Here’s the latest casting news coming out of Hollywood…
Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman now have a bit of company in The Change-Up, with Leslie Mann signing up to join the duo (and Olivia Wilde) in the film. You’d have thought Mann might have avoided body-swap comedies, as it wasn’t that long ago she appeared in 17 Again, but nevertheless she’ll appear in a currently unknown role in the movie about a married guy who accidentally changes bodies with his single best friend and ends up pursuing a female coworker. It’s not known what role Mann will play, but with Wilde as the coworker, Leslie a good bet for the wife. (Source: THR)
Now that Kevin Smith finally has the money to make Red State, he’s busy assembling the cast, with the director announcing during one of his Smodcasts that he’s signed up John Goodma for the movie. Goodman will join Stephen Root, Kyle Gallner, Michael Angarano, Michael Parks, Anna Gunn and Melissa Leo in the movie, which still has its plot under wraps, even though it’s known to have been inspired by the gay-hating, fear-mongering Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church. Smith says that it’s a majot coup for him to get Goodman, as he’s a long-time fan, and even before he cast him in Red State, he was writing a role for the actor in his hockey comedy, Hit Somebody. (Source: Smodcast)
Fox has been busy trying to set up Mr. Popper’s Penguins for a while now, scoring Jim Carrey for the lead role a couple of months ago. Now Carla Gugino has joined the cast, playing the female lead. The screenplay by Sean Anders, John Morris, and Jared Stern will be a modern day update of Richard and Florence Atwater’s 1938 tale, which features Jim Carrey as Mr. Popper, a businessman who inherits six mischievous penguins. Taking care of these unruly animals proves to be a full time job for Mr. Popper, and in the process of keeping his new family afloat, he comes to learn the true meaning of friendship, human and otherwise. (Source: Variety)
Newcomer child actress Landry Bender has scooped a role in the upcoming Jonah Hill comedy, The Sitter. Hill will star as a suspended college student who is forced to babysit the kids who live next door to his single mother. Unsurprisingly this proves more difficult that expected, with Bender as Blithe, the youngest of a trio of troublemaking kids. (Source: THR)