Casting About: John Hawkes Will Get an Iron Lung

Tim Grierson
·Editor
He looks kinda like Sean Penn and Bob Dylan's half-brother, doesn't he? Gary Miller/FilmMagic
He looks kinda like Sean Penn and Bob Dylan's half-brother, doesn't he? Gary Miller/FilmMagic

*** John Hawkes got nominated for an Oscar for "Winter's Bone." His next role could do the same thing for him: He'll star in "Surrogate" about journalist Mark O'Brien, who suffered from polio, lived in an iron lung, and hired a so-called "sex surrogate" in order to explore his sexuality. So, yeah, it's the type of story you've seen a thousand times before. [Variety for the well-heeled. The Playlist for people who don't know what "well-heeled" means.]

*** Christina Hendricks has signed up for "Seconds of Pleasure," which brings together the intriguing pairing of "Leaving Las Vegas" director Mike Figgis and "In the Company of Men" writer Neil LaBute. The film will take place on an airplane, showing us the lives of several different passengers on the flight. Serious Question: Is "Airplane!" the only good airplane-set movie? [Deadline]

*** J.K. Simmons has revealed that he's going to be in "Contraband," the American remake of the Icelandic action-thriller "Reykjavik-Rotterdam" that will star Mark Wahlberg. We love Simmons in just about anything, except for those atrocious Farmers Insurance commercials. [A.V. Club via The Playlist]