2 - FILM NEWS
“Game of Thrones” Star Aidan Gillen to Play James Joyce in Robert Mullan’s “James and Lucia”
Best known as “Littlefinger” on the popular HBO show, Gillen will follow the likes of Ewan McGregor and Robert Gill in playing the famous Irish novelist and poet whose daughter Lucia suffered from schizophrenia.
Based on Travis Beacham’s Black List feature script, which Guillermo del Toro tried to get made, the eight-episode fantasy series will be directed by Paul McGuigan (Victor Frankenstein) and produced by Legendary Television, along with Bloom.
The feature film directorial debut by Josie Rourke, artistic director of London’s The Donmar Warehouse, is produced by Working Title Films, who have had a long collaboration with distributor Focus Features. Focus has also released the first picture of Saoirse Ronan as the Scottish Queen.
Neil Marshall will direct the adaptation of Mike Mignola’s comic book Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, and given his history of creating hauntingly beautiful imagery, I think he’s a great choice to update the property.
British thespian Felicity Jones is stepping into the shoes of an iconic American figure: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Mimi Leder-directed On the Basis of Sex.
Ever since Bubble, Soderbergh has been more open to experimentation in both the production and distribution realms, so the idea that he has used his iPhone to shoot a secret movie with an up-and-coming actress isn’t as big a surprise as it might seem on the surface.
BBC America has tapped Jodie Comer to star opposite Sandra Oh in the dramatic thriller Killing Eve. The eight-episode series was penned by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
The film is based on the acclaimed 2010 documentary Marwencol and boasts a female-driven ensemble that includes Leslie Mann, Janelle Monae, Diane Kruger and Eiza Gonzalez.
In between directing Finding Neverland and World War Z, Forster directed the second of Daniel Craig’s 007 films, which saw Arterton play Bond girl Strawberry Fields. 
Susanna Fogel is directing the Lionsgate movie, which will co-star Outlander‘s Sam Heughan and The Daily Show‘s Hasan Minhaj.
The star of Hulu’s critically acclaimed adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale Elisabeth Moss has picked her next small-screen project: an adaptation of Mary Beth Keane’s 1999 novel Fever, which she will star in and executive produce.
BBC Two is developing Diana & I, a feature-length TV drama about the death of Princess Diana, continuing the entertainment industry’s fascinating with British Royalty, following The Crown and Charles and Diana at the center of Feud Season 2.
Scottish actor James McAvoy is set to star in Escape with director Colm McCarthy at the helm, the Tracking Board has confirmed. The film is based on a spec script by Vanya Asher.
After Ana meets Rafa, they set out on a road trip in an attempt to save him from bankruptcy.
Williams and Chris Pine will play ex-lovers and veteran spies who reunite for dinner, where they reminisce about a failed mission, though it’s unclear whether Pine hopes to rekindle their romance or get to the bottom of a conspiracy.
In a competitive bidding war, 20th Century Fox has come out on top to acquire the supernatural-thriller pitch Inside from Luther creator Neil Cross, the Tracking Board has confirmed.
Fox is bringing back The X-Files with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, and creator Chris Carter as showrunner and executive producer, for a ten-episode run in the 2017-2018 season.
For the first time since the end of Fawlty Towers, John Cleese will star in a BBC sitcom. The project, Edith, stars Alison Steadman in the title role of the six-part series on BBC One. 
The Good Wife‘s Archie Panjabi and The Pirates of the Carribbean‘s Jack Davenport are teaming up for ITV’s Next of Kin and Billy Eichner has joined the anthology series American Horror Story. 
Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander is in talks to star in Ben Wheatley’s next project, Freakshift. The film is looking to start production this August and Vikander will wrap Tomb Raider earlier in the summer.
According to reports, Warner Bros. is currently eyeing Kingsman and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn to helm the untitled Man of Steel sequel, taking over the directing reigns Zack Snyder.
TNT’s The Alienist has tapped Sean Astin to play Theodore Roosevelt, meanwhile How I Met Your Motheralum Josh Radnor is set to lead NBC’s Drama High cast.
The upcoming CBS All Access Star Trek spinoff series Star Trek Discovery has found its captain in British actor Jason Isaacs. He will be playing Captain Lorca, at the helm of the Starship Discovery.
Jon Cryer has been cast as the lead in the upcoming ABC pilot Losing It, Noah Wyle to star in the CBS drama pilot Perfect Citizen
Emmy-nominated actress Lizzy Caplan is going from doing sex research on Showtime’s Masters of Sex to fighting off aliens in Universal Pictures’ forthcoming pic Extinction. The Tracking Board has confirmed that Caplan will join Michael Pena for the sci-fi thriller about a man trying to save his family from an alien invasion.
Benedict Cumberbatch is teaming up with Showtime on Melrose, a five-part limited series based on the semi-autobiographical novels by Edward St. Aubyn. Cumberbatch will star and executive produce, while David Nicholls is adapting the series.
Birdman actress Andrea Riseborough is being eyed to star in the fourth season episode, which is rumored to be titled “Crocodile.”
Political drama Succession has landed a series order from HBO. The series from executive producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and writer Jesse Armstrong received a pilot order last summer, which McKay directed.
Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn is set to bring his dark, moody aesthetic to the small screen with the upcoming crime thriller Too Old To Die Young. Refn will team with Amazon for the project, marking Refn’s first foray into American television.