan Lynn ("My Cousin Vinny," "The Whole Nine Yards") -directed movie will follow "Kim Ayers, who twenty years earlier was the perkiest member of a hit 80s girl-band, The Hurricanes. Today, she works as a children’s entertainer and struggles to raise her daughter alone. But things seem set to change when an iconic Hurricanes tune is sampled by top rapper MC Freak and shoots straight to number one. Kim tracks down Freak but soon discovers that a dodgy contract proves he owes her nothing. Nonetheless, struck by her fighting spirit, he offers her a lifeline. He will let her perform with him, but there’s a catch. He wants all three of the The Hurricanes. So Kim must locate estranged band-mates Nicky Bliss, last seen in rehab and Alex Moon, now an angry feminist poet, and persuade them to resurrect their once chart topping band." Hendricks as a girl group member? Perfect casting. Production starts in February. [Screen Daily]
Jessica Brown Findlay, Matthew Rhys, Kate Walsh and Freddie Fox will star in the romantic drama "Carries Me To You." Emma Holly Jones will direct this one about "an ambitious young dancer whose world is turned upside down when she discovers a note suggesting her lover may be cheating." [Screen Daily]
Iggy Pop and Ben Lamb are starring in "Blood Orange." The Toby Tobias film is now shooting, telling the tale of ageing rock star Bill and his beautiful younger wife Isabelle, who lead an idyllic life in the rolling hills of Southern Spain. Yet beneath this perfect surface, dark secrets lurk. Storming into the couple’s world comes a dangerous ex-lover hell bent on revenge, and in a racy game of cat and mouse, the hunter becomes the hunted. [Screen Daily]
It would appear that Cameron Diaz is rumored to join Jack O’Connell in Terry Gilliam‘s "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote." Guess we’ll see. [Film Divider]
"The Other Guys" are back together. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg will star in "Daddy’s Home," with the latter replacing Vince Vaughn who was originally attached. The movie will follow a mild-mannered radio executive (Ferrell) who strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading real father (Wahlberg) arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids. Awesome. Sean Anders ("Horrible Bosses 2") will direct, with Adam McKay among the producers.