Frances McDormand and Alden Ehrenreich Join the Coen Brothers' 'Hail Caesar'

Whenever the Coen Brothers need to add a little comedy punch to one of their films, they know to call on Frances McDormand to deliver it. And she tends to always be available, considering she's Joel Coen's wife. With the duo moving forward on their Hollywood comedy, Hail Caesar, and building their typically powerhouse cast, McDormand is coming aboard along with talented young actor Alden Ehrenreich.

With George Clooney set to rejoin the Coens, playing a 1950s Hollywood fixer, the rest of the cast is equally impressive. Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, and Josh Brolin co-star in the film. McDormand's presence is kind of expected, but this is another notch on Ehrenreich's belt. His breakthrough role was in Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro, and he recently appeared in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

Hail Caesar should hit theaters next year.

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Elizabeth Banks and Diane Lane to star in Amy Berg's crime drama 'Every Secret Thing'

 Two actresses headed in different directions. Diane Lane is a particular favorite of mine, and her run of movies in the early to mid-2000s, from Unfaithful up to Hollywoodland in 2006 are all pretty incredible. But she hasn't had a lot to do lately, outside of HBO's Cinema Verite and a small role as Ma Kent in Man of Steel. On the other hand, Elizabeth Banks can't be stopped, even when she puts out crap like What to Expect When You're Expecting. The two should make for an interesting on-screen pair, as they're set to star in a crime drama that sounds darker than anything either has done in awhile.

The two will star in Every Secret Thing, based on the novel by Laura Lippman and directed by Amy Berg. Berg is a documentary filmmaker specializing in issues involving children, having given us Academy Award-nominated sexual abuse doc, Deliver Us from Evil. She recently completed Peter Jackson-produced West of Memphis, about the West Memphis Three case. Lippman's novel is being adapted by Nicole Holofcener(Friends with Money), and follows Ronnie and Alice, two women who were convicted of the murder of a baby when they were 11-years old and incarcerated until the age of 18. Now newly released from prison and dealing with severe psychological issues, they become suspects when children start disappearing again, leading to the mystery surrounding the original murder to be opened up again.

Frances McDormand is on board as a producer, making this a film with a wealth of talent both in front of and behind the camera. Filming is set to begin next February.

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Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom now shooting; Focus Features picks up the rights

I'm probably not the biggest fan of Wes Anderson's films. It's been diminishing returns as far as I'm concerned after the greatness that was Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. Although his Fantastic Mr. Fox was the best animated movie of 2009 and should've kicked Up's tail. With that said I can't help but be a little excited over his next project, Moonrise Kingdom, which is now currently shooting in Rhode Island.


So what makes this one such a big deal? Well before we get the story, just check out the cast that any director would give up their first born for:  Wes Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray; Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, and Frances McDormand. Guh. Sign me up. There's also a rumor floating around that Owen Wilson may turn up as well, which I don't think anyone would be surprised about. This has to be the best crew Anderson's put together since Tenenbaums, and look how well that turned out. Playing the two kiddies that are the centerpiece of the story are unknowns Jared Gilman and Kara Heyward. So what kind of mischief will those two be causing? Check out the plot below...

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, Moonrise Kingdom follows a young boy and girl falling in love. When they are moved to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing. Bruce Willis plays the town sheriff; two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton is cast as a camp leader; Academy Award nominee Bill Murray and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents; the cast also includes Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman. The young boy and girl are played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.

Sounds like an idea that could lead to a much funnier live-action film than Anderson's given us in years. Then again I thought the plot for The Life Aquatic sounded cool, and it was so boring hospitals use it for general anesthesia. The script was written by Anderson along with The Darjeeling Limited(ugghh!!) co-writer, Roman Coppola.

Focus Features, my favorite studio, has picked up the worldwide rights, making this the first film of Anderson's that they'll distribute.

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Transformers 3 Adds Two Award Winners, One Asian Stereotype Waiting to Happen

In what I'm assuming is an effort to punch up the dramatic chops of his Transformers franchise, Michael Bay has confirmed via his website that Academy Award winner Frances McDormand(Fargo) and John Malkovich(Rounders, Being John Malkovich) have been inked to major roles in the upcoming Transformers 3. McDormand will have the largest role, taking on the part of the National Intelligence Director, while Malkovich will be playing the boss of Sam Witwicky(Shia Lebeouf). 

Let's face it, what's going to end up happening is that McDormand is going to play a hard, stearn woman who will probably get shot out of a cannon or kicked out of a jet plane with no parachute, made to look ridiculous possibly sprayed in the face by motor oil(if the Transformers actually ate anything I'd think the possibility of getting hit by a creme pie exists). Malkovich is no stranger to starring in awful movies(Mutant Chronicles, Art School Confidential), and now he can go toe-to-toe with John Turturro to see who can chew up the most scenery while simultanteously phoning in every line of dialogue.

The most disturbing thing is that Ken Jeong, who I actually like in most things(The Hangover, Role Models specifically) has also been inked to appear. Consider this: Michael Bay managed to coax a pretty racially offensive performance out of two giant CGI Autobots. It can be argued that Jeong's specialty is playing over-the-top Asian stereotypes. Is this Michael Bay's attempt to quiet his critics by utilizing an Asian actor who has made racially insensitive caricatures his stock 'n trade to hilarious effect? Who wants to bet Jeong's character's name will be Uncle Benny, and he'll have a fu manchu and walk around with chopsticks in his breast pocket?  The possibilities are endless.

You can read more of Deadline's coverage of this story here.

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