That there writers strike seems to have put the breaks on casting in Hollywood, with very few people being announced this morning. But one biggun has turned up today, with Kathy Bates and Jennifer Connelly joining the cast of The Day The Earth Stood Still.
This remake of the 1951 movie about an alien who comes to earth with a message of peace and gets shot at for his troubles was originally meant to come out in 2008, but has now been delayed to 2009. Keanu Reeves is already in place as the extra terrestrial, with Scott Derickson directing.
Connelly will play the role of Helen Benson (played in the original by Patricia Neal), a single mother who befriends the alien Klaatu. There's no report on who Bates will be playing, but we'd bet our non-existent farm on it being someone sassy who tells it like it is.
Shooting on The Day The Earth Stood Still is set to start in Vancouver in December.