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News Bites: Ben Affleck Acts and Bruce Willis Directs

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting

UPDATE: THR has just confirmed that Johnny Depp will indeed play the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which is currently in pre-production. Disney announced the news earlier today. Depp was rumored to be playing the role for a couple months now, and it definitely suits the actor. The film itself will combine live action and motion-capture animation, and it will be released in digital 3-D. Newcomer Mia Wasikowska has been cast as Alice. Additionally, it's now bring reported that Depp will also take on a role in The Lone Ranger (IESB says he'll be playing Tonto).

Good ol' Ben Affleck must have gone stir crazy. We haven't seen him on the big screen since 2006, and now he's got a bunch of projects on the way. Last week there was The Town, and now The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's in talks to star in The Company Men, with John Wells directing. This is not to be confused with the Ron Livingston-starring The Company Men, which is also in the works. Both are a bit similar in plot -- Livingston gets to try and save a sinking company in a crappy economy while Affleck will get laid off and struggle with the fallout. Hopefully one of them will change their name soon.

Anne Hathaway has landed another gig, this time as a "young, commitment-phobic attorney" in The Opposite of Love, so says The Hollywood Reporter. Essentially, this gal's life falls apart when she rejects her current boyfriend who was ready for marriage, like, yesterday. What's the opposite of interesting?

Bruce Willis is picking up a helming hat. Variety reports that he will make his directorial debut with an indie psychological thriller called Three Stories About Joan. Starring Camilla Belle, Kieran Culkin, and Willis in a supporting role, the film focuses on three tragedies in a young woman's life "that cause her to lose her grip on reality." Hmmm ... Demi directs and now Willis? Could one be trying to top the other? Thoughts?

It's taken about a year to get going, but now there's more cast for Todd Phillips' The Hangover. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Heather Graham and Justin Bartha have signed on for the film, which focuses on some dudes who lost their soon-to-be-married best friend in Vegas, 40 hours before his wedding. Bartha will play the missing friend while Graham will be a "Vegas local who crosses paths with the guys and might know more about the groom then she lets on." Should Phillips get back to Old School form and make good with one of Hollywood insiders' fave unproduced screenplays, (with the same number of votes as Blindness) this could be good.

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