There are many reasons to be excited about Flight, the story of a troubled airline pilot considered a hero after saving his passengers from a potential disaster, only to ripped by an investigation that reveals his alcohol and drug addiction. One is that Denzel Washington might actually be taking a role that forces him to push his talents after years of basically treading water. And it's genuinely cool that Robert Zemeckis is back directing real, living people again for the first time in over a decade. With all that, the thing that gets me most jazzed for this film is the news of Oscar winner Melissa Leo(The Fighter) joining the cast.
THR has the news, adding that James Badge Dale(World War Z) is also jumping on board, making for a pretty nice pair to an already fantastic cast which includes Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, and Brian Geraghty. Shadow & Act also notes that Denzel's wife will be portrayed by Garcelle Beauvais(Franklin & Bash). Leo will play one of the investigators looking to reveal the truth about Washington's character. Dale will play a gaunt, dying cancer patient? Say wha?
Even though she's only recently getting the credit she deserves for being such a smart, thoughtful actress, Leo has been great stretching back to her days on Homicide: Life on the Street. She was nominated for Best Actress back in 2008 for Frozen River, before finally earning Best Supporting Actress as the manipulative mom in The Fighter. You can see her right now as part of Kevin Smith's religious horror, Red State, or every week on the HBO series, Treme.
