Steve Buscemi To Direct An Adaptation of William S. Burroughs' 'Queer' Written by 'The Messenger' Scribe Oren Moverman

We initially included this bit of news at the end of a relatively just-published story about "The Messenger" director Oren Moverman directing an upcoming crime drama "Rampart," which may reunite him with cast members of that film, Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson (who was nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his role in the picture). But we felt this story deserved its own space as we're excited for it.

Reuniting the core 'Messenger' group would be amazing. That trio made a fantastic team and that film was a powerful one, one we loved and one that was far too underrated in 2009. And it's apparently not the only thing that Moverman is working on.

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Zooey Deschanel In Talks To Play Mid-19th-Century Computer Programmer Ada Lovelace

Post-"(500) Days of Summer," Zooey Deschanel is the thinking indie dude’s pin-up and wide-eyed dream queen, and smartly, she’s not resting on her laurels.

David Gordon Green’s medieval stoner fantasy epic "Your Highness" is already in the can. Earlier in the year, she was attached to star in the adaptation of Pamela Des Barres' "I’m With the Band" for HBO (or, as IMDB creepily calls it, "Untitled Groupie Project"). And She & Him, her lovingly twee pop project with M. Ward, recently released its second album, "Volume 2." The adorable duo’s video for lead single "In the Sun" is the most effective high school-set video since "Baby One More Time" (yeah, we said it), and they head to Europe for some late-April shows following a Coachella set.

Now she’s ready to take a bite into something more cinematically weighty. Production Weekly reports Deschanel is in talks to play 19th Century English writer Ada Lovelace in Bruce Beresford’s "Enchantress of Numbers" set to go in front of cameras this fall. It’s a typically ambitious next step for a star whose previous historical role – “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” – gave her an opportunity to sing onscreen, but not do much else. Ada Lovelace, though, was one of the most unique, fascinating women of the 1800s. Dubbed the "founder of scientific computing," she was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron, and after an illness-ridden childhood met the mathematician and philosopher Charles Babbage. While her contributions are still debated, many consider her the first true computer programmer.

While the role is, indeed, killer, there’s reason to be fearful. For one, young actresses often follow major successes with a starring role in a period piece, to great failure – see Hillary Swank in "The Affair of the Necklace," Reese Witherspoon in "Vanity Fair," or even Nicole Kidman in "Portrait of a Lady." And even more reason for the Zooey Nation to fret – Bruce Beresford? The man whose last bit of cinematic relevance, "Driving Miss Daisy," was released in 1989, and wasn’t particularly strong to begin with? Who was the number two choice? Roland Joffe?

Ada Lovelace is a meaty, interesting part for Deschanel, and, best-case scenario, its greeted with modest, "Young Victoria"-style acclaim. But if it comes down to this or a She & Him tour, I’d advise our Zooey to pack the bags and hit the road with M. --Christopher Schobert

Oren Moverman To Direct 'Rampart' Possibly With 'The Messenger' Stars Woody Harrelson & Ben Foster

Production Weekly stayed busy yesterday, dropping several new updates including one which reported that "The Messenger" director Oren Moverman will be directing the crime drama "Rampart," which may reunite him with "Messenger" cast members Woody Harrelson (who was nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his role) and Ben Foster. Now, ioncinema pitched in with more info on the project — it was originally a vehicle for Stephen Frears.

"Rampart" was scripted by James Ellroy and deals with the LAPDs Rampart Division, which was involved in a massive corruption scandal in the early 1990s. More than 70 officers were implicated and many were convicted. According to Wikipedia, "the convicted offenses include unprovoked shootings, unprovoked beatings, planting of evidence, framing of suspects, stealing and dealing narcotics, bank robbery, perjury, and covering up evidence of these activities." This is familiar territory for Ellroy, whose LA-focused noirish novels were adapted into Curtis Hanson's excellent "L.A. Confidental" and Brian De Palma's disastrous "Black Dahlia," among others.

What does this mean for Moverman, who has most recently been attached to the Kurt Cobain biopic? Well, one of two things — either a). he's either off that project (and did sound tentative about his involvement recently) or b) (and more likely) it's still in development and he can knock "Rampart" out of the park before moving on to the Cobain story. We here at The Playlist have a lot of love for "The Messenger" and the possibility of Harrelson and Foster reuniting with Moverman is a great move in the movie books. We're sure we'll hear more on this as the players are definitively confirmed. You can bet we'll have our fingers crossed.

Sylvester Stallone was once going to do a similarly titled, project called, "Rampart Scandal" back in 2003, but the two projects had nothing to do with each other. Stallone's was about a detective investigating both the Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. slayings. That obviously never happened. Thanks to Russ at /Film for that reminder.

Ethan Hawke May Star In "Contained Action Thriller" 'The Numbers Station'

Ethan Hawke is staying busy, adding yet another project to a growing slate.

Production Weekly reports that Hawke is in talks to star in "The Numbers Station," from relatively unknown screenwriter Scott Frazier. This may not be Frazier's first script but it appears to be his first sale. Story details are super sparse, but ever-trusty resource Wikipedia tells us numbers stations are "shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin. They generally broadcast artificially generated voices reading streams of numbers, words, letters (sometimes using a spelling alphabet), tunes or Morse code." Hmm, could be a sci-fi-ish thriller with a crime drama edge, but that's just a shot in the dark. It is after all described as a "contained action thriller," so maybe not.

