* Newcomer Brenton Thwaites has landed the plum gig as the prince in Maleficent, the Sleeping Beauty retelling that will be centered on the titular evil witch. He'll join Angelina Jolie, Dakota Fanning, Juno Temple, Sharlto Copley, Imelda Staunton, Sam Riley, Miranda Richardson, and Lesley Manville in the Robert Stromberg-directed film. Thwaites is kindof a big deal in Australia, but this is the first notable thing he'll do in the U.S. Well, that's unless you count Lifetime Networks' Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, which will premier in June. Which I don't. Maleficent is due to open March 14th 2014. [Deadline]
* Turns out AMC's The Killing has been fertile ground for producing future Hollywood stars. Following in the footsteps of Joel Kinnaman(aka your next Robocop), Mireille Enos is about to make her biggest move yet by joining Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth in The Devil's Knot. Atom Egoyan will direct the film based on the bittersweet true story of the West Memphis Three, but rather than this being another documentary on the subject, it will be a fully narrative venture. Enos will play Vicki Hutcheson, whose son was a playmate of the three murdered boys at the center of the story, and plays a key part in unraveling the mystery that shook the town. [Deadline]
* In the planning stages since 2005, Malcolm McDowell's film based on the crazy story of real life serial killer/con man/jewel thief Archibald Hall(aka Roy Fontaine) is finally taking shape. Gary Oldman, Dominic Monaghan, and Joanne Whalley are the latest to join the film, now titled Monster Butler after the killer's earned nickname. McDowell is in the lead role, with Monaghan as his first murder victim and ex-lover, David Wright. Oldman will play Wiggy, a taxidermist with anger issues who teams up with Hall to commit crimes. Doug Rath will direct when production kicks off in June. [THR]
