Bryan Cranston Eyes 'The Great Wall'; Anthony Hopkins will 'Go with Me'; John Travolta Puts 'Life on the Line'

 Now that Matt Damon is said to be considering a role in Zhang Yimou's Chinese epic, The Great Wall, the latest to give it a look is Bryan Cranston. The Breaking Bad star and multiple Emmy-winner may join the film which examines the mysterious origins of China's wondrous landmark. Cranson was last seen (for a few minutes, anyway) in Godzilla, and will soon star in a Dalton Trumbo biopic opposite Helen Mirren. [Deadline]

Anthony Hopkins is reteaming with his Kidnapping Freddy Heineken director Daniel Alfredson for another thriller, Go with Me. Greg Jacobs (Magic Mike XXL director) and Joe Gangemi adapted the script from Castle Freeman Jr.'s book about "a young woman who returns to her hometown in the Pacific Northwest only to be harassed by an ex-cop turned crimelord named Blackway. Forsaken by the locals and advised to leave town by the local sheriff, she instead turns to an ex-logger (Hopkins) and his sidekick to help her fight back against her sociopathic stalker."

John Travolta, Kate Bosworth, and Devon Sawa (where's he been?) will star in Life on the Line, an action thriller directed by Saw V's David Hackl.  The disaster drama follows a crew of eccentric electrical grid linemen who do the dangerous high-wire job while trying to hold on to the women they love and survive a massive storm that threatens to rip their lives apart.

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First Trailer for 'Kidnapping Freddy Heineken' Starring Sam Worthington and Anthony Hopkins

There's just something about Sam Worthington and starring in movies with painfully on-the-nose titles. A couple of years ago he starred in Man On a Ledge, which was about *wait for it* a man standing on a ledge. And soon he'll be seen in the crime thriller Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, which is about the true case of the kidnapping of beer mogul Freddy Heineken. Way to keep things simple, Worthington.

Daniel Alfredson (The Girl Who Played with Fire) is directing a film about the crime, and the first trailer for it is probably more promising than it has any right to be. A large part of the reason is the cast, which has Worthington, Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), and Jim Sturgess as three of the kidnappers with Anthony Hopkins as Heineken. Heineken was kidnapped back in 1983 and held for a ransom of about 35 million Dutch guilders, the largest ransom payout in history. The criminals spent years on the run afterwards but the film seems to be focused mainly on the planning of the crime and the clashing personalities within the group, manipulated further by a chatty Heineken.

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is still wrapping up production so nothing on a release date yet.

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Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, and Sam Worthington Are 'Kidnapping Freddy Heineken'

Despite having directed the Swedish versions of The Girl Who Played with Fire and its sequel The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Daniel Alfredson has yet to make a name for himself here in America as his brother, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy helmer Tomas Alfredson. That could be about to change as he recently signed on to direct Anthony Hopkins in Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, a true crime story about the famous beer mogul. And now with filming set to begin later this month, an impressive trio of young stars has come aboard.

Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Jim Sturgess, and Sam Worthington have joined the film in unspecified roles, but perhaps the story it depicts will clue us in. Based on the best-selling book by Peter L. de Vries, the film centers on the 1983 kidnapping of Alfred "Freddy" Heineken and his driver, leading to a whopping ransom payout of 35 million Dutch guilders, which is about $50M today. Hopkins will play Heineken, and it can probably be assumed that at least a couple of the new additions will play his kidnappers.  The high-profile story continues to be talked about in the Netherlands, with de Vries' book remaining on the charts there for the last 20 years. An investigative journalist, it was de Vries who found where one of the kidnappers had been hiding for years after escaping from prison.

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is expect to hit theaters next year.

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