"Downton Abbey" is about to get a major visitor. George Clooney has shot a cameo appearance on the show, with the episode set to air this Christmas. He’ll play "an American character who is a guest at a wedding in the country estate" and his participation is part of the annual charity drive Text Santa for ITV which raises money for various good causes. [The Guardian]
Steve Coogan will lead "Boswell for the Defence," an adaptation of the play by Patrick Edgeworth (who also penned the movie script). Gregor Jordan ("Ned Kelly") will direct this one about "James Boswell (Coogan), who in the twilight of his career and life takes on an impossible case—to save the life of the convict Mary Bryant from the gallows, a case no one else wants. " Production starts next year. [THR]
Albert Brooks and Gugu Mbatha-Raw have joined the untitled Will Smith NFL concussion drama. Peter Landesman (“Parkland”) directs the movie about "Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith), the forensic neuropathologist who single-handedly made the first discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a professional football player and brought awareness to the public." [Variety/Deadline]
Chris Cooper is joining Jake Gyllenhall and Naomi Watts in Jean-Marc Vallee‘s "Demolition." The drama centers on "a young investment banker struggling to understand his emotional unraveling after the tragic death of his wife, when, suddenly a woman he meets in a chance encounter changes his life forever." Shooting starts next week. [Deadline]
McNulty and Stringer Bell (Dominic West and Idris Elba) reunite for the animated "Finding Nemo" sequel, "Finding Dory." I guess we’ll have to settle for this instead our much dreamed about sixth season of "The Wire." [via Film Divider]
Elizabeth Olsen gets her song on, joining Tom Hiddleston in the Hank Williams biopic "I Saw The Light." She’ll play the wife of the country music legend, with the Marc Abraham-directed production kicking off in October. [Variety]
Rachel Weisz is out and Drew Barrymore is in for Catherine Hardwicke‘s "Miss You Already." She’ll co-star with Toni Collette, Dominic Cooper, Jacqueline Bisset and Paddy Considine in the movie about "two lifelong best friends who experience problems when one of them struggles to have a baby and the other is diagnosed with breast cancer." Cameras are rolling now. [Cineuropa]
