Eva Longoria Rolls With Billy Bob Thornton In ‘Baytown Disco’
Okay, a few bits of casting here because time is precious and sometimes you gotta use one stone to make a few lemonades or something like that, got it?
First up, funnyman and geek pal Patton Oswalt has joined Stephen Sommer‘s supernatural flick “Odd Thomas.” Starring Anton Yelchin and Addison Timlin, the film is an adaptation of Dean Koontz‘s mystery series about a short-order cook who can communicate with the dead. Willem Dafoe is set to play police Chief Wyatt Porter who is aware of the titular character’s (Yelchin) powers, who along with the love interest played by Timlin, is the only one privy to this info. Naturally, Oswalt will play an “eccentric artist” who designs a steel pendant Thomas wears around his neck.
Meanwhile, former “The Daily Show” correspondent Lauren Weedman has joined the cast of the promising rom-com “Five Year Engagement.” She joins Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans and Chris Pratt in the film that follows the relationship rollercoaster of a couple across the titular pre-wedding period with Segel describing the project last year as being in the vein of “Annie Hall” or “When Harry Met Sally.” Weedman will play the demanding head chef at the restaurant where Segel’s character works.
Finally, in a movie that we’re trying wrap our heads around a bit, Eva Longoria has come aboard “Baytown Disco.” Title sounds lame, right? Well, it turns out the film co-stars Billy Bob Thornton and follows “three violent redneck brothers who are hired to return a kidnapped wheelchair-bound teen to his grandmother. They leave a lot of bloodshed behind to accomplish the task.” WTF. Yeah, this sounds totally bonkers and one of those films that can go totally either way at this point. Barry Battles — yeah, we don’t know either — directs. [Variety/THR/Deadline]