Either way, it seems like a good fit for Hawke, who has Michael Almereyda's (who directed Hawke in 2000s "Hamlet") ensemble drama "Tonight At Noon" and Pawel Pawlikowski's thriller "The Woman In The Fifth" coming up. He last appeared in "Brooklyn's Finest," which we called Antoine Fuqua's finest work to date.

Robert Rodriguez's 'Machete' Gets A September 3rd Release Date

After a bidding war that saw 20th Century Fox emerge victorious (and seemingly the new studio where the filmmaker can lay his cowboy hat), Robert Rodriguez's "Machete," co-directed with his longtime editor Ethan Maniquis, is now set for a September 3 release date.

The picture was shot last summer, but will be beaten to the screen by a Rodriguez picture that was shot afterwards (see below, "Predators"). But it's all relative, really and that's a normal turn-around (also, shooting two pictures at once isn't easy). However, September 3 isn't much of a prime release date, but we'll give Fox the benefit of the doubt here.

The film, based on a trailer Rodriguez made for "Grindhouse," his 2007 double-feature with Quentin Tarantino, features an all-star motley crew cast including Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson, Rose McGowan, Jeff Fahey ("Planet Terror") and Daryl Sabara ("Spy Kids").

One would assume the target audience in San Diego will see some footage or a trailer at Comic Con later this summer in July? One would think, especially since Nimród Antal's "Predators" (also a 20th Century Fox film produced by Rodriguez) will hit before Comic Con which runs July 22-25 (July 9th is its release date).

Next up for Rodriguez has already been decided. No, it's not "Sin City 3" or the "The Jetsons" (which is now officially dead, please cross it off the list with "Red Sonja" which is not his either), it's "Spy Kids 4: Armageddon" which is expected to begin shooting mid-July at his Troublemaker Studios in Austin with a release date already in place for August 19, 2011.

Watch: Sufjan Stevens' Experimental Short Debut 'Destroy Those Irritating Memories'

While Sufjan Stevens been busily not following through on his "50 States" project, with his Illinois-centric album "Illinois" released a long five years back, he's unexpectedly tried his hand at a new medium: the experimental short film. His first was his abstract ode to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, cleverly titled, "The BQE." It was released last year with an accompanying soundtrack. His latest effort, titled "Destroy Those Irritating Memories", debuted at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennesse, with an accompanying live score played by The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

The film is more of an editing experiment than a fully original work. Sufjan used long-exposure photographs of television shows on videos his step-father had him watch when he was younger, and threw them together in a fast-paced jumble. The results are abstract and mildly interesting to say the least, while considered "pointless" by one audience member.

There is footage taken from the screening, but by no means is it professional grade, nor the proper way to experience the piece. It does appear to give a solid gist, and never falls out of focus, or loses the frame. The audio of the Dessners is haunting, and reaches semi-decent quality at times. The video begins with an intro, so if you want to check it out consider starting at four minutes in.

Destroy Those Irritating Memories
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Sam Clafin (Who?) Joins 'POTC 4: On Stranger Tides'

Walt Disney has announced that Sam Clafin has joined the cast of "Pirates Of The Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides" in the key role of Philip of a youth missionary who undoubtedly gets mixed up in the not so virtuous deeds of one Jack Sparrow. He beats out Max Irons (Jeremy Irons son) for the role that has been described as the replacement part for the absent Orlando Bloom (though we doubt he'll replace the character and instead will take on a similar kind of role).

If you're wondering who Clafin is, he's relative newcomer who only has two credits to his name: the historical mini-series "The Pillars Of The Earth" (which also happens to have fellow POTC 4 star Ian McShane) and the Syfy TV movie "The Lost Future."

Clafin, like Astrid Berges-Frisbey announced yesterday, is making quite a leap into mainstream Hollywood joining also includes Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush and Stephen Graham in this big budget production directed by Rob Marshall. The film will start shooting this summer in Hawaii and will hit theaters on May 20, 2011.

Peter Jackson Says 'The Hobbit' Is Still Waiting For A Greenlight To Begin Production; No Deals For Actors Yet In Place

Peter Jackson has popped up to put a damper on fans' expectations for "The Hobbit" to start production anytime soon. Back in March, reliable fan site TheOneRing.net painted a bleak picture which pretty much confirmed what everyone suspected: MGM's current financial woes are a big reason the film has yet to get an official start date. However, in an interview with Moviefone, Jackson explains that another major reason the film hasn't started yet: it hasn't even been greenlit.

"Well, it's not really been delayed, because we've never announced the date. I mean it's sort of interesting because the studio [MGM] has never greenlit 'The Hobbit,' so therefore 'The Hobbit' has never been officially announced as a "go" project, nor have we ever announced a date. But there's so much interest that people -- newspapers and magazines, of their own account, say, ah, it's likely to film in May, it's likely to film in June, it's likely to film in September. People make this stuff up. And then if it's not filming in June, you get a story saying, ''The Hobbit's' been delayed.' But it's never actually been announced," said Jackson. So you hear that nerds? Stop making shit up. Ok, that's a bit harsh, but Jackson is right, there was never anything official; those previous start dates were most likely the tentative schedules given to actors who then passed it along to curious fans and somewhere along the way it became "official." Welcome to the internet.

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Whole Lotta Lautner: Liam Hemsworth Offered Role In 'Northern Lights', Lily Collins Joins 'Abduction'

So here's some news for five Taylor Lautner diehards that read our site. You might care about this, we don't care all that much.

