Korean master filmmaker Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Thirst) has already lined up an amazing cast for his English debut Stoker, with the likes of Matthew Goode (who beat out James Franco, Colin Firth and Michael Fassbender for the male lead), Nicole Kidman, Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) already set.
But just recently two more cast members have joined the film: Lucas Till and Alden Ehrenreich. Till most recently portrayed Havoc in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class and Ehrenreich is a favorite of the Coppolas, having starred in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and both Francis Ford's Tetro and his upcoming dark horror-thriller Twixt.
Working from a script written by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller, the plot involves a girl (Wasikowska) whose estranged and mysterious uncle (Goode) returns home after the death of her father. Things reportedly start going awry as local people begin to go missing. According to The Playlist, Till will play a "thuggish schoolmate" while Ehrenreich will play, "Whip Taylor, a jock friend of India [Wasikowska] who befriends her after his pals pick on her."
There were rumors that the plot involves vampirism (which would have made it quite similar to the upcoming Fright Night remake) but that is supposedly not the case. Details are sketchy on the project at the moment and I hope it stays that way as much as possible.
Park is one of world cinema's shining talents as far as I'm concerned and I can't wait to see how his meticulous and bold style functions in a Western context. The cast is certainly impressive and Miller's script (which he wrote under the pseudonym Ted Foulke) was on the Black List, a list of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.
We could have something special on our hands here so keep an eye out for the film in summer 2012.
wow, a lot's changed since last i heard of this project. i still thought Firth was going to be in it. Regardless, Park is one of my absolute favorite directors and my fingers will be crossed as i don't want to see Hollywood screw him over as it has a propensity to do for demanding foreign directors.