It's a Straight Outta Compton reunion over on Kong: Skull Island, as Jason Mitchell, who played Easy-E in the hip-hop biopic, has joined Corey Hawkins (who played Dr. Dre) in Legendary's potential blockbuster. Mitchell will take on the role of a pilot who is a little too relaxed at his job flying in explorers to the titular island home of King Kong. The rest of the cast is led by Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, Toby Kebbell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tom Wilkinson with Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing. Kong: Skull Island opens March 10th 2017. [Variety]
Luke Bracy (the Point Break remake) has joined Mel Gibson's next directorial effort, Hacksaw Ridge. The war film stars Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, and Sam Worthington, and tells the true story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector who won the Medal of Honor in WWII. Bracey plays Smitty, a hard-nosed alpha male of Doss' platoon. [Deadline]
Comedian Kevin Pollak (The Whole Nine Yards) has set Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, Brittany Snow, Maria Bello, Paul Wesley, Ken Marino, Illeana Douglas, Johnny Simmons, and Jane Lynch for his directorial debut, Late Bloomer. The film is based on Man Made, the 2001 memoir by entertainment journalist Ken Baker that details the pituitary tumor that prevented him from hitting puberty until the age of 27. He had the tumor removed surgically, but it forced him to experience the effects of puberty at a rapid rate. Simmons plays the lead character, Pete Newmans, who works as a sex therapist while enduring the same condition as Baker. [Variety]
