Showbiz people briefs

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Chris O'Dowd, who had roles in the feature "The Boat That Rocked" and the British series "The IT Crowd," has been cast in the comedy feature "Gulliver's Travels."

The actor joins Jack Black, Jason Segel, Amanda Peet and Emily Blunt in 20th Century Fox's big-budget adaptation of the classic Jonathan Swift story.

The modern version concerns the adventures of travel writer Lemuel Gulliver, who while on a Bermuda Triangle assignment gets sidetracked to the secret island of Lilliput. O'Dowd will play Edward, Black's Lilliputian nemesis.

Rob Letterman ("Monsters vs. Aliens") is directing from a screenplay originally penned by Joe Stillman ("Shrek 2"), with additional work done by Nicholas Stoller ("Yes Man") and Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant ("Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian").

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LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Zulay Henao, Caleb Steinmeyer, James Russo, Bill Sage and Tracy Middendorf will star in the indie drama "Boy Wonder."

"Boy Wonder" follows a guy (Steinmeyer) who is looking for whoever killed his mother during a carjacking. At the same time, a string of vigilante murders in Brooklyn are being investigated by a homicide detective (Henao), who gets involved with the guy's revenge quest. Sage and Middendorf play the guy's parents, and Russo plays a hit man.

The screenplay was written by Michael Morrissey ("Off the Hook"), who also will direct the film.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)