Sean Maher Boards 'ISRA-88'; Ciaran Hinds will 'Bleed for This'; Margaret Qualley Joins 'The Nice Guys'

 Joss Whedon fave Sean Maher (Firefly, Much Ado About Nothing) will star in the indie sci-fi thriller ISRA-88, from director Thomas Zellen. He'll play Dr. Abe Anderson, a scientist part of the titular starship's two-man crew who begins to lose his mind during the years long mission to find the end of the universe. Sounds intriguing.

Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones, Munich) has joined the Vinny Pazienza biopic, Bleed for This, which stars Miles Teller as the famous boxing champion. Hinds will play Paz's father, Angelo, with Aaron Eckhart as the fighter's trainer, Kevin Rooney. Pazienza (now legally known as Vinny Paz) was middleweight champion until he suffered a terrible auto accident and was left with a broken neck. Doctors told him he'd never fight again but Paz fought his way back into the ring. Hinds can be seen in theaters now in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

Margaret Qualley, who is great on HBO's The Leftovers (don't spoil the finale, I haven't watched it yet!!), has joined Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in The Nice Guys. Directed and co-written by Shane Black (Iron Man 3) with his writing partner Anthony Bagarozzi, the 1970s noir follows an ex-alcoholic and a current alcoholic private detective as they try to solve the suspicious death of a porn star.

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Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart Step in the Ring for Vinny Pazienza Biopic, 'Bleed for This'

The physicality of Miles Teller's drumming performance in Sundance hit, Whiplash, was one of the film's most impressive aspects, and my in my review I compared it to that of a professional boxer. Someone else must have been thinking the same thing, because Teller has just signed on to play boxer Vinny Pazienza in Bleed for This, a biopic that will co-star Aaron Eckhart.

It was a couple of years ago we learned that Ben Younger would be directing the film on the charismatic Pazienza, who earned the nickname the "Pazmanian Devil" due to his charismatic personality and ferocious fighting style. The film will chronicle Pazienza's rise to fame, which really took off in 1991 after defeating middleweight champ Gilbert Dele. Eckhart will play trainer Kevin Rooney, who helped Pazienza recover and return to the ring after a near-fatal car accident that many said would prevent him from walking again. Against doctors orders he came back to the ring and defeated the current champion, Luis Santana.

This is really looking like it could be Teller's big year, and this is exactly the sort of film that can help catapult him to the next level. It doesn't hurt that Martin Scorsese is lending his muscle to the film as an exec-producer.

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