Edging towards some sort of record for the most eclectic cast ever assembled, director Ang Lee has just added two more names to his roster for Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker have signed up to join Steve Martin, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart and newcomer Joe Alwyn.
There's no indication of who either will be playing yet, but it's the first time Diesel has turned out for anything other than an action role (Groot nothwithstanding) since Find Me Guilty in 2006. On that occasion he was working for Sidney Lumet, so clearly he's amenable to taking a risk for the right director.
Tucker, meanwhile, has been quiet since** Silver Linings Playbook** in 2012, partly thanks to a lifestyle change since his Jackie Brown / Rush Hour heyday. But it's an interesting footnote that he was previously part of another unusually varied cast in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element.
Adapted by Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy from Ben Fountain's novel, Billy Lynn follows the titular 19-year-old soldier, who along with his squad has survived a tough battle in Iraq that made headlines and turned the troops into instant celebrities.
Shipped home for a promotional tour by the army, they’re scheduled to return to combat after the final engagement of the trip, a halftime show of a Thanksgiving Day American football game in Texas. As the game progresses, we see flashbacks to what Billy and his platoon endured in the heat of battle.
Pushing the technology as usual, Lee is planning to utilise "3D, high-resolution and an ultra-high frame rate" for the film, presumably employing different sensory techniques for the 'now' sequences and the vivid war scenes.
Lee is currently in pre-production, with filming due to get underway later this month. We're promised further big names in cameo roles, so watch this space.
Fountain's critically-acclaimed novel is published in the UK by Canongate.