Casting Bits: Nicole Kidman In Talks For ‘Paperboy’, Jeremy Irons To Star In ‘Night Train To Lisbon’, Rosario Dawson Joins ‘Fire With Fire’
Normally, when a star drops out of a project just before it’s set to begin shooting, it’s a big setback. InLee Daniels' case,Tobey Maguire’s exit fromThe Paperboycould turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Maguire recently dropped out of the film, which was originally scheduled to begin this summer. His exit pushed back the timetable for the project, forcing would-be co-starSofia Vergarato quit due to conflicts with herModern Familyshooting schedule. Now producers are in talks withNicole Kidmanto replace Vergara — a pretty impressive upgrade, at least in terms of star wattage.
Based on a 1955 novel byPete Dexter,The Paperboyrevolves around a reporter who works with his brother to investigate a murder that put the suspect on death row. Kidman would play “a woman with a dark side” who first draws the reporter’s attention to the case, and eventually strikes up a relationship with him.Matthew McConaugheyandZac Efronare still on board to co-star; there’s no word yet on who might be replacing Maguire. [The Hollywood Reporter]
After the jump, Rosario Dawson joins Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, and Curtis Jackson a.k.a. 50 Cent inFire with Fire, Jeremy Irons signs on forNight Train to Lisbon, and I continue to avoid all the obvious puns, for once.
Duhamel will star as a fireman in the witness protection program who “takes matters into his own hands” when the man he starts getting threats from the mean he’s set to testify against. Shooting begins this week. [Variety]
Finally:Jeremy Ironsis set to star inNight Train to Lisbon,Bille August’s film adaptation ofPascal Mercier’s 2004 novel. The story follows a Swiss classics professor who, after meeting a mysterious Portuguese woman, quits his job and travels to Lisbon in order to find out more about a writer who fought against Portugese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Irons' part in the film has not been announced.
Irons recently finished shooting the first season of Showtime’sThe Borgias, which had its season finale last month. He is currently at work on Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s plagiarism thrillerThe Words, starring Dennis Quaid, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Olivia Wilde. [Variety]
