Start Your Engines: Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) are in negotiations to join the thriller Drive. The adaptation of James Sallis’s novel stars Ryan Gosling as a lowly Hollywood stuntman who works as a “freelance getaway driver during robberies†on the side. The plot is set into motion when a bank heist doesn’t go as planned and he ends up on the run with an ex-con’s girlfriend (Mulligan) in his car. Well, this may not get Carey another Oscar nomination, but there are definitely worse ways to spend your time than riding around in a car with Ryan Gosling. [Risky Business/HR]
Dolly and Queen: The unlikely duo of Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton are teaming up in Joyful Noise, about two women who work together to prevent a small-town gospel choir from shutting down. Todd Graff (Bandslam) is writing and directing the “musical-driven film,†which will see Latifah playing the mother of two who is placed in charge of the choir after the death of its director. Parton will play the late director’s widow, who hopes to take over his job. Graff is making the natural transition here from working with Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka to Queen and Dolly. [HR]
Oscar Bait: Writers Stephen Lindsey (Hachi: A Dog’s Tale) and Luis Ugaz are adapting David Dosa’s book Making the Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat. The story follows Oscar, a cat who is able to predict the deaths of terminally ill patients in the nursing center where he lives in Providence. His track record was so spot-on that he was actually used as an early warning signal for doctors and nurses at the center. Maybe they can trick Bill Murray into voicing the cat! [Variety]
Oscar Bait: Writers Stephen Lindsey (Hachi: A Dog’s Tale) and Luis Ugaz are adapting David Dosa’s book Making the Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat. The story follows Oscar, a cat who is able to predict the deaths of terminally ill patients in the nursing center where he lives in Providence. His track record was so spot-on that he was actually used as an early warning signal for doctors and nurses at the center. Maybe they can trick Bill Murray into voicing the cat! [Variety]
Demon Unleashed: Michael A. Nickles will direct Playback from his own script, starring Toby Hemingway (Black Swan), Brooke Smith (The Namesake), Alessandra Torresani (Caprica), Jonathan Keltz, Ambyr Childers, Daryl Mitchell, and Jennifer Missoni. The supernatural thriller is about a group of high-school students who dig into their town’s past and accidentally unlock a demon that “preys upon their classmates.†Turns out the demon has an agenda of its own, aiming to “expose the town’s deepest, darkest secret.†[Variety]