Jennifer Lopez Joins The Cast Of The 33

Jennifer Lopez will join Antonio Banderas in the biopic of the Chilean miners called The 33, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mike Medavoy will produce. It is based on the story of the 33 Chilean miners who were rescued after being trapped for 69 days in 2010. This will be Lopez's first film since starring with Jason Statham in Parker.

Martin Sheen and Rodrigo Santoro have also signed on for the film, which was presented at Cannes Film Festival last month. Good Universe will handle international sales. Patricia Riggen (La Misma Luna will direct from a screenplay written by Mikko Alanne and Jose Rivera. Production begins in Chile this fall.

Medavoy got the rights to the film in 2011. The rescue of the 33 miners from the San Jose Mine made headlines worldwide. The men were trapped half a mile beneath the surface of the Earth. Banderas will play Mario Sepulveda, the miner called "Super Mario". Sheen will play a miner's father and Santoro will play another trapped miner.

Ed McGurn will also produce, while Carlos Eugenio Lavín and Leopoldo Enriquez will executive produce.
 

Morgan Freeman In Talks to Join Scarlett Johansson in Lucy

Morgan Freeman is set to join Scarlett Johansson in Luc Besson's latest sci-fi film. The Wrap reports that Freeman is in negotiations for the film, which Besson is writing and directing.

The film is about a young woman who gains super powers after being forced to work as a drug mule. Freeman will play a professor that Johansson's title character is attempting to rescue.

Ryan Reynolds Out of Highlander Reboot

Ryan Reynolds is no longer involved in Summit Entertainment's planned reboot of Highlander. The Wrap reports that Reynolds has departed the project after it was left hanging in November when Juan Carlos Fresnadillo walked away from directing the film. Reynolds would have played Connor Macleod, the lead character played by Christopher Lambert in the original series.

Summit is now hunting for a new director and star for the film, which has gone through a long list of latent. Several writers have worked on the script and Justin Lin (Fast & Furious franchise) was attached to direct at some point. Reynolds has several projects still in the works and set to release within the next several months.

Natalie Portman Being Considered To Star In Dare Me

Deadline reports that Fox 2000 is hoping to get Natalie Portman to star in the new film Dare Me, based on a script by Megan Abbott from her novel of the same name. Michael Sucsy (Grey Gardens, The Vow) is set to direct. The book is described as a cross between Heathers and Fight Club and focuses on teenage cheerleaders. Karen Rosenfelt will produce.

Sucsy is also attached to direct the Beach Boys movie, as well as Straight No Chaser and Black Widow. Portman can next be seen in Jane Got A Gun, a Western directed by Gavin O'Connor. Portman produces and stars. Her co-stars include Joel Edgerton, Noah Emmerich and Ewan McGregor.

Joss Whedon Speaks on if Loki Will Have a Role in The Avengers 2 (SPOILERS)

Speaking with the Empire Movie Podcast, writer and director Joss Whedon spoke about Loki (played by actor Tom Hiddleston), and confirmed that Hiddleston will not be back as Loki in the sequel.

Whedon on his first draft: "I've turned in a first draft, but the story is very set. Everybody's very much on board with the exact movie I'm trying to make which is what worked the first time."

Whedon on Loki: "Immitating what I did before is the surest way to do it not as well. Second of all, and Loki is not there to say those terrible things."

Whedon on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: "We're building the next episodes, we start shooting again in July."

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Sophie McShera Cast In Cinderella

Sophie McShera, who plays maid/assistant cook Daisy Mason on Downton Abbey, will now play a wicked stepsister in Disney's live action version of Cinderella, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Kenneth Branagh will direct. The film stars Lily James (who also appeared on Downtown) as Cinderella, Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) as the prince. Holliday Grainger will play the other wicked stepsister. Their names are Drisella and Anastasia, and they constantly make fun of Cinderella, an orphan girl who gets help from a fairy godmother and magic to find her true love.

The film will be produced by Simon Kinberg, Allison Shearmur and David Barron, based on a script by Aline Brosh McKenna and Chris Weitz. It will shoot in London this fall.

Poster Released For The Butler

Moviefone has released the poster for Lee Daniels' historical drama The Butler, which stars Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard and more.

Here's a synopsis: The August 16 release tells the story of a White House butler (Whitaker) who served eight American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man's life and family.

Al Pacino Says He Turned Down Roles In Star Wars, Die Hard and More

Al Pacino told The London Evening Standard that he turned down several high profile roles over the years, including Han Solo in Star Wars.

He was talking to a crowd at the Palladium in London while revealing the roles he turned down.

He said: "Star Wars was mine for the taking, but I didn't understand the script."

He also said he passed on John McClane in 1988's Die Hard. The role went to Bruce Willis. Pacino said: "I gave that boy a career."

He also said that he turned down Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) in Apocalypse Now and Richard Gere's role in Pretty Woman.

He joked: "I'm not a very good judge of what's good."

Erin Cummings and Ethan Embry Join Cast of Werewolf Movie Late Phases

ShockTillYouDrop reports that Erin Cummings and Ethan Embry have joined the cast of the werewolf thriller Late Phases for MPI/Dark Sky Films.

The movie is currently lensing in New York. The movie is the first English-language project for director Adrian Garcia Bogliano who previously directed Cold Sweat, Penumbra, and the upcoming Here Comes the Devil.

Cummings and Emby join cast members Nick Damici and Tina Louise. The story follows a man named Ambrose McKinley who moves into a community in which the residents have been dying in increasing numbers, supposedly victims of dog attacks. After surviving an attack, Ambrose realizes the assailants are more than canines.

Damini is playing the role of Ambrose. Cumings and Embry are playing a couple in the story.