Zoe Kazan and Joaquim de Almeida Join 'Our Brand is Crisis'; Jackie Earle Haley Boards 'London has Fallen'

David Gordon Green's political film Our Brand is Crisis has added Zoe Kazan (What If) and Joaquim de Almeida (Fast Five) to the cast which already boasts Sandra Bullock, Anthony Mackie, Billy Bob Thornton, Scoot McNairy, and Ann Dowd. Based on the 2005 documentary and adapted by Peter Straughan, the story centers on American political consultants and their actions influencing the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. Almeida will play Castillo, the cold and aloof former Bolivian president running for a second term. Kazan will play a young woman who digs up dirt on the candidates. [TheWrap]

Jackie Earle Haley has joined the cast of London has Fallen, the sequel to last year's hit Olympus has Fallen. Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett, Radha Mitchell, and Melissa Leo will reunite in the Babak Najafi-directed action flick which has a Secret Service agent trying to stop a terrorist attack on world leaders. Haley, who recently appeared in the Robocop remake, will play Deputy Chief Mason. [TheWrap]

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'London has Fallen' may have Found a New Director in Babak Najafi

Gerard Butler is going international in the sequel to Olympus has Fallen, the imaginatively-titled London has Fallen. In pursuit of giving it an international flavor Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Bond (Charlie Countryman) was brought on to direct the film, but "creative differences" recently forced him to drop out. After promising a replacement would be found in days to keep the shooting schedule on track, a new director has been found in Babak Najafi.

Najafi is best known for helming Easy Money II: Hard to Kill, and is an Iranian-born director who grew up in Sweden. So he may have a similar sensibility to Bond, who according to Deadline "bristled" at directing a film the size of London has Fallen. Another being looked at the for the job was Australian director Wayne Blair (The Sapphires), but he was apparently one of many who Butler was planning to meet.  So if a deal can't be struck with Najafi there are plenty of other options waiting in the wings.

London has Fallen is to begin filming soon for an October 2nd 2015 release.

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Fredrik Bond Exits 'London has Fallen' Over Creative Differences

Let the jokes begin about their being any creativity in a sequel to the generic action thriller, Olympus Has Fallen, but apparently there's enough to cause some behind-the-scenes conflict. According to THR, creative differences have forced director Fredrik Bond (Charlie Countryman) to exit London has Fallen with filming set to begin next month.

Bond only came aboard the film last month, taking over for Antoine Fuqua who directed the first film to a surprising $161M. Millennium Films plans to have Bond's replacement chose in 72 hours, giving them plenty of time to stay on schedule. It's not as if they need some auteur to come in for a meticulous shoot. If he can blow stuff up real good then that should suffice. Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, and Aaron Eckhart are set to return with the action movie, obviously, to London. Here's the synopsis:

The sequel begins in London, where the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances. His funeral is a must-attend event for leaders of the Western world. But what starts out as the most protected event on earth, turns into a deadly plot to kill the world's most powerful leaders and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. Only three people have any hope of stopping it: the President of the United States, his formidable secret service head (Butler), and an English MI-6 agent who rightly trusts no one. 

London has Fallen hits theaters October 2nd 2015. 

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Fredrik Bond to Direct 'Olympus has Fallen' Sequel 'London has Fallen'

You may recall last year there were two "terrorists attack the White House" movies that were essentially the same. One was Roland Emmerich's White House Down, which had a pretty powerful duo in Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx starring. But the one that actually performed better (domestically, anyway) was Antoine Fuqua's Olympus has Fallen which put Gerard Butler in the role of hero. With $161M in the bank, a badly-titled sequel was ordered up and now we know who will be at the helm for it.

According to THR it will be Fredrik Bond directing London has Fallen, which as we previously learned will have much of the original cast returning. So who is this Bond guy and is he an undercover secret agent? No, he's the director behind the Shia LaBeouf crime-romance Charlie Countryman, which was pretty terrible even though it was basically one long music video. Butler will be back as Secret Service agent Mike Banning, with Aaron Eckhart as the POTUS, and Morgan Freeman is returning as well. Here's the synopsis released some weeks ago:

The sequel begins in London, where the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances. His funeral is a must-attend event for leaders of the Western world. But what starts out as the most protected event on earth, turns into a deadly plot to kill the world's most powerful leaders and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. Only three people have any hope of stopping it: the President of the United States, his formidable secret service head (Butler), and an English MI-6 agent who rightly trusts no one.

London has Fallen opens October 2nd 2015.

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'London Has Fallen' Set for October 2015; Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart Returning

Last year saw the release of two movies that had the same "terrorists invade the White House" storyline released within weeks of one another. There was White House Down, which was directed by Roland Emmerich with Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx starring. Before that was Olympus Has Fallen, which had the less-impressive duo of director Antoine Fuqua and star Gerard Butler. Maybe because it was the first to hit theaters Olympus Has Fallen wiped the floor with Tatum's flick domestically, and so a few months ago a sequel was ordered up with the laughable title, London Has Fallen.

The unfortunate title has stuck, and now the film has a release date of October 2nd 2015, joining what is shaping up to be the busiest blockbuster year in history. Gerard Butler is back in the lead role of agent Mike Banning, who will be attempting to save an entire country or something, rather than just some stupid old building. Here's the synopsis:

The sequel begins in London, where the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances. His funeral is a must-attend event for leaders of the Western world. But what starts out as the most protected event on earth, turns into a deadly plot to kill the world's most powerful leaders and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. Only three people have any hope of stopping it: the President of the United States, his formidable secret service head (Butler), and an English MI-6 agent who rightly trusts no one. 

Aaron Eckhart is also returning, presumably still as the POTUS, but maybe there will be a twist and he'll be on the side of evil this time? Eh, probably not. No word on who will play this skeptical MI-6 agent but I have a feeling it will be a woman because skeptical English chicks with guns are hot and this is hardly the brainiest of franchises. Yep, this is starting to look like a franchise, isn't it?

No word on when filming will begin but we can expect it to be soon, assuming a director can be found in short order.

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