Everybody knows decent roles for actresses tend to dry up as they get older, which is why so many have turned to producing in order to develop their own projects. That's what Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman have done, teaming up to secure the rights to Liane Moriarty's book, Big Little Lies, as a starring vehicle for them both. The recently-published novel tells the story of "three mothers of kindergartners whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder." No word on who will write or direct but given the filmmakers both women have worked with it should be easy to find one. [Deadline]
Just as Dakota Johnson has been quick to capitalize on all the Fifty Shades of Grey attention by lining up more fulfilling projects, so too is her co-star Jamie Dornan. He'll set aside the whips and blindfolds to star in The Siege of Jadotville, a geo-politcal thriller in which he'll play Pat Quinlan, who in 1961 led an Irish UN troop against soldiers loyal to Katangese Prime Minister Moise Tshombe. Badly outnumbered, Quinlan's 500 men successfully held off an army of thousands for six days before surrendering. Commercials director Richie Smyth will make his feature debut working from a script by Constantine co-writer Kevin Brodbin. [Deadline]
