Joe Manganiello will 'Tumbledown'; Scott Caan to 'Rock the Kasbah'; Jonny Weston Joins 'Taken 3'

* Joe Manganiello, who can be seen right now in Sabotage and will return for Magic Mike XXL, has joined the cast of Tumbledown as production gets moving. He joins Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, and the newly-cast Dianna Agron (The Family), Griffin Dunne, Richard Masur, and Blythe Danner in the story of a widow struggling to write a biography about her late husband, a famous musician. That changes when she meets a brash New York academic with a different take on her husband's life and death. The unlikely pair must collaborate to craft the famous singer’s story and begin to write the next chapter in their lives together. Sean Mewshew is directing.

* With Shia LaBeouf making a public spectacle out of his need for privacy, the actor left the Barry Levinson comedy, Rock the Kasbah. And it didn't take long for him to be replaced, as Variety reports Scott Caan has joined the all-star ensemble. Bill Murray plays a washed up rock music manager stranded in Kabul, who discovers a new talent on the reality competition show, Afghan Star. Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride, and Bruce Willis co-star.

* With Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, and Famke Janssen set to get taken again in Taken 3, some new blood has come aboard with the addition of Jonny Weston. He got his start in the surf drama Chasing Mavericks and will be seen next year in the Michael Bay-produced time travel film Project Almanac. Taken 3 opens next year on January 9th.

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Norman Reedus Joins 'Triple Nine'; Shia LaBeouf Exits 'Rock the Kasbah'; John C. Reilly Nets 'The Lobster'

* Fresh off The Walking Dead scoring the highest season finale ratings in the show's history, Norman Reedus aka Daryl Dixon is joining the all-star cast of John Hillcoat's Triple Nine. He'll be starring alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Teresa Palmer, Gal Gadot, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Woody Harrelson, and Michael Pena in the cop thriller penned by Matt Cook. Affleck plays a rookie cop targeted by a group of dirty cops blackmailed by the mob into committing a near-impossible heist. For the plan to work they need to create a '999', police code for a downed officer, to distract from their illegal activities. No word on Reedus' role, but this is already one of the most anticipated films of 2015. [Deadline]

* Well, now that unpredictable Shia LaBeouf won't get a chance to screw up Barry Levinson's comedy, Rock the Kasbah. Perhaps that whole retirement thing is true (wouldn't bet on it, though) because he's dropped out of the film, which has a pretty stellar cast consisting of Bill Murray, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Bruce Willis, and Kate Hudson. Perhaps Shia didn't feel comfortable being at the bottom of the bill? He was set to play half of a military duo in the film about a washed-up rock manager stranded in Kabul who discovers a new singing talent on the reality show, Afghan Star. Filming is set to begin in June so there's plenty of time to recast Shia's role. [THR]

* As shooting kicks off on Yorgos Lanthimos' (Dogtooth) next feature, The Lobster, the cast surrounding Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, and Lea Seydoux has been rounded out. John C. Reilly, Ashley Jensen (Extras), and Jessica Barden (Hanna) have joined the ensemble, set in a dystopian future and follows "a desperate man who breaks with the rules of The City where single people are arrested and obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days at The Hotel. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into The Woods."

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Shia LaBeouf, Danny McBride, and Zooey Deschanel will 'Rock the Kasbah'

 It's probably too much to hope that all of the plagiarism controversies swirling around Shia LaBeouf are totally in the rear view, but at least he seems to be backtracking on all of that talk of retirement. The Wrap reports LaBeouf will join the already-cast Bill Murray and Bruce Willis in Rock the Kasbah, the latest film from Rain Man director, Barry Levinson.

LaBeouf isn't alone in coming aboard, either, as he'll be joined by Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, and Kate Hudson in the story of a hard-luck rock manager (Murray) who goes on a USO tour to Afghanistan with his final client, only to get stuck in Kabul. There he discovers a remarkable talent and guides her through the competition program, Afghan Star, in hopes of rebuilding his career.

Mitch Glazer wrote the script, and hopefully it allows plenty of room for such a great comedic ensemble to do their thing.[TheWrap]

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