Cast Blast: Hemsworth for ‘Shadow Runners,’ Moore is ‘Carrie’ mom, Russell out of ‘Django Unchained’

Will Perkins
·Blogger

Here we go again! Cast Blast is Wide Screen's weekly round-up of all the notable casting bits from Hollywood and beyond. It's been a busy week, full of big roles for up-and-coming actors -- and a few very high profile exits.

Thor: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Not quite. According to Deadline, current big screen "Avenger" Chris Hemsworth is set to join the military thriller "Shadow Runners." The film will follow a washed up Navy SEAL (Hemsworth) as he tries to make amends for past mistakes by leading a daring mission.

Hemsworth's busy post-"Avengers" schedule means that the studio is fast tracking this one. "Shadow Runners" doesn't have a director or a release date yet, but "Drive" screenwriter Hossein Amini is executive producing, so expect this one to be violent.

When Chloë Moretz ("Hick") snagged the titular role in the "Carrie" remake a few months ago, rumours were flying about the producers eying Julianne Moore ("Game Change") for the role of the telekinetic teenager's seriously crazy mother. After months of discussions, Moore officially signed on to play Carrie's mom, Margaret White — originally played by Piper Laurie in Brian De Palma's 1976 original.

Moore has played her share of eccentric characters (see: "The Big Lebowski"), but Carrie's mother is on a whole other level of insane. Directed by Kimberly Pierce ("Boys Don't Cry"), "Carrie" is based both on the original story by Stephen King and De Palma's adaptation.

From the "Where the hell has that guy been?" files, Luke Wilson ("Enlightened") is set to play the lead in Karyn Kusama's horror-thriller "The Invitation." Wilson will play Will in Kusama's follow-up to "Jennifer's Body," a man who accepts an invitation to a dinner party being put on by his estranged wife. The already awkward occasion is made even more uncomfortable when Will begins to suspect that his wife and her guests may be under the influence of something sinister. Hopefully the food will be good, though. Wilson joins a growing ensemble that includes Zachary Quinto ("Star Trek") and Topher Grace ("Take Me Home Tonight").

Did Bill Shakespeare ever write a sequel to "The Taming of the Shrew"? No? Well, don't tell Hollywood that he didn't. "Captain America: The First Avenger" main squeeze Hayley Atwell is set to star in a sequel to "10 Things I Hate About You," a film that was a modern adaptation of the previously mentioned Bard tale. According to Variety, "10 Things I Hate About Life" will follow two troubled strangers who inadvertently choose the same place to commit suicide and strike up a conversation. Naturally, the chance meeting convinces the pair not to end it all right then and there.

Directed by Gil Unger — the same guy who directed the original "10 Things" - "10 Things I Hate About Life" sounds like more of a thematic spin-off than an actual sequel. Unger also directed the awful Martin Lawrence comedy "Black Knight," so it's likely that he's eager to put all that behind him and return to the property that made him famous.

Trouble in the old west? Quentin Tarantino's latest film "Django Unchained" is currently almost halfway through its shoot in New Orleans, but the film seems to be suffering some setbacks with the departure of some very high profile actors.

According to Variety's Jeff Sneider, Kurt Russell left the project last week with no reason given. Russell, who previously collaborated with Tarantino on "Death Proof," was actually brought in at the last minute to replace Kevin Costner, making his exit all the more unfortunate. "Dictator" star Sacha Baron Cohen was also supposed to have a cameo role in the film, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

Russell and Cohen are the second and third actors to drop out of "Django Unchained." Joseph Gordon-Levitt had to withdraw early last month. On the bright side, at least Tarantino still has stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Chistoph Waltz in the picture. Hopefully they'll make it to the end of the shoot.

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