Stephen Root may or may not love whales

If you don't save the whales, Milton will burn the ocean down.

The great Stephen Root has joined the cast of Everybody Loves Whales, a Lifetime Movie of the Week that is somehow getting a theatrical release. Root joins Ted Danson, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, John Krasinski and other TV-caliber heavyweights in a film about the media frenzy that erupted when three whales got trapped in the ice. The film is set to be directed by Ken Kwapis, and will begin shooting this fall with an eye on a 2012 release date.

In additional Root casting news, he has also joined the cast of Kevin Smith's new horror film, Red State. This is yet another attempt by Smith to branch out from his brand of frat comedy, because that worked out so well with Jersey Girl and Cop Out. Anyway, Red State follows a group of misfits who run afoul of extreme fundamentalism in Middle America, and also features John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Michael Angarano, and Kyle Gallner.

The film is scheduled to be released next year, at which point it will most likely under-perform, and then Smith will then return in 2012 with Mallrats II: Back In The Wheelhouse.