Just what would you expect from a white, cutie student from The Jane Austen Book Club (or the dysfunctional son from Transamerica) and Spike Lee? Believe it or not, Lee is executive producing a new indie film called The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll, and Variety reports that Kevin Zegers (the cutie student) and Jason Ritter (The Education of Charlie Banks) will star.

Written by Scott Rosenbaum, who is also directing, the film focuses on "a rock star (Zegers) who retreats to his Long Island hometown after his sophomore album flops." Oh, the woes of stardom. So, in this story, we'll also see the likes of Peter Fonda, Taryn Manning, Lauren Holly, Aimee Teegarden, and James Ransone -- plus, appearances by music names like Billy Morrison, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Sugar Blue.

There's not enough information to really get a handle on the story, but I'm in just to see who Peter Fonda will play. Production on the film has already begun in New Jersey, New York, and Los Angeles, so we should know more soon.

Oh, Hellboy, Vincent, or whatever character you prefer Ron Perlman has. The man has done about a billion different shows, movies, and parts, and if you look at his IMDb page, there's a sea of upcoming production red -- a whopping 17 gigs coming our way. I can't complain -- I really dig the man. And now, we're getting more; he's adding an indie film to make it 18.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Perlman is teaming up with Taryn Manning, Joe Pantoliano, and Patrick Flueger to bring Shem Bitterman's 1998 play, The Job, to the big screen. The dark comedy focuses on "a hapless man named Bubba (Flueger) who is desperate to find a job and marry the woman he loves (Manning). A drifter (Perlman) hooks him up with a slick employment agent (Pantoliano), but after agreeing to the job, Bubba finds that he is in over his head."

That sounds like a crappy employment agent to me -- or, is this over-the-head gig something more unsavory, rather than just difficult? Production on the indie has started today in Detroit, so we should be able to see it soon enough. Have any of you out there ever seen the play? Do you think it's movie-worthy?

I dunno... There may be something to this "secret" thing. Just yesterday I wished that Henry Rollins would make the movie rounds again, and I wake up today to find out that he is. However, this is probably more a case of good timing, since I imagine this whole deal was made before my wish. Anyhow, The Hollywood Reporter has listed the cast that are a part of an upcoming action thriller currently called the Untitled Gehenna Project. It's strange, diverse, and kind of irresistible -- Cuba Gooding Jr., Taryn Manning, Ron Perlman, Henry Rollins, Valerie Cruz (The Dresden Files), and Ray Winstone have joined a cast that includes Jason London (the Dazed one, not the mallrat), Franky G (Saw), Zack Ward (Transformers), Stephanie Jacobson (Razor), Bill Moseley (Repo! The Genetic Opera), Sarah Ann Morris (Las Vegas), and Brandon Fobbs (The Wire).

The only thing more surprising than that group of actors is what they get to do. It seems that the film is about a group of elite soldiers who are on a covert mission "to retrieve a missing scientist from an undergound lab." Cruz sends them on the mission, and Perlman is the scientist -- so far, so believable. But get this -- the group consists of Gooding, London, G, Ward, and Manning. Yes, Taryn Manning is an elite soldier. While this strange collection of tough guys/girl are on their mission, they happen upon a priestly Rollins, "who tells them that an 'ancient evil' has been released, causing their greatest fears to come to life." (Team him up with Cheech's tough priest in Machete and they'd be an unstoppable force of religious power.) Rounding things out is Winstone, who is the ed-head of the group, and Moseley and Morris, who are part of the research team.

Keith Kjornes wrote the script, and it's going to be directed by Jason Connery, who just happens to be 007 Sean's son. The script sounds like any strange thriller, but man, this cast is weird enough that it could be completely enjoyable, in that pulp sort of way.

Remember that upcoming thriller about the woman who thinks it's a good idea to starve and isolate herself for a month to rid herself of her mental issues? Well, that's Waking Madison, and The Hollywood Reporter have posted the next round of cast members. Disturbia's Sarah Roemer is already set to star as the woman who "locks herself in her apartment for 30 days with no food, telephone, or outside stimuli," and Elisabeth Shue was cast as her doctor. Now we've got Frances Conroy, Will Patton, and word on Taryn Manning's character.

Conroy, who made a neurotic name for herself as Ruth Fisher on Six Feet Under, has been pretty well-cast as Dolly, "Madison's mother and a religious zealot who has her own mental-health issues," while Patton, who was most recently in A Mighty Heart, will play her dad, who is "loving but emotionally absent." Yet somehow, even though Madison has got a whole life of dysfunction, she thinks starving herself for a month will help heal her. Anyhow, Manning, whose casting has been listed on the film's website for a while, is playing Margaret -- "a fellow patient with sociopathic tendencies who resides at the psychiatric hospital with Madison." I'm not sure how Roemer's character can live in a hospital and an apartment, but we'll see soon enough. (Fie vague, confusing plot descriptions!) Production begins in New Orleans today.

