Casting Tidbits: John Michael Higgins, Brendan Fraser& Tina Fey« FirstShowing.net

You have part of my attention -- you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your Casting Tidbits, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing. First,THRreportsJohn Michael Higgins(A Mighty Wind) got a role in Cameron Crowe's adaptation ofWe Bought a Zoo, amemoir from Benjamin Mee, following a man (Matt Damon) and his family who move into a mansion that includes the 30-acre Dartmoor Wildlife Park, home to over 200 animals. Higgins will play a zoo inspector.

Second,DeadlinereportsBrendan FraserandKristen Scott Thomas(Nowhere Boy) are set to star inSeconds of Pleasure, a new drama from write/director Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men).Colin FirthandEd Harrisalso currently have offers on the table, but they haven't signed yet. Though details are scarce, LaBute has a short story with that title, but acollection of short storiesthat contains that very shorty also goes by that title. So either LaBute is adapating his short story into a feature length film, or he's putting together a series of vignettes based on a few of the stories inside the aforementioned collection of short stories. We'll keep you posted.

Next,The WrapreportsTina Feywill star inAdmission, an adaptation of Jean Hanff Korelitz'snovel of the same name. Paul Weitz (In Good Company,American Pie) is set to direct the film which follows an admissions officer at Princeton and her relationship with a prospective student who may not be Ivy League material. Apparently this casting news comes fairly early since the project is still in the early stages of development, but Fey has already met with Weitz and they are discussing a deal now.

Also,EWhas word that Michelle Pfeiffer rounds out the cast of Alex Kurtzman's directorial debut Welcome to People. The Star Trek writer has garnered quite the cast already with Chris Pine The story playing a businessman who returns home after his estranged father’s death and discovers that he has an alcoholic sister (Elzabeth Banks) with a 12-year-old son. Olivia Wilde will play Pine's girlfriend in the film and now Pfeiffer will play Pine's widowed mother. Should be interesting to see a big budget, blockbuster writer like Kurtzman settle down with afamily drama.

Finally,VarietyreportsJohn Hawkes(Winter's Bone) andMolly Parker(The Road) have signed on to star inThe Playroom, an indie drama from writer Gretchen Dyer and director Julia Dyer (they're sisters).The film follows suburban parents of four in 1975 where their volatile teenage daughter (Olivia Harris) acts as surrogate mother to the younger children, who have created a make-believe world in their attic hideaway while the parents act out a sordid story below. Sound a bit peculiar, but with John Hawkes involved, I'm definitely interested.

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

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