Casting News

This past week there were a couple of notable casting developments for a couple of films that have been in the making for a few years. 

First, Malin Akerman ("Watchmen", "Couple's Retreat") has become the latest actress cast as porn star Linda Lovelace in Mathew Wilder's "Inferno," a biopic of the late "Deep Throat" actress.  Anna Faris ("Scary Movie") was originally cast in the role but dropped out after deciding it was too dramatic for her at this stage of her career.  She was replaced by Rose McGowan ("Grindhouse").  It's unknown when exactly McGowan left the project but it was announced early this year that the role would now be played by Lindsay Lohan ("Machete") who heavily promoted the film at the Cannes Film Festival this past May.  However due to her legal issues, her current unavailability because of her stay in rehab and the inability to properly insure her, the filmmakers were forced to recast.  Akerman does not have a reputation as a strong or even a talented actress.  In fact she was once referred to as "the worst actress in the world" by Chicago critic Richard Roeper in his review of "Watchmen."  Maybe in her first starring role, Akerman can show of the talent casting directors seem to see but audience have so far missed.

The other casting of note is that of two time ACADEMY AWARD® winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis ("My Left Foot," "There Will Be Blood") as President Abraham Lincoln in director Steven Spielberg's long-in-development Lincoln biopic. Spielberg has been preparing the film since 2001 when he acquired the rights to Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln."  In 2005 Liam Neeson ("Schindler's List") was cast as Lincoln with Sally Field cast as Mary Todd Lincoln soon after.  Neeson put in quite a bit of time a research into preparing for the role.  However due to the film's constant delay, that now has the film projected to be released at the end of 2012, Neeson decided he had become too old to play the role and stepped away from the project.  This, combined with Spielberg's already crowded film schedule and reported funding issues for the project, appeared to be the end of the film.  But with Day-Lewis' involvement there is once again excitement about the film and filming is expected to begin late next year.