Casting News -- July 2, 2009

Hilary Duff is joining the cast of the CW series Gossip Girl for a multi-episode arc. The actress-singer will play Olivia Burke, "a movie star who enrolls at NYU in search of a traditional college experience." Duff will debut in this season's fourth episode, scheduled to air Oct. 5.

According to British tabloid The Sun, Justin Timberlake is rumored to star in the new big-screen adaptation of the musical Guys and Dolls, directed by Guy Ritchie. (The pop star and director apparently recently shook hands over drinks.) Action star -- and frequent Ritchie cast member -- Jason Statham is also possibly attached to the project.

Piper Perabo will star in the USA series Covert Affairs, a spy thriller. Perabo stars as Annie Walker, a CIA trainee "who speaks six languages and excels at any endeavor she undertakes." Walker joins the CIA while still reeling over a mysterious ex-boyfriend -- who appears to be of particular interest to her new bosses.

Christian Slater is in negotiations to star in the new ABC series The Forgotten, a mystery drama about a group of amateur detectives. Slater would play the leader of the group, a former cop whose 11-year-old daughter was kidnapped three years before.

The cast of the Vital Theatre Company production of Perfect Wedding features Amber Bela Muse, Dayna Grayber, Matthew Johnson, Ghana Leigh, Kristi McCarson, and Fabio Pires. The Off-Broadway production plays a limited engagement at the Bleecker Street Theatre beginning July 8.

Isabelle Carre, Marina Hands, and James Thierree will star in Voyez comme ils dansent (Watch While They Dance), a French drama film about a woman who travels from Paris to a small town in Canada, where her ex-husband has just died, and develops an uneasy relatyionship with his widow.

Kevin Anderson and Reg E. Cathey will star in the West End production of The Shawshank Redemption, based on the novella by Stephen King (which was also the inspiration for the 1994 film of the same name). Previews begin Sept. 4 at Wyndham's Theatre in London, before an offical run Sept. 13, 2009 through Feb. 14, 2010.

-- Daniel Lehman