Casting Net: Robert De Niro boards 'Bus 757'

• Robert De Niro is set for Bus 757, a thriller about a card dealer aiming to rob a bank by taking a group of bus travelers hostage and using them as collateral. De Niro’s character is the owner of the casino in question. Scott Mann (The Tournament) will direct. His upcoming projects include the boxing drama Hands of Stone, staring Edgar Ramirez, and the cop thriller Candy Store, with Keira Knightley and Omar Sy. [Deadline]

• Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) has boarded The Driftless Area. She’ll co-star alongside Zooey Deschanel, Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, John Hawkes and Frank Langella in the romantic drama about a developing romance between a bartender and a mystery woman and how it goes awry when the bartender crosses paths with a shady cook. Zachary Sluser will make his feature debut on the project, which he co-wrote with with author Tom Drury. [THR]

• Adrien Brody (The Pianist) will star as Emperor Charles V in Lee Tamahori’s 16th century epic Emperor. According to the logline, it’s set “in a world of wealth, debauchery, violent retaliations, sex, manipulation and treason” and follows a young girl seeking revenge on the Emperor for the death of her father. [THR]

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