Liam Hemsworth is being offered the $7.5 million role that was first attached to Taylor Lautner in "Northern Lights." The "Top Gun"-esque pic follows "follows four young pilots as they compete against the world’s best." We can only imagine that the producers woke up and realized this genre pictures hasn't resonated with audiences of late (please see last the tanking of "Amelia" and "Flyboys") and are trying to bring the budget out of the air, back to the planet Earth. The film was supposed to start on April 1st, but it now seems to be a bit of ways off as they rework the cast and production.

Meanwhile, Lautner's other big post-"Twilight" project, "Abduction" has gained Lily Collins as his love interest. The film, is a Bourne-esque tale about "a young man who discovers the parents that raised him aren't his. When he reaches out to the real ones, he and his girlfriend are forced to run for their lives." The film is set to be directed by John Singleton and go in front of cameras later this summer.

'Mighty Mouse' To Save The Day On The Big Screen

Paramount is looking to recreate the success of the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie-turned-franchise with a big screen screen reboot of "Mighty Mouse." And by already setting the quality bar abysmally low, don't hold your breath for anything that turns out remotely good or interesting.

No writer or director is slated, but apparently the project has been kicking around for awhile, and the studio already has a draft of a script by Brian and Mark Gunn ("Journey to the Center of the Earth 2"). However, the studio wants to start fresh, so the project will be going out to new writers.

While kids these days will have no idea who the caped mouse is, older kids/adults will remember "Mighty Mouse" as a satire of old hero serials and as a direct parody of Super-Man. The villain antagonists were all cats, his biggest threat being Oli Can Harry while Mitzi and Pearl Pureheart were the love interests. Pop culture fiends probably best known the theme song which comedian Andy Kaufman used for an iconic bit during the early days of Saturday Night Live (see below).

While the LA Times speculates that the film might get some kind of subversive, meta-treatment we sort of doubt it. Our guess is that it will be a 3D CGI abomination that reintroduces the character for a whole new generation of kids, that will make parents, once again, hate taking their kids to the theater for non-Pixar movies.

Vincent Gallo Wasn't Meant To Direct 'Promises Written in Water,' Stole The Picture From Inept Newb?

Ok, "stole" might be a harsh word. Vincent Gallo's upcoming film, "Promises Written in Water" originally wasn't a project he was supposed to direct. And that wasn't even the original title.

In fact, the actor/filmmaker/musician was just hired initially to just star in Pete Red Sky's "The Funeral Director," as was Alison Lohman who eventually dropped out. But Gallo eventually took a producing credit and helped bring in the rest of the (mostly unknown) cast.

From there, production began and the director evinced his inexperience and lack of confidence on set and the irascible and impatient Gallo would chew him out on set, halt production and then have closed-door meetings with the other producers to hash things out in private.

To make a long story short, Red Sky was then given the boot and Gallo took over as director and he obviously retitled the film. But is Gallo trying to pass it off as his own work? Movieline has the story in all its gory details, however, they are word for word pretty much the exact details we were sent a few days earlier, but decided not to publish (it's not that we didn't believe them, they were from a source who worked on the picture during the production, it just felt a little... not for us... so we decided to pass or at least hold until it was somehow applicable).

Is someone trying to smear Gallo? Or did the source just not find a bite and move on to the next player who was interested in the story (which hey, cool, no harm no foul)? It's hard to tell, but we suppose, yes it is a pretty interesting (if scurrilous) story. If you're a Gallo fan or a love/hater, the stories worth reading. The man seems like a scoundrel through and through, but what can we say? We still kinda adore the man. He gives good quote. The picture was rumored to appear at Cannes and that didn't happen. Maybe the Director's Fortnight? Yeah, we could buy that.

Also: please listen to this recent interview with Gallo. It's amazing. In it he calls "Buffalo '66" cinematographer Lance accord, a "faggot cameraman," the DGA "scumbags" and talks about how Kirsten Dunst was bounced from the picture last minute because her agent was a pain. He also rails on Sofia Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Jonze, Abel Ferrara, Steven Soderbergh and Wes Anderson. It's a must listen, but very, very NSFW, fyi.

The Last Days Of Jim Morrison: A Feature Film Coming To A Theater New You

Another Jim Morrison film? Wasn't the Oliver Stone awesome-disaster and the recent rather forgettable Tom DiCillo documentary enough?

Was there a renaissance of shamanistic buffoons dressed in painted-on leather pants and we didnt' get the memo? Apparently.

So Gus Van Sant did his "Last Days," the not-Kurt Cobain (totally Kurt Cobain) inspired picture of the Seattle rockers final hours on earth and now the same kind of deal is happening with Mr. Lizard King, Jim Morrison (and you can always get a two'fer, a biopic and the "last days," producers take note!)

Robert Saitzyk, the writer director behind "Godspeed," "White of Winter" and "After the Flood" (don't worry, we haven't seen the either), will write and direct, "The Last Beat," which will center on Morrison's final days in Paris, with his girlfriend Pamela Courson.

Shawn Andrews, who appeared in 'Flood' and "Dazed and Confused," is attached to play Morrison and the film will shoot in October in Paris according to THR.

Apparently it will be a "non-traditional biopic" (uhh, if it's "the last days," then it's not really a biopic now is it), and will chart Morrison's trying to navigate relationships with "a glamorous French Countess named Clemence and his California soulmate, Valerie Eason."

We assume Eason is supposed to play a fictionalized version of Courson? Let's face it, the only way to make this really entertaining is to get into all the dumb, specious rumors of surrounding his death, like Jim being accursed by a Gypsy he slept with in Paris and of course all the drunken gibberish poetry he recorded in that time, which should at least be fun dialogue to write.

