* Luke Evans, who had a pretty great 2013 as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and as the villain in Fast & Furious 6, has joined Ben Wheatley's new thriller, High-Rise. The anticipated adaptation of J.G. Ballard's book features Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, James Purefoy, and Sienna Miller in lead roles, and takes place in a dystopian society in a luxury high-rise cut off from the rest of humanity. However, a class system emerges in the building and sparks a violent confrontation amongst different tribes. [DailyMail]
* William H. Macy has tweeted an image of himself alongside Mel Gibson on the set of Blood Father, revealing that he has joined the action-thriller in the vein of Taken. While Jean-Francois Richet (Mesrine) is directing, the real reason for optimism is The Town writer Peter Craig's screenplay which centers on an ex-con who reunites with his estranged wayward 16-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her. Macy's role is unclear but this is one film to keep an eye on for next year.
* Taissa Farmiga, last seen in the psychological thriller Anna, is starring alongside Ben Rosenfield (Boardwalk Empire) in an untitled film from director Hannah Fidell. This will be Fidell's second film after last year's Sundance-debuting drama, A Teacher, which is currently being developed by HBO as a series. Fidell wrote the script with Mark Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) producing the story about a "young couple, who have been together from high school and who are about to graduate college when events threaten to tear them apart." Lindsay Burdge, Joshua Leonard, Peter Vack and Jennifer Lafleur co-star. Filming is already completed so hopefully we'll hear about a title and potential release date. [THR]