While it might sound like some sort of Adam Sandler comedy, Waking Madison is actually an indie thriller from writer/director Katherine Brooks. A woman named Madison, who lives in New Orleans, is suffering from multiple personalities. She makes her money with phone sex, and "is doing everything she can to lead a normal life." A bunch of things happen to leave her desperate and suicidal, so she locks herself in her apartment for a whopping 30 days to try and heal herself. She has a video camera to use as a video journal, and vows to kill herself on the 30th day, if she doesn't feel more at peace by the end of her isolation. Variety says that she's without telephone or outside stimuli, but the film's website says she's doing it with the help of Dr. Elizabeth Barnes -- either the doc is in there with her, or has contact with her somehow. Of course, since this is a thriller, there's also a "climactic twist."

The way Variety describes it -- as a woman who locks herself away, alone, to cure her illness, sounds pretty silly, but considering the summary on the film's website, it sounds like this thriller will be more than that. Sarah Roemer, who was Shia LaBeouf's love interest in Disturbia, has signed on to star as Madison, and Elisabeth Shue, of babysitting fame, will play the doctor. On the film's website, Brooks says that they've also cast Taryn Manning as Margaret, Erin Kelly as Grace, and Imogen Poots as Alexis. It'll be interesting to see what Brooks makes of the female-centric cast, and I'm curious to see how Roemer will handle what looks to be a pretty intensive role.

While they haven't started filming, production begins in New Orleans on November 5, the indie's website is already pretty impressive. There's video, blogs, informations, chat rooms, forums, as well as a member's area where you can sign up for extra content and to even help pick the cast. It really seems like Brooks knows how to get the message out. Her own story, which is on the site as well, is pretty interesting to boot. She ran away from Louisiana at 16, to go to California with a measly $150, and ten years later she's become pretty darned successful. I, for one, can't wait to see what she does with this!

Oh, Taryn Manning. Sure, she occasionally tackles a different role here and there, but for the most part, she's made her career on a mixture of cinematic drugs, sex, and hooking over and over again. It's gotten to the point where you kind of wonder if that's what her career will amount to. But maybe it'll change now that's she trading in the needles for some flashy robotics. She is co-starring with Bill Pullman in the recently-wrapped Your Name Here, which Cinematical first told you about last year. (Note: The Matthew Wilder who wrote and directed this film is not the music guy.)

It's sort of a biography of Philip K. Dick, but it's being done sort of like Fur -- using his writing and fake world rather than being a straight-out biopic. (Pullman's name in the movie is William J. Frick.) MTV recently talked with the actress and got the scoop on the movie, which is currently being submitted for next year's Sundance. She plays Nikki, who is based on Victoria Principal (the woman Dick wanted to play the lead in Blade Runner).

As Manning describes it, Frick is "infatuated with my character... she starred in that movie Earthquake, and he is obsessed with her even though he has a wife. All around his office you see pictures of me. One day, he does a huge line, and the next thing you know he's in the back of a limo, and there I am!" Well, there she is as a robot. Manning says Frick "can't tell if it's a dream or I'm really there, and the next thing you know, I'm taking him into my world. [He thinks] we're going to live happily ever after." It's zany enough that it could actually be entertaining, and if Taryn is believed, it will be: "It's deep; the writer is great; and it's kooky. I think it'll be another cool cult movie."

I didn't know it at the time, but I was first introduced to Allan Moyle in Squeeze Play, when he was the "Wet T-Shirt Waterboy." The flick is an old, risque adult comedy that my friend and I would sneakily watch late at night during sleepovers (when we were way too young for the buttocks-ball-catching material). But it wasn't until the '90s that Moyle hit his stride, directing two music-laden, teen cult classics -- my beloved Pump Up the Volume and the goofy yet lovable Empire Records. After that, he was teen-tuckered out and made a few forgettable movies with Baldwin brothers and the surprisingly mellow New Waterford Girl. But now he has revisited some of his previous music magic with the quirky, Canadian black comedy -- Weirdsville.

The flick is pretty much Harold and Kumar meets Bubble Boy, but take away the Fabio-freaks and add in some Satanists. Wes Bentley's Royce and Scott Speedman's Dexter are stoners who hang out with a waifish escort named Matilda (Taryn Manning -- what a surprise). They owe a drug dealer named Omar (Raoul Bhaneja) a big chunk of change, so they strike up an agreement to sell drugs to pay it off. But Royce and Matilda speed through the stash in a marathon week of drugging, and now the trio is without the money or drugs to pay Omar back. Oh, and Matilda has OD'd and died.