In Theaters: 'Kick-Ass,' 'Death at a Funeral,' 'Exit Through the Gift Shop'

Two new films opening wide this week, both with R ratings, but aimed at wildly different audiences. With a modest budget of 28 million, "Kick-Ass" should find the road to profitability to be relatively free and easy and hopefully pave the way for similar films with indie ideals aimed at the blockbuster crowd. The R-rating could keep some of the target audience away, but if the word-of-mouth is strong enough, kids will find a way to see it. The broad comedy "Death at a Funeral" should post strong numbers as well, most likely coming a close second when all the numbers are tallied. There's also plenty to see in limited release, with several very interesting films opening small this week. After the dry spell of the past few weeks, it's a good time to be a movie lover once again.

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Robert De Niro Still Dreams Of A 'Taxi Driver' Sequel

Long rumored, but most likely never to happen, Robert De Niro is still keeping the door open for the possibility of a sequel to Martin Scorsese's classic "Taxi Driver."

Speaking with MTV News recently, Robert De Niro indicated that an attempt seems to have been made by the original film's creators to get a second film up and running. "I have talked to Paul Schrader and Marty (Scorsese)..., " De Niro said. "We had a thing and we tried to figure it out; Paul was trying to come up with something... and it just didn't seem to work."

In February, it was reported the possibility of a Lars Von Trier collaboration with Scorsese and De Niro on a "Taxi Driver" remake similar to Von Trier's collaboration with director Jorgan Leth in 2003's "The Five Obstructions." The rumor was later denied by Von Trier's business partner Peter Aalbaek Jensen and Scorsese and De Niro have both been silent on the possibility of any "Taxi Driver" remakes or sequels until now.

De Niro sounded less than hopeful in addressing the idea and certainly didn't add any fuel to the fire or rumor, but he didn't dismiss the notion entirely: "You never know — something could come up... I thought it would be interesting to find a way to bring [Travis Bickle] back all these years later — maybe with something ironic about where he'd end up, as he did in the first one."

"All these years later, maybe we could... It's still possible," he says. But honestly? Probably never gonna happen. Martin Scorsese has about four features and a nearly a half-a-dozen documentaries on his plate right now, including a potential two-part film of "The Irishman" with De Niro himself. Forever moving forward, we can't imagine Scorsese being too excited about returning to the well of "Taxi Driver," but never say never. --Nathan Sizemore

Bruce Lee's 'The Silent Flute' aka 'Circle Of Iron' Gets Another Big Screen Treatment

This is...interesting. Variety reports that producer Paul Maslansky ("The Russia House," "Police Academy") will develop "The Silent Flute," a martial arts feature film based on an original treatment written by Bruce Lee prior to his death in 1973.

Maslansky previously produced a film version of the treatment, the 1978 film "Circle of Iron," (which starred David Carradine), but now Maslansky's son, Sasha Maslansky is writing a brand new script based off of Lee's treatment. The project has secured financing from Hong Kong-based Bey Logan’s B&E Prods.

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Will 'Jonah Hex' Make Its June 18 Release Date? Mastodon Guitarist Thinks Maybe Not

Could "Jonah Hex" be the next "The Wolfman"? News on the troubled production has either been non-existent or, when news has slipped out, it hasn't been good.

First, way back in November 2008, there was the dropping out of the film's original screenwriters and would-be directors, the "Crank" team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Citing creative differences they bailed and the bizzarro world choice of Jimmy Hayward ("Horton Hears a Who!?"). It seemed the gamble of giving an director with a background in animation his first live action gig didn't pay off as Warner Bros., not pleased with first cut, brought in Francis Lawrence as a "consultant" on reshoots earlier this year. And now, most baffling of all, the mysterious absence of trailer for a tentpole film coming out in a mere two months. Speaking with New York magazine Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds, who has been working on the film score throughout the project's various incarnations, doesn't paint a particularly optimistic picture.

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Spike Lee Details: 'Inside Man 2' Seems Dead; Next Up Likely Is New Script, 'Brooklyn Loves MJ' (Michael Jackson)

Roger Friedman is a freak, we all know that, but maybe he got freakier since The Hollywood Reporter let him go decided not to renew his contract (or was it just watching "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" without effects that really sent him over the brink)?

In an early April (but not April Fool's) piece that most of the blog world seemed to miss the sometimes dubious reporter with a distinctly good/bad track record (depending what day of the week you're on) claimed that "Spike Lee is right now finishing up shooting 'Inside Man 2' with Denzel Washington and Clive Owen."

Oh, really sister? Cause Lee himself told ESPN a few days later that, "We were going to do 'Inside Man 2' but it didn't workout." A good thing cause other wise Washington and Owen would have read the earlier report and had their feelings hurt.

However, Friedman does have something in his report that is true (and verified cause we thought it was a scoop for a moment there): Lee has a new joint (read: project) in the works called, "Brooklyn Loves MJ."

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Zhang Yimou Shooting Period Drama 'Hawthorn Tree Forever,' Follow Up Film 'Thirteen Girls' Attracting Interest Of Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt?

"Hero" and "House Of Flying Daggers" director Zhang Yimou has began lensing on his latest effort, an adaptation of Chinese author Aimi Zhu's period drama "Hawthorn Tree Forever."

