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Welcome back to another edition of “This Week in Casting,” the column that gives you the rundown of who’s attached to the hottest upcoming projects in Hollywood. From big time players to fresh-faced rookies, we’ve got the week in review for you right here. This week, we’ve got casting news about Jena Malone, Kellan Lutz, Will Arnett, and many more. Get all the details below!
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BIG NAMES
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Kellan Lutz is joining the voice cast of Family Guy
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The show: Lutz isn’t joining up with Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis, and Adam West for good – he’s just doing a guest spot on the show. In his episode, his character will become romantically involved with a member of the Griffin family, and though Meg is interested in him, he has his sights set on one of the male members of the fam.
Other projects: He’s got the final Twilight movie coming out later this year, and he’s also signed on to play Tarzan in a live action reboot of that franchise.
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Jena Malone is in the running for Catching Fire
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The movie: The sequel to The Hunger Games picks up where the first film left off, continuing the exploits of Katniss Everdeen and her love triangle between Peeta and Gale. Malone has become a contender to take on the role of Johanna Mason, a key figure in the Hunger Games universe that factors into both Catching Fire and the third movie, Mockingjay.
Other projects: She’ll lead a movie called Lonely Hunter in which she marries the same man twice. The man will be played by Prometheus star Logan Marshall-Green.
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Kevin Hart starring in remake of About Last Night
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The movie: A remake of a 1986 comedy, Hart will play the part originated by Jim Belushi back in the day. It’s about two people who try to have a relationship despite the complaints of their friends, and Hart will play one of the disapproving sideliners.
Other projects: He’s got a comedy called Valet Guys coming up, starring opposite Kevin James. They witness a murder, hilarity ensues.
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Will Arnett and Chris Pratt sign on to Lego: The Piece of Resistance
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The movie: The directors of 21 Jump Street are taking on a half live-action/half animated LEGO movie, and Arnett will voice Lego Batman while Pratt will be the main character, a Lego figure who is essentially “The One” from The Matrix. Channing Tatum is in talks to voice Lego Superman, too.
Other projects: Arnett continues to star on his NBC TV series “Up All Night,” while Pratt stars on the excellent comedy “Parks and Recreation” and will appear in Kathryn Bigelow’s bin Laden movie later this winter.
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James Marsden joins cast of 2 Guns
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The movie: Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington star as two undercover agents who unknowingly work together to steal money from the CIA. Marsden, who has shown some real comedic talent in movies like Sex Drive, will play Wahlberg’s Navy commander boss.
Other projects: He stars with Karl Urban, Wentworth Miller, and a few others in a movie called Loft, in which men take their women to a sex loft until one of them ends up dead and they all suspect each other of murder.
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Cee Lo Green joins Catherine Keener, Hailee Steinfeld, and more in Can A Song Save Your Life?
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The movie: A woman (Keira Knightley) tries to make it in the NYC music scene after her boyfriend (Green’s “The Voice” co-star Adam Levine) leaves her, and she’s helped by a down-and-out producer (Mark Ruffalo). Green plays a hip hop star. Shocking.
Other projects: He continues to host “The Voice,” and provides the voice for Murray the Mummy in Sony’s upcoming animated comedy Hotel Transylvania.
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RISING STARS
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Freida Pinto starring in Knight of Cups
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The movie: No one really knows what Terrence Malick’s latest movie is about, but there’s romance all over the place as star Christian Bale has already been seen seducing Natalie Portman in set photos and now he’s set to do the same to Pinto. Cate Blanchett is in the cast, too, but can you really blame Bale’s character for going with the other two actresses? Me neither.
Where you might have seen her: Pinto starred in the wonderful Best Picture Winner Slumdog Millionaire as well as last year’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
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Derek Luke has joined the cast of Baggage Claim
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The movie: Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) plays a flight attendant who decides that because her younger sister is getting married, she needs to find herself a man in 30 days. Luke will play her long-time neighbor and friend.
Where you might have seen him: He starred in the Friday Night Lights movie, as well as playing Puffy in Notorious.
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Kristen Schaal will voice a character in Cloudy 2
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The movie: Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers is a sequel to Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, and Schaal plays an orangutan alongside returning stars Anna Faris, Bill Hader, and Andy Samberg.
Where you might have seen her: Playing the conniving new studio page on NBC’s “30 Rock,” and she provided the voice of Trixie in Toy Story 3.
