Out-cast: Sean Penn, Michael Fassbender. Photos: AP
Item in the April 14 edition of the entertainment industry casting publication Backstage:
Genius (Drama) A biopic of editor Max Perkins centering on his relationship with writer Thomas Wolfe. Starring Sean Penn and Michael Fassbender. Directed by Bill Pohlad. Casting: Francine Maisler, Francine Maisler Casting, c/o Sony Pictures, 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Poitier Bldg., Ste. 3200, Culver City, CA 90232. Shoots in April in New York.
This would be exciting news if it was true. According to Minneapolis-based producer Pohlad's PR people, however, it's wrong, wrong, wrong.
According to spokesperson Mara Buxbaum, Penn (starring in the Pohlad-produced "Tree of Life") has not been cast. Fassbender (now in "Jane Eyre" and soon to be seen as Magneto in summer's X-Men prequel) has not been cast.
And by the way, filming does not start this month in New York or anywhere else.
Pohlad is preparing for his second film as a director (following 1990's "Old Explorers"), she confirmed, but there are no plans to begin production in the near term.
