Much action on the local film scene.
· Billy Crudup ("Watchmen's" Dr. Manhattan and "Public Enemies'" J. Edgar Hoover) joins Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin in the cast of "The Convincer." Shooting begins Monday in Hopkins for the Werc Werk Works crime thriller, described by one who's studied the script as "'A Simple Plan' meets 'Blood Simple.'" Jill Sprecher ("Clockwatchers," "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing") directs from a script she wrote with her sister Karen.
· Minneapolis distributor Apparition has acquired all North American rights to "The Square," a twisty tale of betrayal and blackmail from Australian stuntman-turned-director Nash Edgerton. "Variety" called it "A tasty neo-noir, smartly assembled and cleverly plotted" The thriller is slated for an April 9 opening. If you want to see the kind of wickedly humorous shocks Edgerton can deliver check out his hit Internet short "Spider" (skip this one if you're squeamish.)
· The famously slow-working Terrence Malick is picking up the pace. Following this year's much-anticipated Brad Pitt-Sean Penn family drama "Tree of Life," he'll begin production on an as-yet-untitled romance starring Christian Bale, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and "Quantum of Solace" Bond girl Olga Kurylenko. Like "Tree," the new film is bring produced by River Road Entertainment's Bill Pohlad, according to Screen Daily.
