"More casting underway for the sixth season of "24" with Eric Balfour ("Six Feet Under") signing on to reprise his Season One role as independent CTU contractor Milo Pressman as a series regular. Former "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" doctor Alexander Siddig is joining the cast as one of the evil-doers behind the bad guys plot. Finally, Carlo Rota will be back as a series regular, reprising his role of Chloe O'Brien's ex-husband which he played in the last few episodes of Season Five..." (full details)
"Universal has set Lasse Hallstrom ("The Cider House Rules", "Chocolat", "Casanova") to direct its adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". Studio purchased a pitch from Komarnicki, who will script. Story will be told through the eyes of a 40-year-old Scrooge. Hallstrom's next film is the upcoming "The Hoax," Miramax's Clifford Irving biopic starring Richard Gere..." (full details)
"Oscar-winning documentary director Kevin Macdonald's first feature, "The Last King of Scotland," will open the 50th edition of the Times BFI London Film Festival. Billed as a European premiere, Macdonald's movie will unspool Oct. 18 in the event's opening gala slot. Based on the award-winning novel by Giles Foden, the movie stars Forest Whitaker as the tyrannical Ugandan President Idi Amin, alongside a cast that includes James McAvoy and Gillian Anderson..." (full details)
