– Stanley Tucci will play a club manager in the musical “Burlesque,” directed by Steve Antin (yes, Troy in “The Goonies”). Cher, in her first role since her cameo in “Stuck on You,” will play a veteran dancer who takes a small town girl (Christina Aguilera) under her wing. Tucci’s built up enough goodwill that we won’t begrudge him a paycheck job like this, but it does sound nearly unbearable, particularly considering Antin’s involvement in the Pussycat Dolls. However, the script has been rewritten by both Diablo Cody and Susannah Grant (“Erin Brokovich,” “In Her Shoes”), so it might end up being a cut above the other “Step Up” knock offs.
– In a tweet that probably qualifies more as a warning than as news, Production Weekly has announced that the upcoming Ben Stiller sequel “Little Fockers” will start filming in Chicago on October 2. Illinois residents will already be aware of this, from the failing crops, dying livestock, and the blood-red color of the Chicago River.
– Paul Haggis’ next directorial effort, “The Next Three Days,” a remake of the French thriller “Pour elle” starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks, has added three cast members. The plot involves a man who plans a jailbreak when his wife is accused of murdering her boss. The great Brian Dennehy will play Crowe’s father, Ty Simpkins (“Little Children,” “Revolutionary Road”) will play his son, and the Wu Tang Clan’s RZA (who killed in an underused role in “Funny People”) is in an unspecified role – possibly a frequent prison escapee that Crowe’s character consults with, but we’re speculating here.
– The excellent Daniel Brühl, one of the best things about “Inglourious Basterds,” will star in the French-Swiss-Catalan co-production “Eva,” directed by Kike Maillo, who, like “The Orphanage” director Juan Antonio Bayona, is a teacher at Barcelona’s Escac film school. Variety describes it as a “meller with sci-fi overtones” (Is that meant to mean a melodrama? We swear Variety just pulls these words out of nowhere…), about a shy genius designing robot software, and it’ll begin filming in Switzerland in December.