Ben Kingsley Joins 'The Jungle Book'; Rooney Mara Enters 'A House In the Sky'; 'High-Rise' Adds Elisabeth Moss

* Jon Favreau's had his fun in the indie world with Chef but now it's time to pay the bills. He's directing Disney's 3D live-action version of The Jungle Book, and the already great voice cast just got better with the addition of Ben Kingsley. Kingsley will voice Bagheera, a black panther who becomes a friend to Mowgli, a human boy left in the jungle and raised by the animals. Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, and Lupita Nyong'o will voice other characters when The Jungle Book opens October 29th 2015.

* Rooney Mara is set to produce and star in A House in the Sky, an adaptation of Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett's memoir. Mara will play Lindhout, who in 2008 was abducted in Mogadishu by a terrorist group and held captive for 15 months and subjected to terrible abuses. No word on a writer or director yet but with Annapurna Pictures backing this one don't be surprised if it has awards potential.

* Ben Wheatley is putting together an amazing cast for his adaptation of J.G. Ballard's dystopian novel, High-Rise. Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and James Purefoy (The Following) have come aboard, joining Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, and Luke Evans in the film set inside a luxury high-rise where a violent tribal uprising is taking place.

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Trailer Time: Ironclad, starring Paul Giamatti and James Purefoy

One thing I never thought I'd get to see was the great Paul Giamatti, for my money the most consistently excellent actor in the biz, in a medieval war flick. Turns out I was wrong and I couldn't be more happy about it. Directed by Jonathan English, Ironclad sees the actor as King John in the year 1215. Furious at having been forced to sign the Magna Carta, he raises a mercenary army and begins a complete rampage across England. The only thing that stands in his way of total victory are a small group of soldiers in the last remaining castle at Rochester.


Giamatti alone is worth the price of admission, but I have a particular soft spot for anything involving knights and sieges and swordplay. James Purefoy has bored me in pretty much everything outside of HBO's Rome, but Kate Mara(who replaced Megan Fox!) and Brian Cox are usually solid even though we don't get to see much of them in this trailer. 

So far the film hasn't been picked up for distribution here in the States, but let's hope that changes in the near future. Check out the brand new UK trailer below!

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