Octavia Spencer Cast in Diablo Cody's Directorial Debut

Octavia Spencer, riding high off of The Help, has signed on to star alongside Julianne Hough and Russell Brand in Diablo Cody's directorial debut.our editor recommendsRussell Brand, Julianne Hough to Star in Diablo Cody's Directorial Debut PHOTOS: How 'The Help' Was Cast The Mandate project, which was once titled Lamb of God, follows a young conservative religious woman (Hough) who loses her faith after a plane crash, decides to go to Las Vegas to live the life of a sinner, and on her journey finds her way back to her faith. Brand plays her unlikely companion who helps her find herself. Spencer will play a card dealer who works at the same casino as Brand and wants to help her in her quest for sin. PHOTOS: Behind-the-Scenes at the 15th Annual Hollywood Film Awards Cody, an Oscar winner for Juno, penned Jason Reitman's Young Adult, which Paramount will release in December. Mason Novick is producing. Lionsgate is handling international sales and will present the film as part of their American Film Market slate. The movie is heading for a spring 2012 start. Spencer is repped by WME and attorney Karl Austen. Related Topics Russell Brand Julianne Hough Octavia Spencer

Breaking: Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon to Star in Most Depressing Movie Ever

Word’s just in over the Movieline transom about what sounds certain to be the feel-good hit of 2013: Sunlight Jr., the latest gritty indie drama from Sherrybaby director Laurie Collyer. This has everything: Naomi Watts as a pregnant, laid-off convenience-store worker! Matt Dillon as her paraplegic boyfriend! “A generational cycle of poverty and ignorance!” All that’s missing in the press release is an invitation to the inevitable Sundance premiere after-party sponsored by Kleenex. Or Xanax. Or both. Sunlight Jr. promises to be the film for the 99%, if those people are even still alive and/or allowed to attend movies anymore by the time this comes out. Read on for the full, destabilizing details. ============= PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY HAS BEGUN ON ‘SUNLIGHT JR.’ STARRING NAOMI WATTS AND MATT DILLON Original Media and Freight Yard Films Set to Produce, Empyrean Pictures to finance NY, NY - October 31, 2011 - Principal photography has begun on SUNLIGHT JR., it was announced today by Original Media’s Charlie Corwin and Freight Yard Films’ Andrea Roa. Filmed on location in southern Florida, the independent film stars Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon. SUNLIGHT JR. is written and directed by Laurie Collyer (SHERRYBABY) and produced by Charlie Corwin (HALF NELSON, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE), Andrea Roa (BOOSTER) and Ariel Elia, who will produce on behalf of Empyrean. Joshua Skurla is on board as an Executive Producer, as are Billy Dietrich and Simon Fawcett, who arranged the financing. The film follows two have-nots who have fallen through the cracks of society. Hard-working convenience store clerk Melissa (Naomi Watts) and her paraplegic boyfriend, Richie (Matt Dillon), are trapped in a generational cycle of poverty and ignorance. They are genuinely excited when they learn that Melissa is pregnant. But when she loses her job and they are evicted from the motel where they live, things go from bad to worse. Dillon and Watts are both represented by CAA and Untitled. Collyer is represented by Gersh and Principato-Young. Her previous film, SHERRYBABY, earned Maggie Gyllenhaal a Golden Globe nomination for best actress. ### Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter. [Photo: Getty Images]

Kevin Bacon Saw 'Footloose,' Thought It 'Rocked'

Our long national nightmare is over: Kevin Bacon has finally seen the 'Footloose' remake and let his thoughts be known to the world. "Congrats to Craig, Kenny, Julianne, Dennis, Andie, Miles, and the rest of the cast," Bacon wrote on Twitter over the weekend, referring to director Craig Brewer and stars Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Andie Macdowell and Miles Teller. "U guys rocked it!" Oh, Kevin; u rocked it! Check out Bacon's 'Footloose' ticket stub by clicking here. Bacon was in 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' and 'X-Men: First Class' this summer; he'll next be onscreen in 2013 with the twofer of 'R.I.P.D.' (opposite Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges) and 'Jayne Mansfield's Car' (from director Billy Bob Thornton). [Top Photo: AP] Where Are They Now: The Cast of 'Footloose' Kevin BaconLori SingerChris PennJohn Lithgow and Dianne WiestSarah Jessica ParkerKenny LogginsDean PitchfordHerbert Ross See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Educating future pros

The eDIT Filmmaker's Festival is not only aimed at industry professionals, but also seeks to educate and inspire new generations of moviemakers. To that end, the eDIT Academy has become an integral part of the festival. A platform for young filmmakers, it offers education and workshops focused on film and media.The eDIT Academy consists of four programs aimed, respectively, at kids ages 13-16; students 16-19; film school students; and graduates and amateur filmmakers.The program for the youngest film enthusiasts, held at Frankfurt's Staedel art museum, includes a course on classic painting and film with a look at the work of 20th century painter Max Beckmann.Festival director Rolf Kraemer says training in film and media for today's kids is more important than ever. "We are living in a media society but kids just get thrown out there and they must deal with it, and very often they're are not capable."Everybody wants to enter the film and media business but unless you get an internship somewhere you very rarely get a view of what it's really like, so we invite people from the regional industry to present what they're doing, what their job requires and what the working conditions are," says Kraemer.RELATED LINKS: Firing up the crafts Contact Ed Meza at ed.meza@mannaa.de

