The long developing adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s short story "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" is finally getting a bit of traction. Elle Fanning will star in the "two-hander love story focusing on a schoolboy and punk who uses music and art as a way to escape and a female alien tourist (Fanning) who wants to escape her tour group and explore the most dangerous place in the galaxy, the London suburb of Croydon." So, a less murder-y version of "Under The Skin"? John Cameron Mitchell ("Shortbus") co-wrote the script and will direct, and you can read the original short story for free right here. [THR]
The ensemble of Sacha Baron Cohen‘s action comedy "Grimsby" just got a little big bigger. Penelope Cruz has joined Mark Strong, Annabelle Wallis, David Harewood, Ian McShane, Gabourey Sidibe, Johnny Vegas, Rebel Wilson and Isla Fisher in the movie about a black ops spy who has to team up with his football hooligan brother. Louis Leterrier directs. [Variety]
While it was a bit uncertain if he’d show up or now, it looks like Jack Nicholson won’t be in Warren Beatty‘s Howard Hughes flick. To refresh your memory, it stars Alden Ehrenreich, Lily Collins, Annette Bening and Matthew Broderick and centers on Hughes’ assistant (Ehrenreich) who falls and his romance with a young woman (Collins). [Showbiz 411]
Emily Mortimer has boarded "Spectral" with James Badge Dale. The movie will follow "a Special Ops team that fights supernatural beings who have taken over a European city" with actress playing "a CIA mission leader." Nic Mathieu directs. [THR]
John Goodman will star in "Valencia," a new film from J.J. Abrams‘ shingle, Bad Robot. The $5 million dollar thriller "takes place in an underground cellar, home to a teenage girl and a caretaker. The girl wakes up in the cellar after a car accident, at which point her eerie companion tells her a nuclear attack has devastated society." [Variety]
Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult have company on "Equals" with Kate Lyn Sheil ("House of Cards," "You’re Next") joining the cast. The latest from Drake Doremus ("Like Crazy," "Breathe In") "is set in a future society where emotions have been eradicated. A new breed of humans, called Equals, live peacefully until a disease begins activating emotions in its victims, who are sent away and never seen again." Production will begin in August. [Deadline]
Matthew Rhys is using his break from "The Americans" to star in "Darling Buds Of May." The movie follows "a stranded British army officer who teams up with a German fugitive to find his son in Nazi-occupied France." Christian Carion ("Joyeux Noel") directs. [Deadline]
"30 Rock" star Jane Krakowski has joined Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad and Ashley Benson in "Pixels." Chris Columbus directs this one about aliens who "invade Earth after misinterpreting feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of intergalactic war." The actress will play the First Lady. [Deadline]
Glad to hear that Mitchell has a new project after Happyish sadly vanished in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death.