Charlize Theron has signed on to star in and produce the indie drama, Ferris Wheel. Bill Maher is making his feature directing debut on a script by Zac Stanford. The film also stars Nick Stahl, AnnaSophia Robb, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Hopper and Deborra-Lee Furness. The film follows an 11-year-old girl's struggle to come to terms with her mother's abandonment. Shooting for Ferris Wheel begins in Canada in November.

Ben Kingsley is set to join Ewan McGregor, Emily Mortimer and Dan Fogler in the indie thriller, Number Thirteen. Chase Palmer is making his directorial debut on his own script, an imagined story of the mystery surrounding Alfred Hitchcock's lost and unfinished first film, Number Thirteen. Dan Fogler will play the young director, who gets caught up in a Hitchcockian dilemma when he ends up in a love triangle with two crew members while making the film. When the lead actor turns up dead, the editor suspects the director and tries to uncover the truth. Shooting for Number Thirteen begins in January.