CASTING NEWS: Jessica Alba, Idris Elba, Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek

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Here are the latest news headlines:

Jessica Alba in Talks for THE VEIL
Idris Elba and Sam Worthington Join ALIVE ALONE
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow to Return for PITCH PERFECT 2
Johnny Depp and Tom Hardy to Star in BLACK MASS
Salma Hayek to Star in THE SEPTEMBERS OF SHIRAZ

Jessica Alba in Talks for 'THE VEIL'

Jessica Alba is in negotiations to star in a small budget horror titled "The Veil" alongside Thomas Jane ("The Punisher"). The film is produced by Jason Blum ("The Purge", "Paranormal Activity") and directed by Phil Joanou ("Gridiron Gang", "The Punisher: Dirty Laundry") from a script by Robert Ben Garant ("Night at the Museum"). The plot focuses on "members of a religious cult known as Heaven's Veil who take their own lives. The truth behind what really happened remains buried deep in the memory of the sole survivor, a five-year-old girl, who returns to the compound with a documentary crew as an adult. They soon discover something that is far more terrifying than anything they could have imagined." Jessica Alba will play the "documentary filmmaker who accompanies the survivor back to the compound to investigate what really happened." Filming begins in April.

Idris Elba and Sam Worthington Join 'ALIVE ALONE'

Idris Elba ("Pacific Rim") and Sam Worthington ("Avatar") have joined the cast of the thriller "Alive Alone". Elba will play a former Guantanamo Bay detainee working as a taxi driver who meets a prostitute (Noomi Rapace) on the run from a crime lord (Worthington). Matthias Schoenaerts ("Bullhead") was set to star in the picture but had to drop out. The film is the directorial debut of Khurram Longi who also wrote the script. Production begins in March.

Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow to Return for 'PITCH PERFECT 2'

anna kendrick rebel wilson pitch perfect sequel

The sequel to 2012's surprise hit "Pitch Perfect" has been announced a few weeks ago and now the cast is being rounded up. So far, Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow have been confirmed to reprise their roles from the first film. The announcement for Kendrick and Wilson came via Twitter along with a teaser image (left). Elizabeth Banks, who produced and starred in the original, is set to direct the sequel. This will be her directorial debut. Kay Cannon is returning to write the script and filming is expected to begin later this year. The release date has ben scheduled for May 15, 2015.

Johnny Depp and Tom Hardy to Star in 'BLACK MASS'

The production of the crime biopic "Black Mass" has proven to be quite complicated. Today, Johnny Depp has been officially confirmed in the lead role of notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, but Depp has been on and off the project for over a year. At first he was in talks for the role when Barry Levinson was directing and Joel Edgerton ("The Great Gatsby") was attached to star as FBI agent John Connolly, Bulger's childhood friend. Both eventually departed after Depp dropped out due to a salary dispute. Recently, director Scott Cooper ("Out of the Furnace") came aboard and Depp returned in the lead and this time it seems he's going to stay in the lead. And, Tom Hardy is currently in talks to replace Edgerton in the role of Connolly. The script has been written by Mark Mallouk and it is based on the 2001 bestseller "Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between The FBI and The Irish Mob".

Salma Hayek to Star in 'THE SEPTEMBERS OF SHIRAZ'

Salma Hayek is set to star alongside Shohreh Aghdashloo in "The Septembers of Shiraz", an adaptation of a novel by Dalia Sofer. The drama is directed by Wayne Blair ("The Sapphires") and produced by Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel ("Olympus Has Fallen") and Heidi Jo Markel ("Lovelace"). The story is based on actual events and tells the story of a Jewish family caught in the Islamic revolution in 1981 Iran and it focuses on "an imprisoned gem dealer, his despairing wife, their daughter - whose playmate's father is in the charge of the prison - and their New York-based son as they try to come together and escape the deadly tyranny." Salma Hayek will play the wife while Shohreh Aghdashloo will star as the family's housekeeper, whose son "used to work for the gem dealer but is not part of the Revolutionary Guard."

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Saturday, February 15, 2014