Way back in October, we brought you news of Peter Weir's newest film "The Way Back," based on the true story of a group of soldiers who made a daring escape from a Soviet gulag. Now Variety reports that he has nearly landed his cast, a mix of acting veterans and soon-to-be-huge newcomers, as Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess and Saoirse Ronan are in talks to join the film.

Farrell will play a tough, tattooed Russian, Harris an American, and Sturgess will play a young Polish inmate. Ronan will play a young Russian on the run who meets up with the fugitives. Read more...

Remember that “Mr. Brooks” trilogy that Kevin Costner was hyping up in the days before his serial killer movie came out? Or all that talk of the dozen-or-so sequels they hoped to make from Russell Crowe’s “Master and Commander”? Then, of course, there’s “Shoot ‘em Up," “Daredevil," and “Doom” parts deux, most likely never coming to a theater near you.

Now, the latest film to garner second-installment talk before it has taken in a penny at the box-office is “Appaloosa,” the gritty Western that opens this weekend.

“Parker wrote two sequels to this, which I think could be combined into a sequel,” explained writer/director/star Ed Harris to us recently, referring to novelist Robert B. Parker, who is best known for his “Spenser” crime tomes. “Appaloosa” is based on Parker’s 2005 book about expert gunslinger Virgil Cole (Harris in the movie), and could be followed by a mash-up of this year’s “Resolution” and an upcoming third novel. “It would be interesting to investigate it.” Read more...