It seems the return of Shia LaBeouf to "The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman" has kicked the movie back into motion. The actor originally joined back in 2010 and was later replaced by Zac Efron, but last month LaBeouf climbed back into the lead less than two weeks later, and two more actors have come aboard with a start date on the horizon.
Evan Rachel Wood and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will now take part in the thriller that follows Charlie, who after the death of his mother, heads to Europe to find himself. On the plane he meets Hungarian girl Gabi Banyai (Wood) — whose father dies on the flight — and he falls in love. The trouble is her violent and estranged ex-husband Nigel (Mikkelsen) vows to keep them apart, and Charlie endures one bruising beatdown after another to woo the girl and keep her out of harm’s way. This is a slight tweak to the original logline which had Charlie protecting Gabi from a crime boss, but the switch doesn't make much of a difference.
Wood has been busy the last couple weeks, packing in her calendar with projects including the erotic thriller (schwing!) "Plush" with Catherine Hardwicke, the Justin Long-penned ensemble rom-com "A Case Of You" and the Marilyn Monroe documentary "Fragments." As for Mikkelsen, it's another Hollywood villain role for the talented actor who most famously put the hurt on James Bond in "Casino Royale." But hell, he's one of the best to watch, and we'll gladly see him give LaBeouf a hard time in 'Countryman.'
The film has a Black List-approved script from Matt Drake ("Project X"), and will go in front of cameras in May with commercials director Frederik Bond making his feature debut. [Variety]
