Grey Skies: Liam Neeson is in negotiations to reunite with director Joe Carnahan (The A-Team) for the survival drama The Grey. Neeson would be replacing Bradley Cooper, who was originally attached to the role. The story begins with a plane crash in Alaska, after which a man (Neeson) and his oil drill team struggle to survive in the wild. They are soon attacked by “large, vicious, aggressive wolves who see the humans as intruders who must be killed.†Since he seems to just be working through his A-Team actors, don’t be surprised if Carnahan offers the role to Jessica Biel next if if Neeson somehow doesn’t work out. [Heat Vision/HR]
Bell Joins Man: Jamie Bell will co-star in Man On A Ledge, Summit’s crime drama starring Sam Worthington. The Hurt Locker’s Anthony Mackie is negotiating to appear in the film, as well. The Asger Leth-directed Ledge begins with a cop (Worthington) who is thrown into jail for a crime he didn’t commit. He is let out for his father’s funeral, at which point he escapes and threatens to jump off a building. Bell will play his brother, who is coincidentally planning to rob a jewelry store across the street from his brother’s potential suicide attempt. Mackie would play Worthington’s ex-partner. [Deadline]
Introducing Elizabeth: Hugh Dancy and Elizabeth Olsen (yes, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s sister) will star in the indie drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, directed by Sean Durkin. The film is about a young woman (Olsen) living with her older sister (Sarah Paulson) after she escapes from a cult. Dancy will play Paulson’s husband. The “cult†she escapes from is a group of waifish girls who hold Starbucks cups at all times and are characterized by their “high-end homeless†fashion sense and over-sized sunglasses. [HR]
ABC Close To River: Oren Peli, the writer-director of Paranormal Activity, is developing The River, a “cinema verite-style thriller drama,†centered on a TV personality who goes missing and is presumed dead in the Amazon, sparking a search by his friends and crew to find him. The project is close to landing at ABC, according to Deadline. [Deadline]
Imagination Gone Wild: Alyssa Milano will star in the Lifetime movie Sundays at Tiffany’s based on James Patterson’s novel. She’ll play a bride-to-be who is, creepily, visited by the “adult incarnation†of her childhood imaginary friend, which causes her to re-examine her life. Don’t let the title deceive you: this is as far from Breakfast at Tiffany’s as you can possibly get. [Variety]
Unfrozen: Emma Bell (Frozen) has been chosen to star in Final Destination 5 a.k.a. 5nal Destination, the Steven Quale-directed film about a group of friends who survive a bridge collapse. Bell will play the “broken-hearted love interest†of previously-cast Nicholas D’Agosto. [Heat Vision/HR]