In a bit of clean up for Monday’s news cycle, we must acknowledge the last few casting stories to trickle out. None of them are really high-profile, but a few should gauge some interest outside of myself. The lead entrant appears to be another Kevin Costner film coming down the pipe. This actor has been red hot since his History mini-series Hatfields & McCoys, landing subsequent roles in the December’s Chris Pine spy film Jack Ryan and an NFL-branded movie Draft Day. His follow-up to the latter will be a film called Black and White with Upside of Anger director Mike Binder. Costner’s role will be that of a widowed grandfather responsible for taking care of his biracial, orphaned granddaughter in the midst of a custody battle.
The second biggest story is yet another Colin Firth pic. I started the day off with a report that the actor has booked an Arthur Newman follow-up in the form of a supporting role for Matthew Vaughn’s Secret Service. His other Monday pickup seems to be Woody Allen’s next film which Emma Stone joined six days ago. It should be an even stronger addition to his developmental slate given Allen has had a bit of a career resurgence going back to Midnight in Paris two summers ago. That report comes out of Deadline.
Wrapping things up is another Deadline story, this one places Sam Worthington in another Wrath of the Titans follow-up that is not an Avatar sequel. The project is called The Keeping Room which happens to star Hailee Steinfeld of True Grit fame (and also Ender’s Game.) Daniel Barber will direct Harry Brown from a Julia Hart script that takes place near the end of the Civil War. Worthington’s role is that of a soldier who encounters a woman and is left to fend for himself (and I am assuming by the write-up this woman as well.) Naturally, we are more interested in this actor nowadays because Avatar 2 is expected to begin filming within the next year or two.
Added 4/29: That was not all as Oblivion star and former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko (Tom Cruise’s latest love interest) has been tapped to board a feature adaptation of Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters. This is based on a Six-Volume series from author Richelle Mead designed to tap into the YA demo. Other stars include Beautiful Creatures vet Zoey Deutch and an Aussie newcomer Lucy Fry who will play Rose and Lissa respectfully. Danila Kozlovski will fill the shoes of Dimitri. Olga’s role is that of the head mistress, Kirova.
Just a few months ago, yet another surfer movie made it to theaters with Gerard Butler in the starring role. Chasing Mavericks was about a man who mentors an upstart on how to tackle the biggest waves of them all which only turned into $5.9 million at the box office. That was a $20 million project that could have had huge ramifications on the sub-genre for years to come, but luckily a new entrant was already coming down the pipeline at the time: Drift.
Just a heads up for those of you following one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s many in-development offerings Ten. The thriller that will serve as a nod to Ten Little Indians from director David Ayer has be re-titled Breacher. For those of you unfamiliar with the project, Swordfish scrip Skip Woods adapted the classic narrative that sees ten DEA agents start getting picked off one by one after a heist they pulled. 
According to news surfacing today, Arnold Schwarzenegger is not quite the film pariah that many thought the former action star would turn into following the news that he fathered a child during his marriage to Maria Shriver. Word has it that Avatar star Sam Worthington may be about to climb aboard an upcoming project with the Governator.
Wrath of the Titans is one of ‘those’ movies. The type of movie that we all know is going to do very well at the box office thanks in large part to its big budget special effects and sequel status, and the allure of that can be a bit overwhelming to some fence sitters who have an itch to go to the theater. With audience reviews coming in far more favorable than they did for Clash of the Titans, I went to see this movie despite my ill will towards its predecessor.
Sam Worthington sat down with Jimmy Fallon last night to promote his Clash of the Titans prequel which opens in theaters this coming Friday. The Avatar actor talked about the film and the played a game of bar shuffleboard with the talk show host.
Sam Worthington was on Conan last night to promote Man on a Ledge. Here is the interview in which the actor talks about being offered similar projects to Avatar and his new film.
There is not much to say about Man on a Ledge other than critics hate the film about a fugitive being talked down from the ledge of a high-rise. They are saying that Sam Worthington cannot carry an action film and that audiences expecting more than a cheap thrill will be very disappointed if they go see this one. One reviewer actually likens the feature to a network television procedural pilot. Ouch.
Check out the first trailer for Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to Clash of the Titans. Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson will be reprising their roles as Perseus and Zeus respectfully in this blockbuster film that will release on March 30. 
The following is a commercial for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 that features appearances by Jonah Hill and Sam Worthington. The premise is The Vet Versus The Noob. The game hits store shelves on November 8. 
Here is a clip from 
This is the teaser trailer for Man on a Ledger starring Sam Worthington. The film hits theaters on January 13, 2012. 