Teresa Palmeer May Join 'Point Break'; Anna Kendrick Voicing 'Trolls'; Sienna Miller Joins 'Chef'

* Teresa Palmer, last seen getting wooed by a zombie in Warm Bodies, is in talks for the Point Break remake which stars Edgar Ramirez, Luke Bracey, and Ray Winstone. She would take the female lead in the redo of Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 film that Ericson Core will direct. Bracey plays an FBI agent who must infiltrate the world of extreme sports to root out a criminal organization. Palmer is currently filming John Hillcoat's star-studded crime drama, Triple Nine.

* The vocally-gifted Anna Kendrick may be filming Pitch Perfect 2 right now, but when that's wrapped up she'll put her singing voice back on display in Dreamworks Animation's Trolls. Directed by Mike Mitchell (Shrek Forever After) and based on the colorful toy dolls with the wild hair, the animated film will open November 4th 2016 with Kendrick as Poppy, a “relentlessly upbeat princess". [TheWrap]

*  Remember awhile back when there was a brief dispute over the use of the title Chef? Jon Favreau's film under that name is currently in theaters and performing quite well, and now Bradley Cooper's Chef has just added Sienna Miller to the cast. Miller, who just worked with Cooper on Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, will take an undisclosed role in the film directed by John Wells (August: Osage County) from a Steven Knight (Locke) script. Cooper will play a prominent Paris chef who loses everything and tries to restart his culinary career at a new restaurant in London. Omar Sy (The Intouchables) co-stars.

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Edgar Ramirez Replaces Gerard Butler in 'Point Break'

Well, that didn't take long. There hasn't exactly been a lot of positive buzz swirling around this Point Break remake, and when Gerard Butler dropped out a few days ago there wasn't a lot of concern about it one way or the other. Production will still go on with Luke Bracey in the role Keanu Reeves made famous in Kathryn Bigelow's film, and some other guy will take over in trying to fill Patrick Swayze's shoes. And now we know that "other guy" will be Edgar Ramirez.

Ramirez has signed up to play extreme sports enthusiast Bodhi, joining Bracey and Ray Winstone in the Ericson Core-directed crime flick. The story will follow a cop who infiltrates a gang of international criminals who also happen to be into extreme sports.

Filming on Point Break begins next month. Ramirez will be seen next in horror Deliver Us from Evil.

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Gerard Butler Exits 'Point Break' Remake

That Point Break remake nobody asked for that would have been set in the world of extreme sports has just suffered a major set back. Is it the kind of set back that will derail the project for good? Well, normally losing your star is a big deal, but when it's just Gerard Butler then things continue on like nothing happened.

Butler has dropped out of the film which would have seen him playing Zen surfer dude/thief Bodhi opposite Luke Bracey's Johnny Utah. Apparently a combination of creative differences and Butler's busy schedule led to the departure, which makes one wonder what his beef with director Ericson Core was? This is a Point Break remake, after all. Was he expecting another Coriolanus? Butler will instead spend his time gearing up for London Has Fallen which shoots this fall.

As for Point Break, production is still set to begin next month with a different lead. [THR]

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Ray Winstone Joins 'Point Break' Remake; Noomi Rapace Gets 'Unlocked'

* Ray Winstone, last seen harassing Russell Crowe's Noah, has joined the Point Break remake that promises to be something totally different. If that makes you wonder why the movie is called Point Break, well then you are not alone. Anyway, Winstone will play FBI agent Pappas, played by Gary Busey in the 1991 original.  Luke Bracey and Gerard Butler star in the newer version which is set in the world of extreme sports. Ericson Core is directing. [Variety]

* Noomi Rapace is adding to her recent string of thrillers by agreeing to lead Unlocked, the upcoming film by Escape Plan director, Mikael Hafstrom. Peter O'Brien's script landed on the Black List way back in 2008, which begs the question why Warner Bros. dropped it, forcing it to be developed as a small-budget indie. Rapace will play a "female CIA interrogator duped into getting a terrorist to provide key information to the wrong side. It puts her at the center of a plot to launch a biological attack in London." [Deadline]

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Luke Bracey is Johnny Utah in 'Point Break' Remake

A few weeks ago that Point Break remake took a really questionable step forward (one of many such steps already) when Gerard Butler came on to take the role Patrick Swayze made famous. Now the other half of the surfin', bank robbin' duo has been found with Luke Bracey stepping in to play Johnny Utah.

Bracey, whose most prominent film role was hiding under a mask as Cobra Commander in GI Joe: Retaliation, will take on the character played by Keanu Reeves in the 1991 Point Break. This version of the story, directed by Ericson Core, has FBI agent Johnny Utah infiltrating a criminal ring in the world of extreme sports. The gang is led by Bodhi “an expert extreme sports athlete who also seeks to find nirvana through the conquest of a series of athletic feats such as surfing 100-waves."

Filming on Point Break begins early summer.  

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Gerard Butler to Try and Fill Patrick Swayze's Shoes in the 'Point Break' Remake

That Point Break remake you didn't ask for is still happening, and actually seems to be progressing along as if they are trying deliberately to make it terrible. No longer just a surfing and heist flick for bros, it's now set in the world of extreme sports because that's like totally cool now, and a director you've never heard of in Ericson Core is at the helm. And now to try and step into the void left by the late great Patrick Swayze is Gerard Butler, because why the heck not?

THR reports Butler is in final negotiations for the role of Bodhi, which Swayze played in the Kathyrn Bigelow-directed cult classic. According to the site, Bodhi is “an expert extreme sports athlete who also seeks to find nirvana through the conquest of a series of athletic feats such as surfing 100-waves. He saves Johnny Utah, the undercover FBI agent, and brings him into the fold of international criminals." The part of Utah has yet to be cast, but maybe they can find someone else who is extremely average and likely comes pretty cheap? How much you want to bet Garrett Hedlund is being sent a script right now?

To Butler's credit he did take Olympus Has Fallen to a surprising $161M last year so maybe he's got some of his mojo back from the 300 days.  Plus he's an avid surfer and recently starred in the surfing drama, Chasing Mavericks.

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Keanu Reeves Says "Hell No Dude" to 'Point Break' Remake

Okay, that title's a little misleading. He doesn't actually say "Hell no, dude" when asked about the Point Break remake, but he might as well have. The remake of Kathryn Bigelow's classic bromance flick starring Reeves and the late Patrick Swayze took a step forward not too long ago when Ericson Core (Invincible) came on to direct. But when the BBC caught up with Reeves and asked him if he had any interest, his response was clear...

Reeves: "Absolutely not. It’s not my place."

While he did offer some words of encouragement later on, clearly there's a part of him that thinks this remake shouldn't be happening. He went on to speculate that some movies, like The Wizard of Oz and Apocalypse Now should have a "no remake clause". Not that Reeves was saying Point Break compares to either of those movies.  A "no remake clause" would be great, but movies don't become classics until years later (certainly in the case of Apocalypse Now) so when exactly would it be written into the contract?

Anyway, no chance of Keanu surfing in to teach a new crop of extreme sports junkies how to rob banks and look cool while doing it.  Besides, he's got enough to deal with just avoiding all those scathing reviews for 47 Ronin. Yikes.

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