According to Variety, Whoopi Goldberg and Giancarlo Esposito are set to join Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church in “Shriver,” a comedy of mistaken identity being introduced to buyers at Cannes by Content Media. The film, directed by Michael Maren, turns on a loner (Church) who is mistaken for a famous author at a literary conference and who falls for the conference organizer (Collette). The man nearly pulls off the deception before the real author shows up and causes havoc. The screenplay, by Maren, is adapted from the novel “Shriver” by Chris Belden. “From the very beginning we just loved the clever premise,” Jamie Carmichael, Content’s president of film said. Josh Kesselman and Alfred Sapse of Thruline are producing.

After releasing a sneak peek last month, the Sydney Film Festival has unveiled its massive lineup in full for its 64th year, and it comes with 288 films from 59 countries, including 37 world premieres. Among the world-premieres is “Madame”, starring Toni Collette, Harvey Keitel and Rossy de Palma. Directed by Amanda Sthers, “Madame” is a romantic comedy about an unexpected love affair that starts at dinner and spreads to the Paris streets.Here’s the official synopsis: Anne (Collette) and Bob (Keitel), a wealthy, well-connected American couple, move into a manor in Paris. While preparing a luxurious dinner for sophisticated international friends, Anne discovers there are only 13 guests. So, she insists her loyal maid, Maria (de Palma), disguise herself as a mysterious Spanish noblewoman to even out the numbers. Too much wine and some playful chat lead Maria to endear herself to a dandy British artbroker (Michae Smiley). Their budding romance soon has Anne chasing her maid around Paris, reinventing the truth and finally plotting to destroy this most unexpected and joyous love affair. Also, “Fun Mom Dinner”, which celebrated its world-premiere at Sundance in January, will be shown on June 9. New pictures from both films have been added to the photo gallery.

“Unlocked” has premiered in UK theaters on Friday. Reviews have been favorable to mixed, all describing it as a female Bourne-story with praise for Rapace and criticism on the plot – but not as bad as one would have feared for a film that has been shelfed for over two years. Here’s a selection of reviews from the British press, highlighting Toni’s performance (and her much-mentioned Annie Lennox hairdo), production stills can be found below.

The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw, May 05, 2017
Veteran director Michael Apted has put together an entertaining espionage action-thriller, on the time-honoured theme of the agent going rogue because the bosses are complicit in the dirty dealing; Apted is working with a script from feature newcomer Peter O’Brien. It doesn’t break much in the way of new ground, but that isn’t exactly the point – it rattles along and Apted tackles it with gusto. It’s also satisfying to see Toni Collette let rip with a machine gun.

Variety, Guy Lodge, May 07, 2017
As the Hollywood casting search for a new, rebooted Lisbeth Salander starts up again, spare a thought for poor Noomi Rapace. Having stepped aside for Rooney Mara in David Fincher’s 2011 film, the original girl with the dragon tattoo is still proving her mettle for the part in far lesser vehicles like “Unlocked” — an anonymously enjoyable espionage thriller that, for purposes of memory, all but self-destructs the second the closing credits begin to roll. Collette, given the least to do of the headliners, but rocking a machine gun and platinum pixie crop with equally lethal aplomb.

The Guardian, Simran Hans, May 07, 2017
islamic State, MI5, a deadly virus and a neck-tattooed Orlando Bloom: screenwriter Peter O’Brien throws everything at the wall in this derivative thriller. Nothing sticks. With a cast of A-listers including John Malkovich, Michael Douglas and Toni Collette, not to mention Rapace herself, you’d expect at least one performance capable of cutting through the script’s sludge. Still, worth a hate-watch if only to hear Bloom’s former marine declare in full EastEnders mode: “I love a tagine.”

The Telegraph, Robbie Colin, May 04, 2017
Think of Unlocked as the dress-down Friday of contemporary espionage thrillers. Everyone who was supposed to turn up seems to be there, in some shape or form, but in their eyes you virtually can see the stopwatch counting down to 6pm. Set in a scrupulously true-to-life version of London’s East End, Michael Apted’s film centres on former CIA interrogator Alice Racine (Noomi Rapace), who investigates an Islamist terror plot only to find herself embroiled in a web of inter-agency triple and quadruple crosses. She’s Bourne within the sound of Bow bells, essentially, but the film’s attempt to combine mainstream action and timely social realism results in the kind of sticky mess that should have been easily avoided.

According to Deadline, Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church, who last worked together in 2014 on Lucky Them, are reuniting on another project, the indie comedy Shriver which has a delightful premise. Shriver, a depressed often inebriated loner (Church), is mistaken for a renowned but reclusive author with whom he shares a name. He suddenly finds himself the subject of adulation and the center of attention at a writers conference celebrating the 20th anniversary of the book written by the real author. Shriver steps into the role, sparks a romance with the English professor (Collette) who runs the conference, and is about to pull it all off when the real Shriver appears. The project was written and will be directed by Michael Maren who wrote and directed the 2014 film The Short History of Decay. The project is being produced by Josh Kesselman at Thruline and Alfred Sapse.

Toni Collette says her latest character is having a “classic midlife crisis”. It’s an experience that must seem a world away for the western Sydney-born actor, contentedly married with two children and never out of work, even as she longs for more roles on home soil. On the Western Australian set of the feature film Jasper Jones, Collette says she misses “the space, the light, family, friends, fresh air – all the basics”. She is pleased to be here. The actor was so keen on Jasper Jones – the story of a bookish boy who becomes embroiled in the mysterious death of a local girl, based on the award-winning novel by Craig Silvey – that she wanted to option the rights to the film herself. “Everybody did,” she says, laughing. She was beaten out by producers Vincent Sheehan and David Jowsey – but landed a performing role instead. The complete article can be read over at The Guardian, with some additional photographs being added to the photo gallery.

The trailer and poster for “Unlocked” has been released today, and it looks very good. That being said, the film has been awaiting theatrical release for over three years, so one was worried what could have gone wrong. London is under biological attack from terrorists in Unlocked, and only Noomi Rapace has the key. Rapace stars as a CIA operative who finds her mission compromised. She’s forced to team up with an MI5 agent, played by Orlando Bloom, to track down the terrorist infiltration and prevent a major attack. Along the way, she’s ably assisted (or hindered?) by the likes of Michael Douglas, Toni Collette, and John Malkovich. Quite a cast. Veteran British director Michael Apted is behind the camera on this one, which makes sense given his Bond pedigree on The World Is Not Enough. Unlocked arrives on 5 May. Screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery, alongside the film’s poster. I’m still wondering if the shots of Toni firing a machine gun might be a spoiler :-) I guess we’ll find out soon.