Jennifer Ehle, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba & Nina Arianda Being Discussed For Parts
We were slightly worried as word had gone very quiet around Kathryn Bigelow's developing Osama Bin Laden/Navy SEAL flick aka "Kill Bin Laden," but it looks like casting is now heating up. Deadline reports that Jason Clarke is the first one officially on board the flim, with a whole host of other names being tossed around for what producers hope will be a helluva ensemble. Thanks to roles on TV in "Brotherhood" and "The Chicago Code," Clarke's stock has been rising and Hollywood has been eager to get hands on him as he's set to feature in "The Wettest County In The World" and "The Great Gatsby." But wait a second, where's Joel Edgerton?
Everything seemed hunky dory as far as his involvement went, and it was just over the summer that he talked to us, revealing he had signed on before the first script was even done, back when there was a heavier focus on the attempt to kill Bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains in 2001. Of course, with the terrorist leader's recent death the script had be redrafted, revised and updated, and in that time Edgerton's profile has gotten larger. Warner Bros. want the actor for both "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "300: Battle Of Artemisia" and we figure his (potential) involvement in both or either of those films will clash with the schedule for Bigelow's project, which will be racing to hit theaters before the end of 2012 for awards season play.
And yes, they are thinking big with this one. Tom Hardy, Jennifer Ehle, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Rooney Mara and Nina Arianda (Carol from "Midnight In Paris") are being considered for roles, and decisions will have to be made soon. Filming on the Mark Boal-scripted project is set to begin early in 2012. But so far, they're off to a strong start.
I don't think it's the same as shipping jobs overseas. The actors that are in the mix for this came HERE for work. Not unlike Elizabeth McGovern, who went to London and now is in Downtown Abbey. The young, unkown actors from the aforementioned training institutions have to work their way to getting noticed in Hollywood, through auditions, theater, etc. Nina Arianda did it. Jennifer Ehle did it. Rooney Mara I think is "untrained," but the reason she's in Dragon Tattoo is she made a convincing case for her abilities. And because of that, she's in the mix for this. As for the non-Americans, Tom Hardy has obviously proven himself and so has Guy Pearce.
The Elizabeth Moss thing is actually understandable: ABC provided funding under the condition that an Australian played the lead. For this film, there is no such rule apparently.
Kinda funny how they're seemingly going out of their way to cast an entirely non-American team of all-American Navy SEALS.