An Oscar nominee last year for her performance in the excellent crime flick “Animal Kingdom” and soon to appear in David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook,” Australian actress Jacki Weaver has landed a role in Mac Carter’s debut feature, “Haunt.” Weaver joins Liana Liberato (who was pretty great in David Schwimmer’s “Trust”) and newcomer Harrison Gilbertson in the original horror film about a family who moves into “a new home with a dark past.” Weaver will play a former resident of the house who has suffered a family tragedy, in what sounds like a less bat-shit crazy version of “American Horror Story.” [THR]
The Liam Neeson airplane thriller “Non-Stop” from director Jaume Collet-Serra (“Unknown,” “Orphan”) may sound like a thoroughly unappealing prospect at first glance, but it’s starting to line up one hell of a cast. Already on board are Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Scoot McNairy (“Killing Them Softly”) and Nate Parker (who left Spike Lee’s “Oldboy” for this role). Now added to that list are Anson Mount (“Hell on Wheels”), Linus Roache (Thomas Wayne in "Batman Begins"), Corey Stoll (“Midnight in Paris”), Lupita Nyong’o (“Twelve Years a Slave”), Omar Metwally (“Breaking Dawn — Part Two”) and Jason Butler Harner (“Next”). Filming gets underway on the Joel Silver-produced pic in November. [Variety]
And finally, news of the ensemble cast who will be teaming up for the indie comedy “Growing Up (and Other Lies),” directed and written by Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky. Jacobs will also act in the project and will be joined by Adam Brody (“The O.C.”), Wyatt Cenac, Amber Tamblyn (“The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants”), Josh Lawson (“The Wedding Party”) and Lauren Miller (“For a Good Time, Call…”) in the film that will see Lawson’s character recruit his three oldest friends to walk the entire 260-block length of the island of Manhattan in one day. The film is currently in production and filming in the Big Apple itself, naturally. [Variety]