Topher Grace Seeks 'Truth'; Tyson Ritter will 'Miss You Already'; Nikki Reed Joins 'The Highway is for Gamblers'

It's the Tophernaissance! Okay, maybe not, but Topher Grace is definitely on the way up again with a role in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and now he's scored another major gig by joining Truth, about the infamous 60 Minutes "Rathergate" scandal. Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Elisabeth Moss, and Dennis Quaid star in James Vanderbilt-directed drama about Rather's story on George W. Bush's sketchy military service record. Grace will play researcher Mike Smith, who exposed the the truth and ruined Rather's career. [Deadline]

All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter, who also has a recurring role on NBC's Parenthood, has joined Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore in Miss You Already. He'll get to snuggle up to one of the ladies in the film about childhood friends who experience a rift when one struggles to have a child and the other develops breast cancer. Fun times. Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine, and Jacqueline Bisset co-star with Catherine Hardwicke directing.

Twilight's Nikki Reed and Harry Potter's Bonnie Wright will star in The Highway is for Gamblers, a Kickstarter-funded film from writer/director Alexandra McGuinness. Vikings star Joe Jonas also has a role in the desert-set story about "Jane (Reed), a newly crowned rodeo queen who goes missing, and her friend Heidi (Wright), who uncovers secrets and encounters the violence of life on the road while searching for her pal."

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Elisabeth Moss Finds 'Truth'; Aaron Paul Joins 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax'

While we wait to see if Elisabeth Moss ends up on the next season of HBO's True Detective, she's busy lining up yet another big screen project. She'll join Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett in the RatherGate scandal film, Truth. Directed by James Vanderbilt, the film details the scandal that erupted over Rather's 60 Minutes piece about George W. Bush's questionable military service. The uproar was a big boost to Bush's second Presidential campaign and ruined Rather's esteemed career. [Deadline]

Aaron Paul has joined Jamie Dornan in the the odd-sounding The 9th Life of Louis Drax, which Alexandre Aja (The Hills have Eyes) will direct. Marking the screenwriting debut of actor Max Minghella, his adaptation of Liz Jensen's novel centers on 9-year-old Louis Drax who miraculously survives a near-fatal accident, just as he's done every year of his life. Paul will play the boy's father who comes under suspicion for the crime even though other mysterious forces may be at work.

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Robert Redford to Play Dan Rather Opposite Cate Blanchett in 'Truth'

Robert Redford and political movies are like peanut butter and jelly, they just go together naturally. His politics have been at the forefront of many a film he's starred in and continues to this day, even rearing their head during his performance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And now he's set to star in another political film in which he'll play 60 Minutes anchor, Dan Rather.

Redford will play Rather in Truth, an adaptation of 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes' memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, The President, And The Privilege Of Power. The story centers on the events that took place in 2004 when Rather and Mapes reported on George W. Bush's record in the Air National Guard, a record that showed a dereliction of duty and the efforts by higher-ups to embellish his record. The report surfaced mere weeks before the 2004 election, and the documents put in as evidence had their authenticity challenged almost immediately. They were judged (but never proven) to be forgeries and the firestorm that followed got Mapes fired and basically ruined Rather's career. Of course this became a major issue to those on the "conservative" wing who claimed it showed a clear media bias against Bush.

So it's another hot button story with a ton of potential, and only making it more impressive is Cate Blanchett taking on the role of Mapes, and superstar writer James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) making his directorial debut on the film. Shooting is planned for this fall and you can bet studios will be lining up to snag this one and turn it into a potential Oscar contender.

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