Moving Up: Freida Pinto’s first post-Slumdog project will be Woody Allen’s upcoming untitled film, featuring the previously announced Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins. Pinto expressed her joy in being cast, saying “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to work with that guy with the sweat headband from Goonies.†Naomi Watts has just been added to the cast, too, but none of her movies won Best Picture on Sunday, so she gets pushed back to the last sentence in the paragraph. [Variety]
Hot Tub. Time Machine: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, and Craig Robinson have joined the cast of Hot Tub Time Machine, with Vulture buddy Clark Duke in negotiations to do the same. The movie revolves around a group of friends who return to a lodge where they partied in their youth, only to be shipped back to the year 1987 upon entering the titular hot-tub-time-machine hybrid. [HR]
Ejiofor Undercover: Chiwetel Ejiofor has joined the cast of Salt as Peabody, a CIA agent working for Liev Schrieber’s character and tasked with hunting down Angelina Jolie’s character, an alleged Russian sleeper spy. The report specifically describes Peabody as being in “hot pursuit,†which is the first time in the history of the written word that anyone named Peabody has been described as doing anything other than taking out a book at the library. [Variety]
Ambassador Penn: Sean Penn may join Fair Game — about outed spy Valerie Plame Wilson — as Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Based on the ex-CIA-agent’s memoir, the project has Naomi Watts onboard as Plame, with Doug Liman set to direct. [Variety]
Diablo Undead: Diablo Cody is producing Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament for Fox Searchlight; the movie, an adaptation of S.G. Browne’s upcoming novel, revolves around a recent zombie convert who finds help adjusting to his new life when he attends an Undead Anonymous meeting. Those fearful of zombies wielding slightly outdated vernacular, rest easy — the actual screenplay will be written by Geoff Latulippe. [Variety]
Inevitable: The Melrose Place remake has been officially green-lit for the CW; Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin, who wrote the new version, will also be the program’s executive producers and showrunners. Brian Gaskill, call your agent: Models Inc. is so next. [HR]