Early on, I learned that with rites of passage comes horror and mayhem. Jason terrorized summer campers and Carrie got showered in pig's blood. As a teen, Randy's Scary Movie Rules taught me that sex and alcohol would lead to certain death. Yet I never really saw horror movies delve into high school graduation, let alone college. As grads plan to enter their adult life, I wonder what could be more fitting than throwing them into blood-filled turmoil while they're high on feelings of relief. I am, therefore, happy to report that Chris Moore, producer of Project Greenlight and the American Pie movies, will be handing us a serving of graduation mayhem in his directorial debut, Killers.

Taryn Manning, Agnes Bruckner, and Patrick Flueger are set to star as a group of college grads who conveniently decide to celebrate in a remote location. Unfortunately, their festivities turn into a nightmare as they're terrorized by a killer who forces them into a deadly game where they have to kill each other to survive. It sounds like the bases are covered. A cast of attractive young actors has been collected, and they'll be isolated, desperate, and at the whim of a sadistic killer. On paper, it reads like a classic horror film.

What promises to be more interesting, however, is the film's new director. Moore is known for his no-holds-barred criticism of directors on Greenlight. Will he be able to live up to his own standards? Or, will his directorial plans begin and end with Killers?

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

Odds and ends from Monday:

• So, it appears telekinetic powers are a hot commodity in Hollywood these days. First there was Doug Liman's, Jumper, and now Nick Stahl and Taryn Manning have signed on to The Speed of Thought. Pic focuses on a "scoper" (Stahl) who helps the government by utilizing his powers, even after he's told they are part of a disease and will ultimately drive him insane. Somewhere along the way he meets a woman (Manning) with similar telekinetic abilities, and the two team up to find out what's really going on. [via Empire]
• Even though Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence has come on to direct the upcoming Fletch Won, leaving most to assume Zach Braff would soon follow and sign on to play Fletch himself, the actor has yet to sign on the dotted line. In an interview with IESB, Braff notes, ""No I am not definitely doing Fletch Won, I am thinking about it but I am not definitely signed on." But, why? Personally, I think there are better Flecth's (ahem, Jason Lee) out there, though there's no denying the chemistry between Lawrence and Braff. What do you think? Will he sign?
• While speaking to press at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Steven Soderbergh admitted that Ocean's Thirteen will indeed be the last and final Ocean's-related film. In fact, the only reason they're even doing an Ocean's Thirteen is because George Clooney was upset with Ocean's Twelve (he thought it was too complicated) and wanted to revive the comedic aspect from the first film. Hey, that's cool -- but what if no one finds Ocean's Thirteen funny? Will George want to keep making them until they get it right? [via Coming Soon]

There's so much casting going on today, I figured it would be easier to abbreviate some of it because, let's face facts, I'm good like that. Oh, and I'm also cool like that and smooth like that -- ya know, in case you were wondering.

• Actor Justin Long is quickly becoming the go-to man for mediocre underdog stories. Soon, you'll see him up on the big screen playing the lead role in Accepted, a film about a guy who creates his own, imaginary college after being rejected from all the "real" schools. Now, it appears as if the comedic talent will star in the indie feature Patriotville, written and directed by Talmage Cooley. Here, Long will play a guy who, while trying protect his town's meager place in American history, attempts to prevent an Indian casino from being built over some historic battlefield. Here's hoping Long's acting career is a short one. Sorry, the joke was there. I had to.
• Talk about two actors I never imagined in a romantic comedy -- Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu have signed on to star in Watching the Detectives, an indie pic produced by Peach Arch Entertainment and Plum Pictures. The rom-com is said to revolve around a film noir buff who winds up with much more than he bargained for after romancing a real-life femme fatale. Broken Lizard's Paul Soter will make his directorial debut with the film, while also penning its script.
• Last but certainly least, Taryn Manning will star opposite Freddy Prinze Jr. in Jack and Jill vs. the World. Pic, which I thought was called Dick and Jane vs. the World, is not to be confused with the Adam Sandler-produced comedy, Jack and Jill. So, either Variety screwed up the title or folks involved with the film realized Freddy Prinze Jr. was more of a Dick than a Jack. Written and directed by Vanessa Parese, pic revolves around a good guy who falls for a girl with a secret. Though I wish it were true, something tells me her secret isn't that she hates every film Freddy Prinze Jr. has ever been involved with. Oh well.