Fred Thompson is one among a bunch of actors who just joined Randall Wallace's upcoming Walt Disney horse movie "Secretariat," which also stars Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh and Scott Glenn.

Others joining the flick are A.J. Michalka, Kevin Connolly, Margo Martindale, Eric Lange and Drew Roy. Lane plays Penny Tweedy, the racehorse owner whose thoroughbred Secretariat won the '73 Tripe Crown.

The Hollywood Reporter says Thompson plays famous horse breeder Bull Hancock. Michalka plays Lane's daughter, and Connolly is a sports writer. Walsh plays Lane's husband, and Malkovich plays a horse trainer.

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John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh and Scott Glenn are the latest to join Randall Wallace's upcoming Walt Disney horse movie "Secretariat." Diane Lane is also on board in the lead role of Penny Tweedy, the American racehorse owner whose thoroughbred Secretariat won the 1973 Tripe Crown.

Penny first stepped into the world of horses and racing when she took over her father’s horse farm in Virginia. Following her horse’s extraordinary win, she later became known as the “first lady of racing.” Walsh is set to play her husband, and Malkovich plays a horse trainer. Glenn stars as an aristocrat.

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Here is your dose of film news for July 8, 2009:

• Randall Wallace, director of "We Were Soldiers" and screenwriter of "Pearl Harbor" and "Braveheart," is set to rewrite McG's upcoming "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo." Featuring characters from the Jules Verne novel, the film focuses on Nemo's efforts to build the Nautilus, his advanced submarine. Bill Marsilii and Justin Marks wrote the first screenplay. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane from "Grey's Anatomy" are boarding Garry Marshall's upcoming comedy "Valentine's Day," which follows 10 Los Angeles people whose lives intersect on Valentine's Day. Topher Grace, Emma Roberts, Hector Elizondo, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper and Ashton Kutcher co-star. Dempsey plays a married obstetrician while Dane will play a quarterback. (Variety, THR)

• Brett Cullen, whose credits include "The Burning Plain," "Ghost Rider" and "National Security," has joined the cast of Floria Sigismondi's upcoming music biopic "The Runaways," about the formation of The Runaways all the way to the end of their career as a group. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning also star, and Cullen will play Fanning's alcoholic father. (The Hollywood Reporter)

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Diane Lane will take over the lead in Randall Wallace's upcoming Disney horse flick "Secretariat," according to Variety.

The Oscar-nominated actress will slip into the role of Penny Chenery, an American racehorse owner whose thoroughbred Secretariat won the 1973 Tripe Crown.

Chenery first stepped into the world of horses and racing when she took over her father’s horse farm in Virginia. Following her horse’s extraordinary win, she later became known as the “first lady of racing.”

Mike Rich ("The Nativity Story") wrote the script. Wallace's directing credits include “The Man in the Iron Mask” and Mel Gibson’s war drama “We Were Soldiers.”

As for Lane, she recently starred in the mediocre "Nights in Rodanthe." No offense against her (she's beautiful), but I've kind of had it with horse flicks for a while. How about you?