Jim Sturgess & Susan Sarandon Put On Steven Shainberg's 'The Big Shoe,' Mark Wahlberg Takes 'The Disciple Program'

It’s been seven years since Steven Shainberg last directed a film, the mostly forgotten Nicole Kidman vehicle "Fur," but it appears from a new press release that he has finally locked down his next project.

“The Big Shoe” finds Shainberg (“Secretary”) in familiar territory as the film is described as “a sexy comedic drama” that will follow Jim Sturgess (“Across The Universe,” “One Day”) as a gifted shoe designer, Nate, who is forced to break free from a family who want to cheapen his art for their own commercial gain. Susan Sarandon, who’s been getting busy lately, co-stars as his overbearing mother who tries to lure him back to work by hiring a psychotherapist and a “muse.” The project was linked to Joaquin Phoenix and Mia Wasikowska a couple of years back, and this feels like a little bit of a downgrade, at least when it comes to the leading man. But Sturgess has done good work, so maybe he'll finally get his breakout here. The film will begin shooting this fall with a script by Shainberg and Mickey Birnbaum.

“Headhunters” helmer Morten Tyldum has nabbed an A-list star for his English-language directorial debut. Mark Wahlberg will produce and star in “The Disciple Program,” which is a spec script by Tyler Marceca that was the subject of bidding war won by Universal after the work was featured on popular screenwriting site Script Shadow. Wahlberg will play a man who becomes embroiled in a strange and complicated web of stories while investigating his wife’s death. There’s no production start date as yet, and no other roles cast. [The Wrap]

Abigail Breslin will star in photographer Tyler Shields’ directorial debut, “Final Girl.” As previously reported, the film is about “a pack of feral teenage boys who choose the wrong girl to be the victim of their final ‘initiation.’” Although not much else is known about the film, other than the fact that Adam Prince wrote the script based on a story by Steve Scarlata, Alejandro Seri and Johnny Silver, it’ll be interesting to see how Shields’ provocative photography style translates to the big screen. [Deadline]

“Horrible Bosses” helmer Seth Gordon’s Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy-starring comedy “Identity Theft” has added another couple of actors to the fold, in the shape of Genesis Rodriguez and rapper T.I.. Last featured earlier this year in the little-seen Will Ferrell Mexican-grindhouse homage, “Casa De Mi Padre" and Sam Worthington thriller "Man On A Ledge," Rodriguez will play an associate to a local crime boss that comes looking for McCarthy’s character after she scams them out of money, while T.I. (Mr I?), who recently joined Kelsey Grammer's series "Boss," will play a bounty hunter. The film begins shooting this summer with a script from Steve Conrad (“The Weatherman”) with rewrites by Craig Mazin (“The Hangover Part II”). [Deadline/Deadline]