Barry Levinson’s upcoming independent comedy Rock the Kasbah has just got a whole lot more interesting. And given that Bill Murray came on board late last year to lead the project, that’s saying something.
Ahead of launching the film’s international sales at the European Film Market in Berlin next month, it’s been announced that Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, and Shia LaBeouf have joined the cast, which also co-stars Bruce Willis alongside Murray.
Story follows a burned-out music manager who goes to Afghanistan on the USO tour with his last remaining client. When he finds himself abandoned, penniless and without his passport, he discovers a young girl with an extraordinary voice, whom he sneaks back to Kabul to compete on the popular television show, “The Afghan Star,” Afghanistan’s equivalent of “American Idol.”
The Oscar-winning Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam) directs from a script by Mitch Glazer (Magic City, Great Expectations).
Grazer also produces alongside Bill Block (District 9), Jacob Pechenik (Before Midnight), and Steve Bing (Marley), with Brian Grazer (Rush) and Tom Freston (Paladar) executive producing.
The ensemble cast is perfect on paper for a comedy like this, and you have to hope that – forgive the unintended pun – the script hits all the right notes for Levinson to draw out the best from everyone.
Production is set to get underway in June, so expect an early- to mid-2015 release.
