Nicholas Hoult will be spotty poet Rik and Michael Shannon the mysteriously cool Mike in the student comedy drama... No, sorry, that's not true. The Young Ones heading into production in this case is a futuristic thriller directed by Jake Paltrow, and nothing to do with the old Rik Mayall comedy show. Hoult and Shannon have just come aboard though, along with Elle Fanning (Super 8, We Bought a Zoo) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In, The Road). It's sounding as if Smit-McPhee has the nominal lead, since the film centers on a 14-year-old boy fighting to survive through wit and guile in a violent nea- future where water has become the most precious resource (cough-Tank Girl-cough). The roles for the other three remain unclear for now. Paltrow got his start directing for television, on the likes of NYPD Blue. His first feature was 2007's dark comedy The Good Night, starring Martin Freeman, Penelope Cruz, Danny DeVito and Paltrow's older sister, an up-and-coming actress called Gwyneth. Producer Michael Auret calls Young Ones an "engaging tale of hope and courage in a neo-realistic dystopia," and says it will have "universal appeal". Shooting started in South Africa's Northern Cape desert on February 1st. | 