Milla Jovovich Attacks Summit for Lack of Promotion on 'The Three Musketeers'

America, do you know that The Three Musketeers is opening Friday? Star Milla Jovovich doesn't think so. On Friday, she publicly called out Summit Entertainment for not promoting the adventure film enough in the U.S.our editor recommends'The Three Musketeers' Battles Past $50 Million Mark WorldwideBox Office Preview: 'Paranormal Activity 3' Expected to Open North of $30 Million PHOTOS: Hollywood's Twitter Feuds "Are 'Summit' promoting it as a family adventure movie? Or are they resting on their laurels from "Twilight" n making no effort? Let me know!" the former model turned actress tweeted as she was apparently en route to the Tokyo International Film Festival where The Three Musketeers serves as the opening film. Jovovich went on to elaborate on her disapproval, writing "I think 'summit' hve swept '3 Musketeers', a grt family adventure film, under the rug in the US. Shame on them. SHAME ON YOU 'SUMMIT.'" Jovovich plays Milady de Winter aka Charlotte Backson, the film's female antagonist who uses her beauty and cunning against the Duke of Buckingham played by Orlando Bloom. The Twilight Saga may have brought the film studio name recognition, but it is also the U.S. distributor of The Hurt Locker, which earned six Oscars, among other notable films. In the case of The Three Musketeers, the studio is only its U.S. distributor, which is why it has attracted Jovovich's fury. Do you think Summit did a good job of promoting "Three Musketeers" in the U.S.? Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter:@TheRealJethro Related Topics Milla Jovovich Summit Entertainment The Three Musketeers

First Look: The Closer Toasts 100 Episodes

Jon Tenney and Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Sedgwick and Jon Tenney enjoyed a drink after wrapping The Closer's 100th episode (airing December 5 on TNT), which executive producer James Duff calls "a light Christmas gift" to fans. "We murder Santa Claus. We felt the world could use a little laugh at itself," something the cast, preparing for the show's imminent end, certainly got that day. "We were all laughing," says Duff, who toasted the cast and crew, as did exec producer Michael Robin, Sedgwick and G.W. Bailey (Provenza). "It could have been called bittersweet, but it was certainly more sweet," says Duff. "I'm glad we are able to write our good-byes into the story." Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

New Way Of Screenplay Pitching: Online

The sale of Des Moines-based author James Erwin’s first screenplay pitch was accomplished via an unusual route: the social news aggregator website Reddit.com. Warner Bros just bought Rome, Sweet Rome after Reddit users voted to elevate his idea to the top of the site’s home page.Madhouse Entertainment told Deadline it spotted the post and contacted Erwin, a two-time Jeopardy! champ, to develop his concept for a quick sale.The idea? Contemporary U.S. Marines by some quirk of fate are transported to Ancient Rome where they are forced to contend with Roman legions. Because the Marines’ presence disrupts history’s timeline, they must set things back on course to return home.

Kadokawa buys publisher

TOKYO -- Kadokawa Group Holdings, a media group that includes Kadokawa Pictures and distrib Asmik Ace Entertainment, has shelled out $103 million on Media Factory, a book and comic publisher active in toons, merchandising and music publishing.This acquisition will beef up Kadokawa's comic and toon biz, a weak point compared to some of its competitors. Among the Media Factory's businesses is the enduringly popular "Pokemon" franchise. Media Factory was a subsid of Recruit.Kadokawa plans to move Media Factory into the digital publishing of comics and books, marketing products on its own Web site to readers across Asia. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Rihanna Says Shes Happy For Chris Browns Success

First Published: October 11, 2011 9:34 AM EDT Credit: Esquire NY, N.Y. -- Caption Rihanna appears on the November 2011 cover of EsquireRihanna says she resented Chris Brown for a time, but has put that behind her and is happy that her former boyfriend has found success in music again. Rihanna tells Esquire magazine that disliking Brown was taking up too much of my time and that she has moved on from that. It was too much anger, the 23-year-old said. Im really excited to see the breakthrough hes had in his career. Brown, 21, is serving five years of probation after pleading guilty to felony assault for the attack on Rihanna in the early morning hours before the 2009 Grammys. Graffiti, the album he released 10 months after the attack, was a commercial disappointment. But his latest release, F.A.M.E. (Forgiving All My Enemies), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in March; it reached gold status and has multiple pop and R&B hits with songs like Look at Me Now and Deuces, among other tracks. Its incredible to see how he pulled out the way he did. Even when the world seemed like it was against him, you know? Rihanna said. I really like the music hes putting out. Im a fan of his stuff. Ive always been a fan. Rihanna has done well musically, too: Her albums following the attack Rated R and Loud have both gone platinum, and shes releasing a new album, Talk That Talk, next month. Her latest single, We Found Love, is her 20th song to hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart since she debuted in 2005. Overall, she says she wants to see Brown do well. I would never wish anything horrible for him. Never. I never have, she said. The November issue of Esquire magazine hits newsstands on Oct. 16. (Copyright 2011 by Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed) Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.