Today's Film News: Ellen Page Is Keeping Busy

By Katey Rich

I'm getting a little worried about Ellen Page. Her name seems to be attached to every other casting announcement, and she's not exactly taking on easy cameos. She's already signed up to play a roller derby star in Whip It!, not to mention getting dragged to hell in Sam Raimi's next project, and at some point this year the movie American Crime will come out, in which she plays a teenage girl tortured to death by her neighbor. Now she's joining Cillian Murphy in the psychological thriller Peacock. Keep in mind Cillian Murphy's most recent American roles have been as a psycho (Red Eye) and a psycho supervillain (Batman Begins). Variety reports that the film is set in a small Nebraska town, and Murphy will play a man with multiple personalities who convinces the town he is both husband and wife of a couple. Hello, Norman Bates!

Since fantasy hasn't been working out too well for New Line lately, they're moving into 3D CGI animation with the upcoming Planet 51. Now the voices that will participate in the film have been announced, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jessica Biel, Seann William Scott and Justin Long. Kind of a who's-who of "Used to be a big deal and then what happened?" and "Is supposed to be a big deal now but I still don't know who this person is." Except for The Rock, who seems to be on a family comedy roll with The Game Plan's success. I guess that explains his presence here?

Another day, another supernatural thriller with a completely insane premise. Melissa George, most recently seen in 30 Days of Night, will star in Triangle, about a group of people on a yacht who get caught up in very spooky weather conditions. Maybe they'll track down the island from "Lost"? The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Icon Entertainment will be in charge of distribution.

Sony-based Red Wagon Entertainment is on the right track for a biopic about Nascar icon Dale Earnhardt, who died during the Daytona 500 in 2001. Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, in charge of the production arm, have secured the deal through son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and widow Teresa, though the two have had a strained relationship recently. I'm going to resist the racing puns for now (well, except for that first one), but don't expect me to hold back for very long.