Sure Shots: Akira; The Twilight Zone; Nikki Reed

* Yesterday we were provided a casting call sheet which not only provided our first look at the plot for Warner Brothers' live-action remake of Akira, but it also had a list of the actors in the principle roles. This gave the impression that these were all stone cold locks, but as I speculated yesterday this couldn't possibly be the case. Today, Helena Bonham Carter, who has been offered the role of Lady Miyako, told MTV that she hasn't agreed to anything, and won't say anything until she's "decided whether to do it or not."  


* Tony Peckham, who wrote Clint Eastwood's Invictus and Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, has been selected to write The Twilight Zone for Warner Brothers and Leonardo Dicaprio's Appian Way. Directed by Matt Reeves, the film will be a departure from the 1983 sci-fi/horror which featured four stories by four separate directors. [Variety]


* As easy it may be to mock Pawn for it's cast and straight-to-DVD aura, the latest talent additions have caught my attention. Nikki Reed, fresh off the latest Twilight flick, is the highlight of the newest bunch joining the crime caper. Martin Csokas(The Debt), Stephen Lang, Jonathan Bennett, Sean Faris, and Jessica Szhor will star alongside Michael Chiklis, Common, Ray Liotta, and Forest Whitaker. Directed by newcomer David A. Armstrong, the story focuses on an ex-con caught up in a hostage situation gone wrong. [THR]