Based on an adapted script by fellow filmmaker Yin Lichuan, the film will follow an innocent but repressed romance between a city girl of a condemned political background and a young man from a rural village. It'll see Zhang return to pure drama after his outrageous remake of the Coen Brothers' "Blood Simple" in "A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop."

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Review: 'The Secret In Their Eyes' Deserved The Oscar For Best Foreign Language Film

At this year's Academy Awards, the Best Foreign Language Feature nominees had been whittled down to two by clear-eyed film fanatics. The winner was going to either be the French prison thriller "A Prophet" or Michael Haneke's gorgeously photographed black-and-white pre-World War I drama "The White Ribbon." So when the winner was announced, a movie called "The Secret in Their Eyes" from Argentina of all places, it seemed to be greeted with a collective "Huh?"

Well, we're here to say that it absolutely deserved the Oscar win. It's one of the most satisfying and emotionally rich thrillers (if occasionally ungainly) we've seen in a while.

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Courtney Love Trashes Robert Pattinson Rumors, Wants Ryan Gosling Or James McAvoy For Kurt Cobain Biopic

Courtney Love has trashed rumors regarding Robert Pattinson portraying her late husband Kurt Cobain in Oren Moverman's upcoming biopic on the Nirvana frontman.

"Isn't that so stupid, who would cast him? That's just wrong, no offense," Love admits to the Canadian press. "I watched the 'Twilight' stuff very, very recently and I get it, it resonates with the teenaged girl in me, I understand epic love of that nature; I write about it all the time. But isn't [him playing Cobain] silly?"

Love added her own two cents noting Ryan Gosling and James McAvoy as actors she'd like to see in the role but ultimately puts her trust in the producer friend Trudie Styler whose involvement went a long way in the Hole frontwoman's cooperation with the production. That said, don't expect Love to exactly be lining up at the box office on opening day — the rocker feels it'd be too difficult to sit through and will likely pass on it.

Gosling would be a great choice for the role and we'll give Love kudos for having an eye for talent but we just can't see him taking it up. The delicate McAvoy, on the other hand, is all sorts of wrong for the role. We previously presented underrated character actor Ben Foster — who somewhat resembles Gosling physically anyway — for your consideration and would still love to see where he could take the character.

Second to the casting of Cobain, it'll be interesting how Love will react to the actress blessed, or cursed, with portraying her. We're sure the outspoken rocker won't resist letting the world know what she thinks. And let's not forget Shelley Duvall who has already been cast by Dave Grohl as himself. [via Vulture]

First Look: Cate Blanchett And Eric Bana In Joe Wright's 'Hanna'

Set pictures from Joe Wright's teenage assassin story "Hanna" have provided our first looks at Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana in their roles as opposing forces in the life of the titular Hanna, played by Saoirse Ronan.

The film sees Blanchett play Maria, a C.I.A. agent chasing Hanna's father (Bana), himself an AWOL agent who has been in hiding for years, raising Hanna in the Swedish wilderness. "A Prophet" actor Niels Arestrup also co-stars as the head of a French family who befriends Hanna on her journey.

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HBO Picks Up Alex Gibney's 'My Trip to Al-Qaeda'

The last ten years have seen a broadening of the theatrical audience for documentaries as never seen before, with the likes of Michael Moore's films and "An Inconvenient Truth," and one of the most acclaimed of this new wave of non-fiction filmmakers is Alex Gibney. The absurdly prolific director won an Oscar for "Taxi to the Dark Side," as well as strong reviews for the likes of "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" and "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," and has his latest film, "Casino Jack and the United States of Money," about disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, set for release in a few weeks.

That's the first of an astonishing five films that Gibney has in various stages of production, and Anne Thompson at indieWire is reporting that HBO have picked up U.S. TV rights to three one of them, which is also completed and playing Tribeca: "My Trip To Al-Qaeda," which based on the one-man show by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright, which follows the rise of fundamentalist Islam.

Gibney is on a roll this year, he also has "Freakonomics" (which Magnolia recently picked up) an anthology documentary based on the bestselling book by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, which Gibney's directed one of the six segments for, alongside the likes of Seth Gordon ("The King of Kong"), Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me") and Eugene Jarecki ("Capturing the Friedmans"). The film closes the Tribeca Film Festival at the end of the month, before hitting theaters in November.

Then there's an as-yet-untitled film about disgraced New York governor Eliot Spitzer, which will show in work-in-progress form (the first clip from the film debuted earlier in the week). Gibney's fifth film of this year follows Lance Armstrong on the 2009 Tour De France, and should be released by Sony before the end of the year. Terrence Malick, please take note of this man's work ethic...

We originally reported that HBO picked up three of Gibney's documentaries. Not enough coffee, we apologize for the error.

Review: 'Cemetery Junction' Is A Half-Realized Coming-Of-Age Tale

The road to the big screen for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the creators of the original BBC version of "The Office," hasn't exactly been littered with roses so far. Gervais pulled his usual shtick in some half-baked cameos in the likes of "For Your Consideration," "Night at the Museum" and "Stardust," graduated to starring roles with the pleasant, but curiously joke-free "Ghost Town," and made his directorial debut last year, alongside Matt Robinson, with "The Invention of Lying." The latter's a particularly interesting case -- a very, very good script being totally and utterly botched in the execution, resulting in a nearly unwatchable final product. Merchant meanwhile, had cameos in "Hot Fuzz" and "Run, Fatboy, Run," before taking on larger roles in the Dwayne Johnson vehicle "The Tooth Fairy" and the upcoming Farrelly Brothers comedy "Hall Pass."

