Stacy Martin Joins 'The Childhood of a Leader'; 'The Martian' Adds Donald Glover; Hugo Weaving meets 'The Dressmaker'

Nymphomaniac breakout Stacy Martin will take on another sure-to-be controversial project, joining Robert Pattinson in Brady Corbet's directorial debut, The Childhood of a Leader. Written by Corbet and Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker), with Tim Roth and Berenice Bejo co-starring, the film is described as “a chilling fable about the rise of fascism in the 20th Century” and follows an American living in 1918 France whose experiences there give birth to a "terrifying ego". Martin will play the boy's French teacher. [ScreenDaily]

Ridley Scott has added Donald Glover (Community) to the otherwise amazing cast of The Martian. Sorry, he does nothing for me. Anyway, the film stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Mackenzie Davis and Jeff Daniels in the story of an astronaut, one of the first to ever step foot on Mars, who is abandoned after an accident and must stay alive long enough to be rescued. Also coming aboard is Aksel Hennie, best known for starring in Headhunters. Glover will play a NASA employee while Hennie is a fellow astronaut. [TheWrap]

Perennial tough evil guy Hugo Weaving will play a cross-dressing police sergeant in Jocelyn Moorhouse's The Dressmaker. Starring Kate Winslet, Isla Fisher, Liam Hemsworth, and Elizabeth Debicki, the adaptation of Rosalie Ham's book centers on Tilly, a scorned woman who returns to the small country hometown she fled after as a child after being accused of murder. This is hardly new territory for Weaving who played a drag queen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

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Berenice Bejo Replaces Juliette Binoche in Brady Corbet's 'The Childhood of a Leader'

After taking home Cannes' Best Actress award for her gut-wrenching performance in The Past, Berenice Bejo seemed like a shoe-in to return to the Oscar field where she had previously been nominated for The Artist. Somehow she slipped from voters' minds, but another opportunity to impress has arrived with Brady Corbet's directorial debut, The Childhood of a Leader.

First revealed late last year, the film stars Robert Pattinson and Tim Roth, with Bejo stepping in to replace Juliette Binoche who had scheduling conflicts. Corbet has kept the identity of the film's subject under wraps but we know it will be a post-WWI ruler whose early years will be explored. The secrecy suggests it could be extremely controversial subject matter, all the more reason to be intriguing by the ambitious project.

Filming on The Childhood of a Leader begins in November. Bejo recently rejoined her husband and The Artist director Michael Hazanavicius for The Search, which hopefully will arrive later this year. [Variety]

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Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche to Star in Brady Corbet's 'The Childhood of a Leader'

It's perhaps too early to say that Robert Pattinson has successfully moved beyond his Twilight past, but he's sure giving it his best shot. He's already got projects lined up with Werner Herzog and James Grey, and things went so well on Cosmopolis with David Cronenberg that they teamed up again for Maps to the Stars. And now he's adding another interesting film to his schedule, one helmed by fellow thespian Brady Corbet.

Pattinson will reteam with Cosmopolis co-star Juliette Binoche and Tim Roth for The Childhood of a Leader. Corbet, star of Funny Games, Melancholia, and recently Simon Killer, will make his directorial debut, co-writing the film with Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker). As the title suggests, the story centers on the childhood of a post-WWI leader, only Variety doesn't reveal who it is. Is it being kept a secret for a reason? It's possible that the story hinges on the identity of this leader remaining a mystery.

Hopefully we'll get some additional info soon. Filming is has been planned for next May.

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