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Casting Tidbits: Alfred Molina, Ellen Page, John Hurt & More

by Ethan Anderton
May 19, 2010

An elevator can only go up and down, but the Casting Tidbits can go sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways, and squareways, and front ways, and any other ways that you can think of. First up, Deadline reports Alfred Molina had joined the cast of Abduction, the John Singleton directed action thriller which stars Taylor Lautner as a young man who realizes he was kidnapped as a child, and is forced to run for his life after he reaches out to find his real parents. Molina will play a dogged CIA agent who is one step behind, determined to bring him in alive. His job would've been easier if he had the Doc Ock arms from Spider-Man.

Second, THR reports Ellen Page will star in a feature length drama based on Cynthia Wade's Academy Award winning documentary short Freeheld. Screenwriter Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia, The Painted Veil) is writing the script which will tell the true story of New Jersey car mechanic Stacie Andree (Page) and her police detective girlfriend Laurel Hester, who both battled to secure Hester's pension benefits after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness No word on who is directing yet.

Next, THR has another addition to Lars von Trier's disaster movie Melancholia as John Hurt (V for Vendetta, Hellboy, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) will join a cast that already includes Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. In addition, other actors who've recently joined include Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling (Swimming Pool), as well as father and son acting duo Stellan Skarsgård and Alexander Skarsgård. No huge plot points have been revealed but producer Peter A. Jensen said it's "beautiful film about the end of the world" and features a "large object from outer space approaching Earth."

Also, Deadline reports Channing Tatum will star in an adaptation of Richie Farrell's novel What's Left of Us. Farrell is also writing the script for the for the adaptation which tells the true story of a heroin addict (Tatum) going through 7 excruciating days in detox. Farrell seems to have a predilection towards drug addiction fueled drama since he also sold the documentary High on Crack Street to HBO. This will likely be the first true test of Tatum's acting skills which have only previously been showcased somewhat impressively with A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints though every attempt since has been disappointing. A director who will deal with the challenge of getting a decent performance out of Tatum has not been hired yet.

Finally, THR reports Juno Temple (The Other Boleyn Girl, Year One, Kaboom) is in negotiations to play the queen in Paul W. S. Anderson's 3-D version of The Three Musketeers. Though Anderson is quite the lackluster filmmaker, his cast, which also includes Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Matthew Macfayden, Christoph Waltz, Mads Mikkelsen and Milla Jovovich in various iconic roles, just might make up for Anderson's questionable filmography. However, the use of 3-D is absolutely pointless and even with an impressive cast, this film has an uphill battle to win over audiences.

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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