A day of weird casting news continues. Sean Penn has as much comedic ability as anybody, but he rarely shows it. I mean, what was the last comedy the guy's done? Sweet and Lowdown? We almost saw him in The Three Stooges, but he was smart enough to flee. Whenever it was, we're going to see Penn dust off the ol' funnybone in Ben Stiller's remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
What started out as merely a starring vehicle for Stiller has turned into quite the show as he'll direct a cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, and Patton Oswalt. Based on the James Thurber short story and the 1947 Danny Kaye film, it follows a sad sack photo manager at LIFE magazine who is steamrolled by everybody in his life. It's only through his vivid imagination and daydreaming that he can escape, but they prove to be a problem when he returns to the real world. Penn will have a small but important role as a photographer.
Filming begins later this month, and after it's completed we'll likely see Penn jump move forward with his next directorial effort, The Comedian, which will star Wiig and Robert De Niro. [Deadline]