The pair have teamed up for the first time since "Extras" ended in 2007 for the comedy-drama "Cemetery Junction," and it promised to be an interesting departure for them -- a coming-of-age story focusing on small-town life in the 1970s, with Gervais taking, for the first time in their partnership, a smaller supporting role, putting a trio of newcomers in the spotlight.

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Review: 'The Joneses' Not Worth Keeping Up With

In "The Joneses," David Duchovny and Demi Moore play the perfect couple, a golfing and-cosmetics duo who descend upon an idyllic upper-class neighborhood with two near-flawless high schooler children. The truth about all this perfection, of course, is that the family is a market-tested, consumer-aimed unit of unrelated people, joined together to infest hive-minded communities with brand names and top-of-the-line products. Whether Duchovny or Moore are indicative of perfection, particularly post-1997, seems open to debate, though with Amber Heard as a daughter, they're off to a nice start.

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Did John Madden Walk Away From 'My Fair Lady' Because Of Hugh Grant?

It looks like the long-gestating remake of "My Fair Lady" is going back to the drawing board. Again.

It appears that John Madden, who joined the troubled production in December of last year has quit the film. Rumor has it that disagreements over who to cast in the role of Professor Henry Higgins led him to leave the film that was going to try to get in front of cameras later this year, or in early 2011.

As we reported back in March, screenwriter Emma Thompson and had been championing her friend Hugh Grant for the role to Madden. We didn't think much of it at the time, as Grant has a reputation for being selective (though, that doesn't explain "What About The Morgans?") and given the project's slow crawl to the big screen, we didn't expect a decision to be imminent, especially since the film was still trying to find its Eliza Doolittle. But considering its the only name we heard for the role, if the rumor is true, we suspect that Thompson and the producers loved the idea of Grant playing the role while Madden was less keen on the idea. Cue, stage exit. So does this mean Hugh Grant is still on board? Perhaps, but at this rate, we don't expect to see this film on screen anytime soon.

With Madden's departure, he adds his name to the list of directors who've boarded and left the project that includes Danny Boyle, Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Daldry. The list of potential Eliza Doolittle's stands at Keira Knightley, who was attached to the role through most of the handful of directors, before Carey Mulligan became another Emma Thompson candidate (though no one seems to have told her about it). The film is now back to square one for "My Fair Lady" which a director and stars waiting to be found. Anyone have any ideas? We're sure the producers could use some help.

They Love A Man In Uniform: Curtis Hanson & Clark Gregg To Tell The Story Of Fradulent Lawman

Who is Bill Anthony Jakob?

Evidently a pathological mystery man who showed up in a small Missouri town with the righteous intention of closing down meth labs, it turned out Jakob was a bank security guard with a phony badge and made national headlines when he was eventually indicted on 23 counts of impersonating a law enforcement officer and fraud charges.

The 38-year-old optioned his life story to producers John Davis, Dan Spilo and David Klawans back in '08 and now, according to Deadline, writer/director Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential," "8 Mile," and "Wonder Boys" among others) and actor/writer/director Clark Gregg (he adapted and directed Chuck Palahniuk's "Choke") have signed on to the film.

Hanson is in talks to direct and Gregg will script the story of Jakob, which was originally intended to be a comedy, but apparently that's now changed, though details are sparse other than the fact that the project is being set up over at Fox Searchlight.

"What nondescript security guard doesn't dream about putting on a badge, driving in and becoming the man who cleans up a troubled town?," producer Davis said back in 2008 when the film held a more humorous tone. The issue with the humor is that all the "arrests" that Davis made of meth labs back in the day were tainted, and presumably drug dealers and offenders got off on a technicality.

So it's like "I Love A Man In Uniform," kinda? The 1993 Canadian film (named after a Gang of Four song) about a thespian who takes his acting gig as a police officer way to seriously? Probably not, but there are some shades of personality. Maybe "Paul Blart Mall Cop" meets "Breaking Bad"? Frankly, the humorous angle plays and it could be zany in a "The Informant!" sort of manner, but apparently they're going to go for straight drama instead? Time will tell.

Hanson's last two pictures, "In Her Shoes" (2005) and "Lucky You" (2007), weren't his finest works, so let's hope this new one — if he does eventually sign on — finds him once again in top form.

Did The Weinsteins Buy Miramax Back? Maybe, Kinda Sorta?

Breaking news! The Weinstein Brothers — who seemingly couldn't rub two nickles together late last year — bought their namesake back, Miramax, the company they founded in 1979 named after their mom and dad Max and Miriam.

The Weinsteins, the craftiest bunch in the biz, scraped up — via the help of American business magnate Ron Burkle and a coalition of lenders — $600 million in change to regain operating control of the company.

Or wait, did they. Even THR says, Disney lawyers (the corp who owns Miramax) apparently were still going over the financial details and said, "No deal has been reached."

So why are THR calling in an exclusive? Deadline, who loves to chestpuff when they can, spoke to Disney and reiterated the Reporter's same sentiment, "No [Miramax] deal is done and reports to the contrary are false."

In other words, a deal is on the table, but remains to be complete and could still fall through. Oy vey! Call this one a development to keep an eye on.

First Look: George Clooney In Anton Corbijn's 'The American'

Here's the first official look at George Clooney in Anton Corbijn's assassin tale "The American."

Based on a Rowan Joffe adaptation of Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman," the film centers on an assassin who hides in a southern Italian village and masquerades as an artist who paints miniature butterflies as he tries to carry out one last assignment.

