Juliette Binoche Digs Up 'The 33'; Dustin Hoffman Joins Lance Armstrong Pic; Olivia Cooke Plays 'Ouija'

* The cast of Chilean miner drama The 33 has been rounded out with the additions of Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Oscar Nunez, Kate Del Castillo, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mario Casas, Juan Pablo Raba, Tenoch Huerta, Jacob Vargas, Marco Trevino and Alejandro Goic. They join the already-cast Antonio Banderas in the film directed by Patricia Riggin that chronicles the true story of the 33 miners who became famous in 2010 when they were trapped in a collapsed mine for 69 days. The film has been in development practically while they were still underground, but has the full support of the miners, their families, and the rescuers. [Deadline]

* Stephen Frears' Lance Armstrong biopic may not have a title but the cast is coming together quite nicely. Filming is taking place now in Europe with Ben Foster as the disgraced cyclist, and now the latest to join is screen legend Dustin Hoffman. Chris O'Dowd, Jesse Plemons, and Guillaume Canet co-star in the film written by John Hodge (Trance) and based on David Walsh's book, Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit Of Lance Armstrong.

*  Bates Motel star Olivia Cooke has joined the previously-announced Douglas Smith and Daren Kagasoff in Ouija, the upcoming horror based on the "spooky" board game you played with friends at night. Directed and co-written by Stiles White, the film follows a group of friends who realize that a deceased friend had been messin' around with a Ouija board before she died. This sounds terrible but with Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes teaming up with Blumhouse Productions on this one, perhaps it could be a surprise low-budget horror hit?

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Famke Janssen Joins 'Kickback'; Asa Butterfield is 'King of the Kastle'; Lance Armstrong Biopic Adds Lee Pace

* Famke Janssen, last seen as a vision of Jean Grey in The Wolverine (but won't be back for X-men: Days of Future Past, mysteriously) has come aboard the crime thriller, Kickback. Written and directed by Raza Mallal, the film stars John Cusack, Sean Astin, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Mischa Barton, John Hannah, and Tom Sizemore in the true story of a renegade Moscow private eye investigating the murder of a female war  journalist.

* He's already saved the universe in Ender's Game, and now Asa Butterfield will try to scam Clive Owen in the comedy, King of the Kastle. Butterfield has joined Owen and Jacki Weaver in the film, which marks the directorial debut of writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, best known for penning David Gordon Green's (terrible) The Sitter. Owen plays a womanizing lothario who is blackmailed by a teenager. [TheWrap]

* Filming has already begun on Stephen Frears' untitled Lance Armstrong biopic; we know this because photos of Ben Foster as the infamous cyclist are already out there. There's still room to add more to the impressive cast, however, as Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) has come aboard in an unspecified role. He joins co-stars Chris O'Dowd, Jesse Plemons, and Guillaume Canet in charting the Tour de France champion's meteoric rise and scandalous fall from grace.

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First Look at Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong in Stephen Frears' Biopic

Shooting on Stephen Frears' still-untitled Lance Armstrong biopic began just a few days ago, beating out high-profile projects spearheaded by J.J. Abrams and Jay Roach. That's not to say Frears' film is going to be overlooked, because it certainly won't be with Ben Foster playing the disgraced cycling champion and former hero to millions.

The first image of Foster in the lead role has been released, and can we go ahead and say this already looks better than Premium Rush? Yes? The film is based on journalist David Walsh's book, Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit Of Lance Armstrong, about his journey to expose Armstrong as a fraud who lied in response to doping allegations. Chris O'Dowd co-stars as Walsh, with Guillaume Canet and Jesse Plemons also on board. John Hodge (Trainspotting, Trance) wrote the script, taking a break from his usual work alongside Danny Boyle.

Hopefully we'll see this one make the festival rounds early next year, but first how about coming up with a title?

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Ben Foster to Lead Stephen Frears' Lance Armstrong Biopic

How does the saying go? "There is no such thing as bad publicity"? Certainly that's held true for Lance Armstrong, whose Hall of Fame cycling career and perception as a cancer-surviving hero were shattered by a doping scandal. But that hasn't stopped filmmakers from looking to bring his story to the big screen, with Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets), J.J. Abrams, and Jay Roach all developing their own features on Armstrong's rise and fall. Now there's one more in the works from Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things), and he's already secured one of today's most underrated actors for the lead role.

Ben Foster is in talks to play Armstrong in the untitled film, which is being fast tracked for a fall start date, probably to stay a few steps ahead of the other projects in development. Foster has been a great actor in decent films for a lot of years, but really hit his stride in Oren Moverman's The Messenger. He's got quite the juicy, scene-stealing role in David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints (review here) coming up in just a few weeks, and it's the sort of smoldering performance that won't be quickly forgotten. This makes Foster the first actor cast to play Armstrong, and when all is said and done this is the sort of film that can make a career really fast.

With Danny Boyle favorite John Hodge (Trance, Trainspotting) scripting, we can probably expect to see the movie ready by next year's awards season.[Deadline]

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Bradley Cooper wants to play Lance Armstrong in J.J. Abrams' upcoming biopic

I know it may seem like the only thing J.J. Abrams should be concerned with is Star Wars: Episode VII, but he's actually got quite a lot on his plate. One thing that surfaced only a few days ago was a biopic he'd be producing based on the life of doped up cyclist/douchebag Lance Armstrong. Abrams' Bad Robot picked up the rights to the upcoming book, Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong by NYT journalist Juliet Macur.  If and when it ever does happen, Bradley Cooper wants in on playing the disgraced athlete, telling the BBC...

Cooper: "I remember Matt Damon was going to do his autobiography at one point years ago. I remember thinking, that would be a great character, I'd love to play that character. I would love to do something, I think he's pretty fascinating."

Turns out it may just happen. Abrams spoke with ET and said that Cooper sent him an email, and now they've been talking about it. Assuming all schedules can be worked out, I doubt Abrams would turn down a shot to work with the Oscar-nominated actor. I wonder if he and Cooper are exchanging emails about anything else? Like something Jedi-related?

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