CASTING UPDATE: Vera Farmiga, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Quinto, Liam Neeson, Paul Bettany

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Here are the latest news headlines:

Vera Farmiga to Star in PRIMA
Benedict Cumberbatch to Star in BLOOD MOUNTAIN
Zachary Quinto Joins HITMAN Sequel AGENT 47
Liam Neeson to Star in TAKEN 3 and Scorsese's SILENCE
Paul Bettany Joins THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON as The Vision

Vera Farmiga to Star in 'PRIMA'

Vera Farmiga ("Bates Motel") is set to star in Allegiance Theater's ballet comedy "Prima", previously known as "Dance of the Mirlitons". The film will be written and directed by Evan Greenberg and produced by Daniel Dubiecki ("Up in the Air", "Juno") and Lara Alameddine. Here is the film's official synopsis:

"PRIMA (previously known as Dance of the Mirlitons) is an original story that blends the heart of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and BILLY ELLIOTT with the crass comedy of MEAN GIRLS. The film is prepping for a March 2014 start date and centers around twelve-year-old Jesse Urchin who shocks everyone when she is accepted into the prestigious Battleboro School for Dancers. While Jesse learns that to get to the top, she must kill or be killed, her mother Corinne struggles to acclimate to her posh stomping grounds."

Benedict Cumberbatch to Star in 'BLOOD MOUNTAIN'

Benedict Cumberbatch ("Star Trek Into Darkness", "Sherlock") will star in the action-adventure film "Blood Mountain". The film is directed by Sergei Bodrov ("Mongol") from a script by Jonathan W. Stokes ("The Last Hurrah"). Cumberbatch will play Charlie Webster, "a seasoned combat veteran, now working as a private military contractor, who dispatches the enemy with ice-cold efficiency." Production will begin in Morocco this April. Here is the film's official synopsis:

"Blood Mountain is a taut, visceral and surprising action-adventure in the tradition of Three Kings, Lone Survivor and The Grey. Charlie Webster is a seasoned combat veteran, now working as a private military contractor, who dispatches the enemy with ice-cold efficiency. Years of warfare have left him jaded and impervious to the horrors around him; there’s nothing he hasn’t seen or done before.

While operating along the lawless mountainous regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, his special forces team is ambushed and killed during a covert raid on a high value traget and Webster is forced to personally escort Al-Wahiri, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, over miles of hostile terrain in order to bring him to justice.

With a $12 million bouty at stake and insurgents and rival mercenaries hunting them at every turn, the two men – warriors in their own right and obeying an unspoken code that cannot be broken – find themselves facing not only their enemies but each other."

Zachary Quinto Joins 'HITMAN' Sequel 'AGENT 47'

Zachary Quinto ("Star Trek", "American Horror Story") has joined the cast of the "Hitman" sequel/reboot titled "Agent 47". No details have been give about Quinto's role in the picture. All that is known right now about the film is that it will follow the titular Agent 47 in his mission to protect a waitress targeted by the Syndicate, a dangerous criminal organization, although she will prove to be much more than she seems. The film originally had Paul Walker in the lead role, but after the actor's tragic death, the studio recast Rupert Friend ("Homeland") in the role. Production is set to begin in March.

Liam Neeson to Star in 'TAKEN 3' and Scorsese's 'SILENCE'

Liam Neeson has added two important projects to his workload. The first is the second sequel to "Taken", the film which rebooted Neeson's career as an action hero. The actor will return in this third installment for a paycheck of (reportedly) $20 million. The sequel will be directed by Olivier Megaton ("Taken 2", "Colombiana"). Neeson promises that part three of the "Taken" saga will have a "really, really good story" and that nobody gets taken this time around :

"They called me up and I said “I’ll do it… but only as long as nobody gets Taken."

Liam Neeson's second project will be Martin Scorsese's "Silence". The film is Scorsese's passion project, an adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel which revolves around "17th-century Jesuit priests who travel to Japan to investigate claims of religious persecution". Andrew Garfield ("The Amazing Spider-Man") is set to star as one of the priests. The cast also includes Ken Watanabe ("Inception"). Production will begin in Taiwan this summer.

Paul Bettany Joins 'THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON' as The Vision

Paul Bettany is no stranger to the Marvel movies. In the "Iron Man" films, as well as "The Avengers", Bettany can be identified as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark's highly evolved computer. But now he has joined the cast of the sequel "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" as a live-action character, namely The Vision. The character is an android created by the villain Ultron, which was originally conceived in the Marvel comics as a weapon against Dr. Henry Pym aka Ant-Man, who in turn created Ultron. It remains to be seen if the movie version of The Vision will turn out to be an incarnation of J.A.R.V.I.S. since it's too much of a coincidence that Bettany plays both. "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" opens in theater on May 1, 2015.

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Sunday, February 16, 2014