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Criterion Announces July Slate: Restored 'The Red Shoes,' 'The Secret Of The Grain,' Early Ozu & More

Criterion has announced their latest additions for the collection to be released in July, and they've given us some old favorites as well as a newer film.

Three previously released Criterion films will be refreshed and upgraded for DVD and Blu-Ray upgrade in July: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 classic "The Red Shoes" and their 1947 film "Black Narcissus." Both have received highly touted, eye-popping high definition restorations (the former has been wowing audiences on a recent arthouse run). "The Red Shoes" disc includes audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie and features interviews with the films' actors Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, the cinematographer, composer, and Martin Scorsese, along with a twenty-five minute documentary, readings from a novelization, an animated film, and assorted interviews. "Narcissus" includes a commentary track with Powell and Scorsese, an introduction by French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier and a video feature of his, as well as two documentaries on the film, and a booklet of essays.

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Yet Another Attempt To Bring 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' To The Big Screen Is Underway

In a move sure to worry those of us who sat through the abysmal "The Avengers" and "Thunderbirds" remakes, another attempt is being made to launch a "Man From U.N.C.L.E." adaptation, this time courtesy of producers John Davis and Jeff Kleeman of Warner Bros. David Dobkin, director of the better-than-it-deserved-to-be "Wedding Crashers," has long been attached to this film, but with his upcoming work on "The Change-Up" and commitment to comic book adaptation "R.I.P.D.," this seems unlikely. A relative cinematic newcomer, Max Borenstein, has been hired to pen the work, which speaks more confidently to the finished product. His "life story of rock legend Jimi Hendrix" aka "JIMI" ended up on last year's Black List. Here's hoping a little more weight is placed on the screenplay than on the direction.

This, of course, is not the first time that any attempt has been made to adapt the spy double-act TV show of the sixties. "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." has had a somewhat checkered past. The show itself spawned a spin-off in "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E." and a rather sad TV "return" some 15 years later that couldn't reignite interest in the series after a lackluster third series. But at its time, it was the height of sixties cool, always riding the fine line between realistic spy drama and science-fiction identity crisis. A lightweight "The Prisoner" crossed with the finest Connery-era Bond, if you will. Another cult TV show that has gone on to influence many of today's greatest artists -- try reading Grant Morrison and Chris Weston's "The Filth" without thinking about it.

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Sorry Lindsay Lohan, Quentin Tarantino Probably Won't Save Your Career

About the only thing we can imagine Quentin Tarantino and Lindsay Lohan collaborating on would be a booze and drug-filled binge somewhere south of the border in a bar operated by vampires.

Not so! says the interwebs, who speculate that Tarantino has a horror movie project with a "hardcore" role in mind for Lindsay.

Apparently Robert Rodriguez, collaborator on "Grindhouse" and longtime pal of Tarantino, was so wowed by Lohan's performance on the set of the upcoming "Machete" (we have good reason to doubt this, as we hear a machete is being taken to most of her scenes) that he recommended her to Quentin.

"Lindsay is just the kind of character Quentin loves," the Daily Telegraph quoted an insider as saying adding, that the director went on to say he could “cast Lindsay in almost anything.” And thus, pointless internet rumors were born. Adding fuel to the minor fire, a random, probably fake insider says the most likely fictitious project would cast Lohan as "a shocking, hardcore character but it will put her back on the map much as Quentin did for John Travolta."

Much speculation has gone into what Tarantino's post "Inglourious Basterds" project will be (we've got a handy rundown right here) but we here at the Playlist highly doubt it will be a horror film with the likes of Lindsay Lohan starring. If this is the case, however, we hope it involves a fully loaded, death proof VW Beetle. --B.T. Webster

Another Look At 'Enter The Void': A Belated SXSW Review

We have been woefully remiss in filing my SXSW reports, but this is in part due to the psychic trauma inflicted by Gaspar Noe's extraordinary "Enter The Void," his nearly three hour phantasmagoric assault on the senses and the psyche (and hell, a new trailer just hit so why not discuss it again?). We're still recovering from it. To get a small sense of the experience, turn your lights off, turn the volume up, and watch the film's seizure-inducing opening title sequence in full-screen 720p on your computer. (Seriously. Do this right now. It'll only take a minute.)

Still reading? Good. Then hopefully you haven't suffered a catastrophic cerebral hemorrhage. And you've just seen one of the boldest (greatest?) works of title design in cinematic history.

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Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland & More Join Lars Von Trier's 'Melancholia'

Never in a thousand years did we dream we'd hear the words Kirsten Dunst and Lars Von Trier in the same sentence, but it's happened.

The Danish enfante terrible has shored up the cast for his sci-fi-ish psychological disaster film, "Melancholia" and it's a rather stellar one, including Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg from "Antichrist" (as rumored), Kiefer Sutherland, English doyenne Charlotte Rampling and father and son thespians Alexander Skarsgaard and Stellan Skarsgaard, plus the great German actor Udo Kier. We kinda have to say, wow.

Penelope Cruz was once in negotiations for "Melancholia" — a high-concept film likely about a random planet moving too closely into Earth's orbit (or so these production stills suggest) which causes global disaster — but bailed instead for "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" (talk about your 18os).

"No more happy endings!" was Von Trier's initial strange, sarcastic statement about the film when it was announced late last year, ironic obviously since most of his pictures are as bleak and razor-to-wrist-inducing as all get out.

