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Voight Signs On for a Day: For the first time in 40 years, Jon Voight will be in a TV series, as he joins the seventh season of 24. He'll play Jack Bauer's "uber-nemesis who is pulling the strings behind —" etc, etc. This could be great, though; Voight's been stuck playing sissy good-guy roles for a while now. Let's get back to the crazy bad-guy days of Mission Impossible. At least, from what we could understand we're pretty sure he was a bad guy in that? [HR
Ansari Clocks In: Aziz Ansari, best known as an arbiter of hilarity on MTV's Human Giant, has become the first announced cast member of NBC's new spinoff of The Office. Producer Greg Daniels says they "already have a great character for him"; we urge Daniels to not necessarily cast him as an I.T. guy. [Variety]
Guare and Durang Go Public: In addition to Stephen Sondheim's previously announced Bounce, the 2008–2009 season at the Public Theater will include John Guare's A Free Man of Color, starring Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright; Christopher Durang's Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them; and Danny Hoch's Brooklyn-gentrification hip-hop drama Taking Over, which we're hoping features an appearance by The What. [Playbill]
Emmerich Marks Peet for Disaster: Amanda Peet will play the female lead in Roland Emmerich's disaster epic — as though we even need to say the genre — 2012. Peet will play John Cusack's ex-wife who's married to a rich guy, but will the end of the world make her change her feelings? Yes. [HR]
Eccleston Flies the Disappearing Skies: Christopher Eccleston (Jude in Jude the Obscure; Destro in G.I. Joe) will be joining Hilary Swank in the cockpit for Amelia's ill-fated flight, playing Earhart's navigator Fred Noonan, a navigator that she in no way regretted hiring. Nope, no sir, definitely not. [Variety]
