There may be no sign of their first collaboration, “The Sound of My Voice,” appearing in theaters yet — the disappointing box office take of “Another Earth” probably means a rethink in marketing — but that hasn’t stopped Fox Searchlight, writer/star Brit Marling and director Zal Batmanglij from planning another venture. Marling and Batmanglij, who have been riding high since their cult thriller dropped at Sundance, sold a new script to the indie label earlier in the year, and they’ve been busy filling it with all kinds of rising stars in the last few weeks.
“The East” revolves around a female security agent (Marling) who goes undercover in an anarchist terrorist group. “True Blood” star Alexander Skarsgard is set to play the group’s leader, and was joined by last week by “Juno” Oscar nominee Ellen Page as another terrorist, and Skarsgard’s character’s ex-lover. Now, another young hopeful has come on board, as The Hollywood Reporter brings news that British actor Toby Kebbell has joined the cast, as a doctor with Parkinson’s-like symptoms caused by a tainted drug.
Kebbell broke through thanks to Shane Meadows‘ “Dead Man’s Shoes” and Guy Ritchie‘s “RockNRolla,” but has had mixed success since then, cropping up in thankless parts in shoddy blockbusters like “Prince of Persia” and “The Sorceror’s Apprentice.” He looked like he was in trouble for a while after dropping out of Mitch Glazer‘s “Passion Play” at the last minute, but once everyone saw the film, he immediately seemed like the smartest person involved in the project, and things have looked up since: he’ll appear in “War Horse” and “Clash of the Titans 2” in the coming months.
We’re pleased to see him take something on with a little more meat, and he’s another good addition to a very promising ensemble. We were big fans of ‘Sound of My Voice’ when we saw it at SXSW, far more so than the overrated “Another Earth,” so this is certainly something we’re keeping our eye on heading into the new year. Filming starts soon for a 2012 release.
