Stellan Skasgard Joins ‘Thor’; Neeson Consults On ‘Next Three Days’

– Top Scandinavian character actor Stellan Skarsgård (or “that Irish guy,” to Seth Rogen and James Franco…) revealed to Swedish news agency TT Spektra that he’s joined the cast of Marvel adaptation “Thor.” Skarsgård, whose son, “True Blood” star Alexander Skarsgård, screen-tested for the lead role, is playing an unknown role, although, unlike some of his co-stars, he does appear to have insisted on reading the script at least, telling the news agency “They wanted me to sign without reading the script. This, I refused to do. Then they sent one to me that was so coded that I could only print one copy.” We’re unfamiliar with the source material, because we’re adults – any idea who Skarsgård could be playing?

– Former presidential candidate, and “Die Hard 2” villain Fred Thompson has joined the cast of horse racing drama “Secretariat,” playing a champion horse breeder, alongside stars Diane Lane and John Malkovich. Thompson, who returned to acting earlier in the year in an episode of “Life on Mars,” after ending his presidential run in January 2008, leads new additions Kevin Connolly (“Entourage”) and A.J. Michalka (“The Lovely Bones”), who will play a sportswriter and Lane’s daughter, respectively.

– Even as shooting begins on “The A-Team,” (the first pictures from the set can be seen to the right) Liam Neeson has signed to return to his stock, rent-a-mentor roots in Paul Haggis’ “The Next Three Days,” playing a frequent prison escapee who aids Russell Crowe’s character, a teacher trying to break his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of jail. Also joining the cast are Aisha Hinds (“True Blood”), Lennie James (“24 Hour Party People”) and Daniel Stern (“Diner”). Seems an odd choice for Neeson, who’s a bigger star right now, post-“Taken,” then he’s ever been, but maybe it’s a great role?

– While visiting the set of Rod Lurie’s “Straw Dogs” remake, Coming Soon managed to talk to James Woods about “An American Girl,” which the actor hopes will serve as his directorial debut. The script focuses on a self-destructive girl who joins the Marines, and joins a unit that gains information from Muslim women, who won’t talk to male soldiers. Woods has Kristen Stewart set to play the lead, claiming that “it’s a slam-dunk Oscar for her.” Can you win an Oscar for biting your lip and running your hands through your hair these days?

– Mandeville Films (“Surrogates”, David O Russell’s upcoming “The Fighter”) have picked up the rights to comic book “Cla$$war,” a political thriller about a government-created superhero who discovers the truth behind the program that created him. Creator Rob Williams claims that the book came from his “love of people like Noam Chomsky, ” and judging from the title, we can expect the kind of rational political thinking that you’d get from a 14 year old Rage Against the Machine fan.