Three small updates to some movies I've been keeping a close eye on the past few months, so let's get right to it...
* Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Last Stand is currently shooting, but that hasn't stopped director Kim Ji-Woon(I Saw the Devil) from amping up the hotness quotient of the cast to an incredible degree. Fast rising star Genesis Rodriguez has joined the cast, with Variety reporting she'll play an FBI agent, presumably on the side of Schwarzenegger's small town sheriff. The report has her on the side of Eduardo Noriega, who is playing the villain, so it's unclear if that's a mistake or a spoiled plot twist. D'oh. Jaime Alexander, Forest Whittaker, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, Rodrigo Santoro, and Harry Dean Stanton co-star. Rodriguez has a busy few months ahead, promising she'll be more of a household name this time next year. She'll appear in the Sam Worthington-led thriller, Man On a Ledge, and also has roles in What To Expect When You're Expecting and Will Ferrell's Spanish language comedy, Case de mi Padre.
* Shea Whigham is probably best recognized right now for his role as Steve Buscemi's younger bro in HBO's Boardwalk Empire(still never watched it. Crazy, I know.), but the fact is he's been a very good supporting actor for a long time. This year has seen him make a splash in two small but memorable roles in The Lincoln Lawyer, and as Michael Shannon's concerned buddy in Take Shelter. Now he's set to join The Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David O. Russell. Based on the book by Matthew Quick, the story centers on a former high school teacher recently released from a psychiatric facility, who seeks to reclaim his life by finding the proverbial "silver linings". Bradley Cooper, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker, Julia Stiles, and John Ortiz also star. [Deadline]
* I may not have been a big fan of Brit Marling's overrated festival hit, Another Earth, but I love what she's putting together in the eco-terrorist thriller, The East. Teaming back up with director Zal Batmanglij(Sound of My Voice), she stars as an undercover security agent infiltrating an anarchist organization known as The East. Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page are members of the group; with roles secured for Patricia Clarkson and Toby Kebbell in the film as well. Variety and THR report that Shiloh Fernandez(Red Riding Hood) and Aldis Hodge(Red Sands) have been added. Fernandez will play a free spirited member of the terrorist group, while Hodge is an ex-military man affiliated with them.
