Banks on It: Elizabeth Banks will play the female lead in Man on a Ledge, taking on the role of a NYPD crisis negotiator who attempts to talk a suicidal detective (Sam Worthington) off a ledge. Adding to the drama is that she has a past relationship with Worthington’s character, who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Asger Leth is directing the film, which also features Jamie Bell and Anthony Mackie. [Deadline]
Four Companions: Kevin Kline, Diane Keaton, Richard Jenkins, and Elisabeth Moss will star in Lawrence Kasdan’s latest project, Darling Companion. The film follows a woman (Keaton) who takes in a stray dog as a companion in an effort to “fill the void left by her distracted husband” (Kline). However, he loses the mutt at a wedding in the Rockies, which leads to a search for the pet. The film is meant to be the third in a trilogy that begins with Kasdan’s 1983 The Big Chill and his 1991 Grand Canyon. [Risky Business/HR]
Hit-girls: Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) is joining Saoirse Ronan and James Gandolfini in Violet and Daisy, the teenage hit-girls movie directed by Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious). The film is about two teenage assassins lured into what they think is going to be “just another quick and easy job” only to find the man they are meant to kill isn’t who they thought he was. Who could have predicted we’d one day see Rory wielding firearms? [Variety]
Zoo Story: Scion Films has won the film rights to Diane Ackerman’s nonfiction book The Zookeeper’s Wife. Angela Workman will adapt the work, which tells the true story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who ran the Warsaw Zoo and turned it into a safe hiding place for Jews after the Germans invaded Poland during World War II. [Variety]
Zombieland: Rob Zombie has committed to directing The Lords of Salem, a thriller set in contemporary Salem, in which the town’s citizens “receive a demonic visit from a 300-year old coven of witches.” Zombie will write the script while on his upcoming concert tour and shoot the film next year. Quite the multitasker! [Deadline]
