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Casting Tidbits: Rory Culkin, Hayden Panettiere, Gerard Butler

by Ethan Anderton
May 21, 2010

Invention, my dear friends, is 93% Casting Tidbits, 6% Electricity, 4% Evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple. First up, after nabbing a role in the Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Apes, Deadline reports James Franco is also attached to Ricky Stinicky, a comedy which follows couple of pals who invent a fake friend to employ when they want to get away from their spouses or get out of trouble. However, when the friends' wives insist on finally meeting Ricky Stinicky at a party they're throwing, the guys are forced to hire an actor (Franco) to actually play the made-up counterpart. Surely plenty of hilarious hijinks will ensue.

Next, Heat Vision reports Lake Bell (It's Complicated) is negotiating and Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes"), Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga) and Rory Culkin (Lymelife, Twelve) have been offered major roles in Scream 4, the third sequel in the Ghostface Killer franchise which will reunite original franchise cast members Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette. But despite the return of staple characters, this new film is still seen as a passing of the baton to a new generation of victims. If all the deals come through, Greene would play Campbell’s cousin Jill, essentially the heroine of the movie, with Panettiere playing her best friend, a nerdy film geek (only in the movies) and Culkin would play a potential love interest for Jill. Meanwhile, Bell is negotiating to play a police officer who knew Sidney (Campbell) from high school.

Finally, 24 Frames reports that Gerard Butler may take the lead role once reported to belong to Russell Crowe for the remake of A Star is Born, the classic rise-and-fall Hollywood tale which has seen a couple different iterations featuring performances by James Mason and Kris Kristofferson, who played the character in question in two different versions of the story. The original film, starring Janey Gaynor and Fredric March focuses on rising starlet Esther Blodgett as her husband Norman Maine saw his career falling away from him with their careers coming between their love. There's still rumblings that Beyonce would take on the role of the actress, but that implies that she can actually act.

Well, that's all for this edition of Casting Tidbits. Be sure to stay tuned for more casting updates on the way.

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