It was reported earlier this week that Rachel is ‘top choice’ to play the female lead alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in “Southpaw“. It has not been confirmed yet that Rachel officially signed on but we will round-up some news about the movie in this post. Many thanks to my friends Jord & Nick for the heads-up!

• The Weinstein Company will distribute the movie in the US and they presented their upcoming slate yesterday during the 2014 Cannes Film Festival market and “Southpaw” was part of the in-production slate. Deadline, Variety, and Vulture are reporting that footage of Jake Gyllenhaal was showed.

• Production Bulletin is reporting the following plot, keep in mind that it could contain (major?) spoilers:

Cocky, aggressive, volatile middleweight champion Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) full expects to ride out his career with his massive winnings, his adoring fans, his beloved wife Maureen and their 10 year old daughter Leila. When Billy’s temper triggers a fight, and then a shootout that leaves Maureen dead, Billy finds his life spiraling out of control. He takes to drinking and doing drugs, ignores the heart-broken Leila, and ignores his finances. When he loses his house, his money and finally Leila, who winds up in a group foster home, he begins to find his way back to some kind of balance with the help of amateur trainer Titus “Tick” Willis, who has his own demons but who turns out to be the perfect trainer for Billy.

• Indiana Gazette is reporting that there will be a casting call for extras held in the Indiana Mall for the movie. They also report that filming will start mid- to late June in Indiana and in Pittsburgh in early July to early August. Backstage.com confirms the July start date for Pittsburgh.