Clint Eastwood’s latest soon-to-be-acclaimed outing as a director seems to now be sticking with the title “J. Edgar”, after having flirted with “J. Edgar Hoover” and in addition to the previous casting news (which you can look back through here) we now have an update of the “one in, one out” variety.
Having previously been rumoured to be on board as Helen Gandy, a Justice Department file clerk who then became Hoover’s PA, Charlize Theron has now backed off, although rumours abound that her representatives had portrayed her as being more interested in the role than she really was, resulting in her having to apologise to Eastwood.
Of further interest are reports that now being free of the Hoover bio-pic, Theron may be available to star in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequels. Ridley Scott seems to be less keen on the idea, which may therefore result in a little pressure being exerted by nervous execs at 20th Century Fox, who seem to want to try to increase the presence of higher-profile, better known actors in what may prove to be a pretty expensive and therefore quite risky couple of films.
With Naomi Watts and Amy Adams now being considered by Eastwood for the role of Helen Gandy, Ed Westwick (Children of Men, Breaking and Entering, Gossip Girl) has landed a supporting role, namely that of one Agent Smith. Smith was an FBI operative with considerable skill as a writer and was therefore brought in by Hoover to write his biography, until problems arise as Smith gets too close to the truth.
Sources: Vulture and Deadline.
