Casting Net: 'Vampire Diaries' star Zoey Deutch cast in Allman biopic

• The Vampire Academy‘s Zoey Deutch will star opposite Tyson Ritter (The House Bunny), Wyatt Russell (Cowboys & Aliens), and William Hurt (Winter’s Tale) in the upcoming Gregg Allman biopic Midnight Rider. Deutch will play Mae, who becomes a rock ‘n’ roll groupie in the hopes of ditching her small-town life. She later becomes the love interest of Gregg Allman in the early years of The Allman Brothers Band. The film is being adapted for the big screen by producer/director Randall Miller and screenwriter Jody Savin (Bottle Shock) from Allman’s biography, My Cross to Bear, which the singer co-wrote with Alan Light. Ritter will play a young Allman, while Hurt will portray him in his later years. [The Wrap]

• Without a Trace actor Anthony LaPaglia has joined the cast of Paul Ashton‘s upcoming indie comedy This Isn’t Funny. Ashton and Katie Page (Don’t Try This at Home) penned the screenplay for the film, which looks at whether or not true love can survive when you meet the right person at the wrong time. The screenplay is loosely based on Page and Ashton’s own off-camera relationship. This Isn’t Funny also stars Edi Gathegi (Twilight), Mimi Rogers (Austin Powers), and Danielle Panabaker (Friday the 13th). [Variety]

• Kennedy Brice (The Walking Dead) will star in the supernatural thriller June directed by Velvet Road‘s L. Gustavo Cooper. The film tells the story of a 9-year-old orphan who shares her body with an ancient supernatural being named Aer whose mission is to destroy mankind and allow nature to reign supreme on earth. [Variety]

• Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) and Matthew Modine (Jobs) will star in the upcoming British horror film Altar. Nick Willing (Tin Man) will direct and write the screenplay for the film, which is expected to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next year. Altar centers on an American artist, his British wife, and their two children, who begin renovating an old English estate whose previous owner killed his wife years ago in a demonic ritual. [Variety]