* Willem Dafoe will be both a friend and foe to Keanu Reeves in the hit man flick, John Wick. Reeves stars as the title character, a retired assassin who tracks down the men responsible for stealing his 1969 Mustang and killing his dog, with Dafoe as his former best friend and fellow contract killer who puts a bounty on his head. [Deadline]
* Filming is underway on Thomas Vinterberg's adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd, with Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Juno Temple, and Tom Sturridge already on board. Rounding out the cast now is Michael Sheen in the role of William Boldwood, one of the three men courting the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene. David Nicholls (One Day, Starter for 10) adapted the screenplay.
* Back in May we learned that Nicolas Cage was set to star in writer/director Kellie Madison's horror, Hotel 33. That deal has since fallen through, and now Cage has been replaced by Jason Patric. Quite a step down, to be perfectly honest. He'll play the detective investigating the disappearance of a friend in the same hotel where 33 people disappeared back in 1953. [Variety]
