Casting Bits: John Lithgow As Roger Ailes In Fox News Movie, Lauren Ambrose In M. Night Shyamalan's Apple Series And More
Casting news is happening! In this edition of Casting Bits, we've rounded up the latest casting news for your reading pleasure. John Lithgow has joined Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie in Annapurna's Fox News movie; Lauren Ambrose will star in M. Night Shyamalan's Apple series; and Castle Rock's Jane Levy is climbing aboard Netflix's new anthology series What/If.
John Lithgow is Roger Ailes
John Lithgow is staying booked. The actor was recently cast in the Pet Sematary remake, and now he's moving on to yet another horror story: a movie about Fox News. THR says Lithgow has joined the already impressive cast of Annapurna's currently untitled Fox News movie. Lithgow will play Roger Ailes, the late founder of Fox News and the man more or less responsible for our current political hellscape. The rest of the cast includes Charlize Theron, as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, and Margot Robbie as a Fox News associate producer. Kelly and Carlson both accused Ailes of sexual misconduct, forcing Ailes to resign in 2016. This cast is already pretty damn phenomenal, but it might get even better. Collider's Jeff Sneider revealed on Twitter that Allison Janney and Kate McKinnon have both been offered parts in the film as well.
Hearing offers are out to Allison Janney & Kate McKinnon on the Fox News/Roger Ailes movie. Janney offered role of Ailes' attorney. Have lost every single piece of casting on this movie, so I'm throwing caution to the wind.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) August 22, 2018
I'm not exactly chomping at the bit for a movie about Fox News, but with a cast like this, I can't ignore it either.
Lauren Ambrose in M. Night Shyamalan's Apple Series
Lauren Ambrose, of Six Feet Under fame, is joining M. Night Shyamalan's new Apple series, according to Deadline. The series "follows parents Dorothy and Sean Turner, who have hired young nanny Leanne to help care for their newborn child." Since the show is being described as a thriller, I'm guessing something goes wrong. Maybe the nanny is evil. Or the parents are evil. Or the newborn child is evil. Someone is going to be evil, folks. Ambrose will play the mother of the child, and Nell Tiger Free will play the nanny. The untitled series was created by Tony Basgallop, with Shyamalan executive producing and directing the first episode. This is just one of several original programs Apple has lined up for their yet-to-be-named streaming service. Ambrose is very talented, and I've been team M. Night since day one, so I'm all-in on this.
Jane Levy Joins What/If
Jane Levy, who can currently be seen on Hulu's Castle Rock, is sticking with the the world of streaming. She'll jump from Hulu to Netflix for What/If, a anthology show starring Renée Zellweger. Per TV Line, What/If is a "social thriller that explores the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing bad, bad things." Every season tackles a "different morality tale inspired by culturally consequential source material, and the power of a single fateful decision to change the trajectory of an entire life." Not quite sure what a "social thriller" is, but sure, this sounds promising.