Here are some casting bites for you, courtesy of Variety:

• According to the Tarantino Archives, funnyman Mike Myers (Austin Powers) has signed up for a "small" role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards. He'll join what's shaping up to be the oddest cast of the decade: Brad Pitt, Simon Pegg, Eli Roth, BJ Novak, David Krumholtz and Nastassja Kinski. Bizarre ... but lets see where he goes with it.
  
• Martin Freeman, who you should recognize from the ever-awesome Hot Fuzz, has picked up a starring role opposite Ashley Jensen in Nativity. The Debbie Isitt film focuses on "two rival English schools vying to outdo each other in the annual Christmas play." It sounds like it could be fun, although I'm sure it could be helped or hurt by the likes of Hamlet 2. Unfortunately we have a while to wait and see. IMDb has it tentatively set for a 2010 release.
• Calamity Jane, otherwise known as Robin Weigert when she's not on Deadwood, has signed on to Renee Zellweger's indie film My One and Only. This is that George Hamilton picture based on his memories of the 1950s, when his mom set out to find him a new dad. In the meantime, she has a slew of other movies on the way, including Synecdoche, New York and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
• Finally, we have an answer to the rumors. In January, Jessica alerted us to rumors that Maggie Grace was taking over Sarah Michelle Gellar's role in the big-screen version of American McGee's Alice. Well, they were half right... Instead of replacing Buffy, Grace is replacing Mischa Barton in Malice in Wonderland. Yes, she will play Alice in Simon Fellows' film, which is finally getting off the ground.
  

The new international trailer for Taken has just hit the net, and I don't know about you, but I'd like to ask 20th Century Fox to please set up a domestic release date for this flick because it looks pretty damn good. I mean, heck, Liam Neeson plays a badass! That should be more than enough to get you interested in Taken, which comes to us from director Pierre Morel (whose District B13 was a fun watch). Taken stars Neeson, Maggie Grace and Holly Valance, and it revolves around an ex-soldier (Neeson) whose daughter (Grace) gets kidnapped while traveling in Paris, and his subsequent quest to find her, as well as those responsible for her disappearance.

So far, Fox has set a February 27th release date in France, but nothing here in the states. Not sure why; the film looks intense, well acted and definitely the kind of flick I could see doing well in early March before the summer madness begins. Check out the trailer above, and let us know what you think. (Personally, I've never been so afraid of Liam Neeson in my entire life. Damn. And he's the good guy!)

Before I get started, I should probably warn you: I have a big soft-spot for Sarah Michelle Gellar. I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer nerd; I've even started buying the comics for season eight, for goodness sake. So I am a little predisposed to defend her choices -- and let me tell you, it hasn't always been easy. In an interview with RadioFree.com Gellar confirmed that she is still in the lead role for the big screen version of American McGee's Alice. Gellar told RadioFree, "unfortunately, it was the victim of regime change in the studio. And I'm not getting out. And contrary to what you may have read, it's still my project."

The film will be based on Rogue Entertainment's third-person shooter set in the world of Alice in Wonderland. The story centers on a pretty twisted incarnation of Alice -- her parents are killed in a fire, and after slipping into a catatonic state, she is institutionalized. "Years later, the White Rabbit summons Alice to aid a radically altered Wonderland, now under the despotic rule of the Queen of Hearts" (played by Jean Marsh). Marcus Nispel is attached to direct -- he is also at the helm for the Friday the 13th update slated for 2009. The Alice script has undergone a few re-writes over the years, but it looks like the final version is going to be the one written by Jon and Erich Hoeber (Whiteout).

Back in December, rumors began to surface that Maggie Grace (LOST) had taken over the role, but it would seem that maybe the gossips confused it with Grace's other project with Gellar, The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Alice has been kicking around since 2000, back when Wes Craven was attached, and hopefully this time around, Nispel and company will be able to make it into a reality. But fans need not worry; Gellar tells RadioFree: "...I'm not giving up. Because I believe there is such a beautiful, crazy, cool, twisted story to be told there. [jokes] And if I have to get down and write it myself one of these day [sic], I may have to..."

[via ComingSoon.net]

It looks like the casting process is moving fast and furious for Luc Besson's latest production, Taken. Moviehole reported that Australian actress Holly Valance is the latest addition to the thriller. It was only yesterday that Monika had the news that Lost's Maggie Grace had signed on for the film, so it would appear that Besson isn't wasting any time moving the movie closer toward production.

Pierre Morel is directing, and the film centers on a father (Liam Neeson) trying to find his daughter after she has been sold into slavery somewhere in Europe. Grace will star as the daughter, but there is no word on who Valance is going to play. You probably know Valance mainly for her TV work; she was on the Aussie soap Neighbours and also had a recurring role on Fox's Prison Break. So far Valance has a pretty short film resume that includes the Paris Hilton comedy Pledge This! and the jiggle-fest that was DOA ... which at least had some creative uses for lingerie. Both movies never really saw the light of day, and probably for good reason. So, even though the premise for Taken might seem a little corny, compared to some of her other films, it's a definite improvement.

The sex/slave trade continues to be on the minds of filmmakers. In the last year, we've had Transe screen at the likes of Cannes and TIFF, and Trade has been gearing up for its August 2007 release. With both films now wrapped, there's another on the horizon -- Taken. (Apparently movies with this theme need to have a one-word T-starting title in a fit of ultimate originality.) The screenplay comes from the "retired" Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen -- the man who not only brought us The Karate Kid, but has also collaborated with Besson on films like The Fifth Element and The Transporter. Similar to Trade, Taken revolves around a former spy who uses his professional skills to find his estranged daughter, who has been sold into slave trade.

Soon-to-be Lincoln actor Liam Neeson has already signed on to play the ex-spy and father, and now The Hollywood Reporter has announced that he has a daughter in Maggie Grace. If you're a fan of the show, Lost, you'll remember her as Shannon Rutherford. If not, she also starred in the recent remake of The Fog. She's also just wrapped two films that will undoubtedly push her a little further into the spotlight -- Suburban Girl with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin, and The Jane Austen Book Club with Emily Blunt and Maria Bello. The film will begin shooting this month in Paris, under the eye of Pierre Morel, who is another Transporter collaborator.

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• I've always thought there should be more films that chronicle how much insanity really does go in to planning a wedding. Neal Moritz's Original Films pre-emptively snatched up Erik (Hey, he spells his name with a 'K' too!) Lohla's untitled spec script. Story is said to be a romantic comedy in the vein of Meet the Parents, and will be set in the wonderful, yet evil world of wedding planning.
• Maggie Grace (Lost, The Fog) is in negotiations to star in The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Pic, which already has Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin attached is based on Melissa Banks' best-selling novel. Grace will play the best friend of Gellar's character. Here's hoping the film helps fish Sarah Michelle out of the "Who is she again?" hole that's hid her from stardom for, like, her entire career.
• Man, I sure do love me a good "let's ruin someone's career" poll. Thanks to USA Today, we now know the real reason why Mission Impossible 3 didn't make the money expected during its opening weekend. According to a poll the paper conducted, 51% of fans stayed away from the film on purpose, as sort of a protest against Tom Cruise. Why? Well, quite frankly, Tom's various off-screen antics have turned people off. Wow. So I guess we should stop blaming the Cinco de Mayo hangover, huh?