— The Risky Business Blog reported this week that Ridley Scott will produce–and possibly direct–a film adaptation of classic dystopia novel “Brave New World.” Set up at Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way production company (and to be produced in conjunction with Scott’s Scott Free compnay), the “Titanic” actor will likely star as male lead Bernard.
Farhad Safinia (“Apocalypto”) has been tapped to pen the project.
— According to THR, Liam Neeson will star in “Unknown White Male.” The veteran actor plays a doctor who gets into a car accident while vacationing in Berlin with his wife. Left in a coma, the character awakens to find that a man with potentially sinister intentions has seemingly replaced him. Jaume Collet-Serra directs the project that begins production in Berlin this January.
— Lucy Punch is set to join the cast of the much-discussed “Dinner for Schmucks” comedy, which stars Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. A remake of French film “Le Diner de cons” (The Dinner Game), the film revolves around a group of successful businessmen who must invite one “schmuck” to their weekly dinner party; the story’s main character manages to find the most pathetic man to ever attend the dinner. Jay Roach is directing.
The film is not to be mistaken with “Date Night,” which stars names like Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mila Kunis, Mark Wahlberg, Kristen Wiig and James Franco in a comedy about a couple’s date night going in a terribly unexpected direction.