Casting: Milla Jovovich Is A ‘Survivor,’ Lake Bell Scores A ‘Coup,’ John Magaro Is ‘Unbroken’ & More

While James McTeigue for a moment seemed like the next great blockbuster hopeful following “V For Vendetta,” the diminishing returns of “Ninja Assassin” and “The Raven” have found him directing his leanest movie yet. Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson and Angela Bassett will star in “Survivor,” a thriller that’ll shoot in January. Penned by Phil Selby, the film will follow “a State Department employee newly posted to the American embassy in London, where she is charged with stopping terrorists from getting into the U.S. That puts her right in the line of fire and she is targeted for death and framed for crimes. Discredited, she is forced to go on the run while she tries to clear her name and stop a large-scale terrorist attack set for New Year’s Eve in Times Square.” Clive Owen was once attached to this, but it seems he’s moved on. [Deadline]

The multi-talented, multi-hyphenate Lake Bell is going to get her action chops exercised by joining Owen Wilson and Pierce Brosnan in “The Coup.” This is the latest from writer/director John Erick Dowdle, and it tells the story of “an American family living in Southeast Asia who get caught in the middle of a violent revolution. They must flee to safety while being hunted by a murderous rebel leader.” We presume Bell is swapping in for the previously attached Michelle Monaghan. [THR]

“Not Fade Away” star John Magaro has booked his biggest gig yet: a role in Angelina Jolie‘s Coen Brothers-penned WWII drama “Unbroken.” The based-on-a-true-story film will tell the tale of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian who endured medical experiments, slave labor, and brutal beatings as a Japanese POW during WWII. Magaro takes the role of “Frank A. Tinker, an Air Force dive bomb pilot and opera singer who befriends Zamperini en route to a Japanese POW camp.” He joins Jack O’Connell, Garrett Hedlund, Domhnall Gleeson and Alex Russell in the movie, which goes in front of cameras this month.  [Deadline]

Ellen Burstyn, Danny Glover, Nikki Reed, India Ennenga, James Frecheville and Onata Aprile will all feature in the coming-of-age dramedy “Scout.” From writer/director Laurie Weltz, the story a rebellious, slightly bad-ass Goth girl who convinces Sam, a suicidal young man (Frecheville), to go on a road trip with her across Texas to track down her little sister (Aprile) who’s been taken from her great-grandmother’s (Burstyn) home by their father and his girlfriend (Reed), all while trying to elude an ex-Texas Ranger (Glover) hired by Sam’s mother to track him down. The “Juno“-esque movie shoots in NY and LA this fall.

Guillaume Canet has booked a role in Cédric Anger’s “A l’ombre des forêts.” Inspired by the case of the “Oise killer,” the film is set between 1978-1979, where “for several months, the inhabitants of a quiet region find themselves living in panic and fear: a maniac is at work, targeting young women. He escapes the traps set by the investigators and the roadblocks because he is a young and shy policeman leading a mundane life within his brigade. A model policeman, he is put in charge of investigating his own crimes.” Ana Girardot co-stars and filming will begin next month. [Cineuropa]

Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Jim Parsons will voice DreamWorks Animation‘s alien-invasion comedy “Home.” Tim Johnson (“Over the Hedge,” “Antz”) directs the story that follows Captain Smek, leader of the overly optimistic alien race known as the Boov, who take over Earth and begin to relocate the human race—convinced they’re doing them a big favor.” It’ll hit theatres next fall. [The Wrap]

David Arquette, Paz De La Huerta and Noah Segan are starring in “Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins.” From the producers behind “Bellflower,” the movie follows “a turf war that has been raging in the fictional seaside community of Old Port for generations. On one side, the Syndicate – an evil gang of crank-head misfits set on muscling the San Diego family out of the parcel of land they own in the center of town. On the other side, the San Diego family: twin brothers Tony and Johnny and their sister Salsa are the last of a bloodline that stretches back for generations. Their mother, father and brothers were all brutally murdered in violent clashes with the Syndicate over the years. Now the Syndicate is set on crushing the last remnants of the San Diego family, and taking over Old Port for good. When they kidnap Salsa and hold her for ransom, all hell breaks loose. The twins and their best friend Chuck Hank must decide whether to hand over the deed to their family’s land in order to save their sister or fight.” The movie is now filming. [The Wrap]

“The Newsroom” star Thomas Sadoski is trading the studio for the great outdoors, joining “Wild,” starring Reese Witherspoon. Jean-Marc Vallee (“The Dallas Buyer’s Club“) will direct the Nick Hornby (“An Education,” “About A Boy,” “High Fidelity“) adaptation of Cheryl Strayed‘s “Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail,” telling the tale of a woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike in the wake of personal tragedy, including the death of her mother and the collapse of her marriage. Sadoski has taken the role of Witherspoon’s “ex-husband who cares for her despite her infidelities.” The plan is to shoot this fall. [THR]