Casting Net: Chris Hemsworth to team up with Michael Mann; Plus Hugh Laurie confirmed for 'Tomorrowland', Marion Cotillard, and more

• Michael Mann (Collateral, Public Enemies) is set to direct Chris Hemsworth in his new thriller that Mann has been developing and writing for over a year. Between Hemsworth’s superhero and fairy tale projects, we’re excited to see him team up with Mann, known for his realism and ability to elevate standard genre fare. The Australian actor will appear next with Olivia Wilde in Rush, the Ron Howard race car film, out this September. [Variety]

• Tomorrowland has its villain, and it’s none other than House star Hugh Laurie, EW confirmed. The hush-hush project from Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Incredibles), Damon Lindelof (Lost), and EW’s own Jeff Jensen also stars George Clooney. Laurie largely stayed away from major film projects during his time on House, but it will be great to see the English actor and comedian take a villainous turn.

• Marion Cotillard (Inception)is in talks to star in an adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s Diary of a Chambermaid, with Benoit Jacquot (Farewell My Queen) in the director’s seat. The Rust and Bone star would play the role of Celestine – the turn of the 20th century chambermaid who lets us into the world of servants for the French upper class. Though the upstairs/downstairs tale might seem familiar to us now, when the book was published it was considered a somewhat shocking. There are a few famous film adaptations out there already — notably Jean Renoir’s from 1946, and Luis Buñuel’s from 1964. [Variety]

• Argo’s Rory Cochrane has joined the large ensemble cast of the JFK assassination film Parkland. Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook) and Mark Duplass (Zero Dark Thirty) are set to star in the film as well, leaving us wondering whether or not they’ll manage to cast at least one actor from each of this year’s Oscar nominated pics. [Variety]

PREVIOUSLY: Peter Dinklage joins ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’

Follow @ldbahr

Casting Net: Jennifer Aniston joins Peter Bogdanovich film; Plus Sandra Bullock, Saoirse Ronan, and Nicholas Hoult

Casting Net: Joel McHale’s ‘Friggin’ Christmas Miracle’; Plus Peter Dinklage, Kathy Bates, and more