Tarantino Begins Casting 'Bastards'
Director Quentin Tarantino has finally begun to cast his long-awaited Inglorious Bastards, about a rogue band of Jewish-American soldiers who wreak havoc on the Nazis in WWII France.
Variety reported this week that horror director Eli Roth (Hostel) is in talks to play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, "a baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter." Although Roth seems like an odd choice, since he's known more for his roles behind the camera than in front of it, the "torture porn" director did play a small role in Tarantino's Death Proof; he also directed one of the fake movie trailers that played between Death Proof and Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror segments of the theatrical release of their Grindhouse double feature.
Even though the character's name has changed since the earliest casting rumors of Inglorious Bastards began years ago, Roth's role sounds an awful lot like the one that Tarantino regular Michael Madsen had been attached to play. Does this mean Madsen's officially out, or will his Reservoir Dogs director find a new place for the aging actor?
In further Bastards casting news, The Hollywood Reporter noted yesterday that B.J. Novak, an actor/writer/producer for NBC's The Office, is expected to play PFC Utivich, described as "a soldier of
slight build who comes from New York."
Brad Pitt is still in talks to play the leader of the band of soldiers. Inglorious Bastards is scheduled to shoot in Europe in the fall, and Tarantino is aiming to debut the film at Cannes in the spring of 2009.
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