James McAvoy: 'Wikileaks' and 'X-Men' updates, new 'Neverwhere' project

James McAvoy no longer attached to Wikileaks project

Scottish actor James McAvoy will not star alongside fellow Brit Benedict Cumberbatch in a movie about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
According to the Hollywood Reporter negotiations for the Last King of Scotland and Shameless actor to make an appearance in the as yet unnamed movie broke down over scheduling conflicts.
Source (including photo) The Independent
 
Also reported by Slashfilm  and many others


Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere headed to BBC Radio with X-Men’s James McAvoy
James McAvoy, Anthony Head, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bernard Cribbins will star in a BBC Radio production of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, set to air in the first part of 2013.
There’s a lot more details below, and lots to be excited about, including the fact that Gaiman is presently working on the American Gods pilot.

Neil Gaiman posted the photo above to his Tumblr, along with the following message (excerpted from a longer, more general post):

Right now, also due to being in the wrong country — like this minute — I’m missing this, which arrived a few hours ago: [photo]
That’s left to right, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Harewood,  Natalie Dormer, Dirk Maggs, James McAvoy, David Schofield and Anthony Head, all gathered today to record the BBC Radio 4/Radio 4 Extra production of NEVERWHERE.
(It’ll start on Radio 4 and then go over to Radio 4 extra.) The adaptation is by Dirk Maggs, who did the last three Hitchhiker’s Guide Radio adaptations. He’s co-directing it with producer Heather Larmour, who is the one who went off and made this happen after a small enthusiastic chat in a London coffee shop much earlier this year — the kind of conversation that you have that normally just leaves you feeling happy, but doesn’t actually turn into anything real. This time it did.
The cast includes…

James McAvoy                Richard

Natalie Dormer                 Door

David Harewood               Marquis

Sophie Okonedo               Hunter

Benedict Cumberbatch      Islington

Anthony Head                   Croup

David Schofield                 Vandemar

Bernard Cribbins               Old Bailey

Romola Garai                    Jessica

Christopher Lee                Earl of Earl’s Court

Andrew Sachs                    Tooley

George Harris                    Abbot

Don Gilet                            Fulingous, Ruislip, Blackfriar

Abdul Salis                          Sable, Sump, Clarence, Homeless Man

Paul Chequer                     Gary, Guard 2

Lucy Cohu                          Lamia

Yasmin Paige                     Anaesthesia, Tenant 2 – female, Match girl

Johnny Vegas                    Lord Ratspeaker

Stephen Marcus                Varney, Homeless man, Letting agent, Guard 1

Karen Archer                      Sylvia, Old Woman, Dream Hawker, Mother…

…and lots more (including an author, who recorded his bits last month). It will go out in six episodes.
Am I excited? I am. Very much so.
(Also, CHRISTOPHER LEE IS GOING TO BE SAYING LINES I WROTE. This makes me happier than I have any right to be.)
It will be broadcast somewhere in the first 4 months of 2013. And you will be able to listen to it wherever you are in the world, using the BBC’s iPlayer.
I’m currently listening to Tor Dot Com’s AMERICAN GODS MIX TAPE while I work on the HBO American Gods pilot episode. http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/11/the-complete-american-gods-mix-tape
Right. Back to work…

Source: ComicBook.com



'X-Men': Fassbender, McKellen, McAvoy, Stewart Unite for 'Days Of Future Past'
The Avengers aren't the only ones who get to assemble. X-Men: First Class producer Bryan Singer announced via Twitter on Tuesday that his main players from that film Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult will all return to revive their roles for the upcoming film X-Men: Days of Future Past. Singer, who will direct the fifth X-Men film (sixth, if you count the retroactive sequel Wolverine), told followers "I'd like to officially welcome back James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, & Nicholas Hoult to #XMEN for #DaysOfFuturePast."

That wasn't the only good news about actor reprisals that Singer had for X-Men fans when he also posted, "Thrilled to announce @ianmckellen118 & @SirPatStew are joining the cast of #XMEN #DaysOfFuturePast #magneto #professorX." That's right, young Magneto (Fassbender) and young Professor X (McAvoy) will be in the same film as old Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) and old Professor X (Sir Patrick Stewart). In fact, with Days of Future Past's time travel plot line, it's very possible that the two pairs could meet (and also make our heads spin with timeline logic). 

With so many stars and characters returning for the First Class sequel, could that mean that we'll also see a variation Ellen Page's Kitty Pryde (a major character in the Days of Future Past comic book) in the picture as well? If the recent announcement is any indication, anything is possible.

Source: Hollywood