Either way, it's pretty much the ensemble film we imagined, probably different people on Earth dealing with the impending doom of the planet, all freaking out, trying to survive and trying to find their loved ones. It'll be the intelligent man's take on "2012," with probably minimal effects is our guess, and a modest budget at $7 million dollars. "Psychological disaster" also implies that nothing really happens physically to the earth, but the planet just bursts into a global widespread panic which is its own internal disaster (looting, plundering, etc.). Should be as fun as any Disney ride, we're sure. And needless to say, sounds like a must-see and just jumped to the top of our Most Anticipated 2011 list. [Deadline]

Eliot Spitzer Compares Himself To Icarus In The First Look At Alex Gibney's Upcoming Doc

We're not sure when Alex Gibney stops working, but we're glad he doesn't. This year alone he has "Casino Jack And The United States Of Money" (about disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff) hitting theaters on May 7th; a segment in the omnibus documentary "Freakonomics" that will close out the forthcoming Tribeca Film Festival and most likely hit theaters later this year and a third film, "My Trip To Al-Qaeda" already in the can. You would think the guy would take a break.

But the director/documentarian is hard at work on another film, this one about disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Working with Fortune magazine editor-at-large Peter Elkind, who was written a book on the scandal, the film scores a major coup by earning the participation of the ex-governor himself.

In the clip below, Cecil Swal the former CEO of the President's Club escort service that Spitzer frequented, talked about the governor's paranoia when he booked his "appointments." That is followed up by a brief segment with Spitzer himself who compares his risk of using the service near the height of his political career to that of Icarus who flew too close to the sun. It's undeniably compelling stuff.

Attendees of the Tribeca Film Festival will get their first look at the film at a work-in-progress screening on April 24th.

Martin Scorsese & Robert De Niro's 'The Irishman' To Be A Two-Part Film?

Even though "The Irishman" aka "I Heard You Paint Houses" is near the bottom of Martin Scorsese's pecking order for his upcoming slate of films we, along with everyone else, are anxiously awaiting the director's long in the works re-teaming with Robert De Niro. In an interview with MTV, De Niro revealed plans for the film that could place it in whole new context other than the standard gangster pic that, until now, its largely been thought to be.

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Vera Farmiga Loads Up 'A Thousand Guns'

Vera Farmiga may have her next Oscar nominated role in the bag.

The actress is set to star in the independent western "A Thousand Guns." The film will be helmed by Spanish director Daniel Calparsoro and was written by Russell Friedenberg ("Sawtooth"). The reason for the awards prognostication? The film will be produced by Paull Cho and Heather Rae, with the latter being behind the gritty "Frozen River" which earned Melissa Leo an Oscar nod.

Not much is known of the plot except that "centers on a preacher's wife and her journey of revenge." Westerns, not to speak of female fronted westerns are a rarity and we're definitely curious about this one. It's a genre that isn't done justice often enough in Hollywood.

No word yet on when production will start but Farmiga currently has a very busy calendar, wrapping up work on Duncan Jones' "Source Code," shooting Madonna's period drama "W.E." this summer and making her directorial debut, "Higher Ground" this summer as well.

The Real Mystery Of 'Sherlock Holmes 2': Is Brad Pitt In It Or Not?

Is he or isn't he? That seems to be the question on everyone's mind when in last year's "Sherlock Holmes" Moriarty, making an appearance and set up to be the villain in the forthcoming "Sherlock Holmes 2," was rumored to be none other than Brad Pitt. While it turned out the actor-in-the-shadows wasn't Pitt in Guy Ritchie's blockbuster smash, rumors continued to circulate that he will play Moriarty in the upcoming sequel.

In an interview with Collider, screenwriters screenwriters Michele & Kieran Mulroney were revealing cagey when asked directly about the possibility of Pitt play Moriarty:

Well, of course, we’re gigantic Brad Pitt fans. I think he’s a brilliant actor and a particularly brilliant character actor. And certainly the role that you’re talking about of Professor Moriarty is a big character to bite off. I hope Brad likes it. Let’s leave it at that. To be political, we should say nothing. But, he’s wonderful. We couldn’t be bigger fans of Brad. So, we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be an interesting film to watch. We can say nothing about this.

In trying to play political by saying nothing, it appears they let the cat somewhat out of the bag. They hope Brad likes it? Can we assume that the role is at least being offered and he'll read the script? We would think so. If it was entirely out of the question, or if they didn't know, they would say so right? It remains to be seen. While we think Pitt is certainly interested in the role, he's also notorious for attaching himself to a zillion projects most of which never happen (seriously, just click the Brad Pitt tag below and scroll through). That said, he is best buds with Guy Ritchie and seems to be eager to shake up his image with his reportedly tyrannical turn in "Tree Of Life." A villain role doesn't seem out of the question.

"Sherlock Holmes 2" is set to go in front of cameras sometime this fall.

Don't Get Those 'Tree Of Life' Hopes Up For Cannes 2010

"I'm trying to be optimistic," Thierry Fremaux, the Delegate General of the Cannes Film Festival told Variety in a just-upped piece about American films missing at this years festival, "but Terry [Malick] told me personally that it won't be ready."

We might as we all just cross Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" off our 63rd Annual Cannes Film Fest list and move on. Nothing to see here. Don't know about you, but that sounds pretty damn definitive to us. Also, why oh why are pundits surprised ever year that American films don't dominate? The last time there were a significant amount of American films in competition (five of them) was 2007, and one of them was "Death Proof" (sorry, that doesn't count, the French just adore Quentin — and you know he woulda said no to out of competition).