Clone Army: Keira Knightley has signed on for Fox Searchlight’s sci-fi thriller Never Let Me Go. The movie revolves around three boarding school kids shut out of the outside world, who discover they are clones created for use in organ donation. In a brilliant bit of cinema verité, the other two main characters will be played by Knightley’s heretofore top-secret clones. [Variety]
Executive Bateman: Jason Bateman has joined the cast of Up in the Air, the DreamWorks comedy starring George Clooney and directed by Jason Reitman. Clooney plays an HR exec obsessed with collecting frequent flyer miles; Bateman will play his boss. We’re giving three to one odds that one of these characters will sport a funny-looking mustache. [Variety]
Oates Adapted: Maria Bello, Abigail Breslin, and Samuel L. Jackson will head the cast for Rape: A Love Story, an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s 2003 novella. Jackson plays a cop attempting to protect Bello’s character, a mother recovering from a gang rape who is being stalked by her attackers; Breslin will play the daughter, who witnessed the attack. [Variety]
Ba Da Da Da, Snap Snap: The Addams Family musical is looking to start its Broadway run in just about a year: March 5, 2010 has been tentatively scheduled for the beginning of previews, with the show officially opening April 8. No actors are confirmed for the cast, but a past reading of the show — which features a book by Jersey Boys’ Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and songs by The Wild Party’s Andrew Lippa — featured Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. Further good news: Looks like the guy who played Lurch in the movies is available. [Variety]
CBS Get Strong: CBS has picked up reality competition America’s Strongest American, with old friend Ben Bailey of Cash Cab set to co-host. The show will be a comedic takeoff on strongman competitions, with normal people competing in appropriately adjusted strength competitions. Fans of men-in-ill-fitting-wrestling-leotards-based humor, rejoice. [HR]
Milano’s Back: ABC has announced a few pilot castings: Alyssa Milano will star in an untitled comedy for the network as a successful lawyer and single mother, and the newfound love interest of a telemarketer and struggling writer played by Eric Christian Olsen; Kim Raver will play a reporter in Shonda Rhimes’s war-correspondent drama Inside the Box. Amusingly, Raver is the second cast member of Lipstick Jungle (after Lindsey Price and Eastwick) to book a pilot while her current gig has not yet been canceled. [HR]