* With trailers for the CG/live-action Paddington movie already in theaters, it was a little odd to learn that Colin Firth had just dropped out of voicing the talking bear. A replacement has now been found and while he's not a big name, it doesn't really matter because we won't see him anyway. Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Cloud Atlas) has come on to voice Paddington, marmalade sandwich-loving bear U.K. audiences have loved for years. Paul King is directing the film for released in the U.S. on Christmas Day. [DailyMail]
* Oscar-nominee Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) has joined Drake Doremus' futuristic romance, Equals, alongside Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, and Guy Pearce. Set in a society where there emotions have been wiped out, a new disease has been switching them back on, allowing two people to fall in love. Weaver plays Bess, a doctor who helps Stewart and Hoult's characters after they become afflicted with the disease. [Deadline]
* Steve Carell is said to be in early talks to star in an adaptation of Arthur Herzog's 1978 novel, I.Q. 83, a sci-fi novel about a scientist who must discover the cure for a virus that has lowered the world's intelligence, even though he suffers from it. The film has been making the Hollywood rounds for years and was once at Dreamworks but has now found new life at Paramount. Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) is on board to direct with David Guion and Michael Handelman having written the most recent script. [The Tracking Board]
