1.) Ellen Page plans to make Miss Stevens her directorial debut and has Anna Farris attached to star as a teacher who chaperones a group of high schoolers to a state drama competition. Julia Hart, who also wrote the upcoming Hailee Steinfeld/Olivia Wilde Civil War drama Variety]
2.) Melissa McCarthy will co-direct the New Line comedy Tammy with her husband Ben Falcone (Air Marshall Jon from Bridesmaids). The couple also co-wrote and will produce the pic. McCarthy was already attached to star in the pic when original director Beth McCarthy-Miller backed out of the job. The studio reached out to Rob Reiner, but the two parties couldn’t reach a deal, so they turned to their star because they’d hate to miss their window to work with such a hot commodity. The film follows a woman who hits the road with her hard-drinking grandmother after losing her job and finding out her husband has been cheating on her. [Variety]
3.) Tom Hardy will star in the thriller Locke, which will be written and directed by Eastern Promises scribe Steven Knight. The film will be shot in real time as one phone call forces Ivan Locke (Hardy) to put his seemingly perfect life on the line in a 90-minute race against time. Ok, so that doesn’t exactly sound like the most original premise, but if you have to choose an actor to carry a film for 90 minutes, who better than Hardy? [THR]
4.) Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies), Michael Shannon (Take Shelter), Elle Fanning (Super 8) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) have all lined up to star in the futuristic thriller Young Ones for writer/director Jake Paltrow (Gwyneth’s little brother). Plot details are scarce, but the story focuses on a 14-year-old boy forced to use his wits to survive in a dystopian society where water is the most precious and fastest-dwindling resource. This news comes a bit late as the the project actually began principal photography a week ago. [Variety]
5.) The Sessions was writer/director Ben Lewin‘s first feature in nearly 20 years, but he is already set to start working on his next project. Katherine Heigl is attached to star in Lewin’s romantic drama A Moment to Remember. The film is a remake of a Korean film inspired by a Japanese TV show centering on a fashion designer stricken with a disease that wipes away her memory, forcing her husband to desperately try to give her one last memory of their love. Wait, isn’t that the plot of The Vow? Get C-Tates in there and you’ve got a hit on your hands! [THR]
