Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau to Play Cowboys and Aliens?

· Jon Favreau is the latest director in talks to take over Cowboys and Aliens, DreamWorks and Universal's adaptation of the 2006 graphic novel. Robert Downey Jr. was previously attached to star, and the concept is pretty much what it sounds like: Cowboys fight Native Americans, and both fight aliens after a spaceship crashes in the Arizona desert in the 19th century. The 'Works acquired the rights based a single preview panel more than a decade ago, a quainter era when Steve Oedekerk was the first attached director. Oh, the '90s. [Variety]

The Three Musketeers reach their logical 3D conclusion, Stephen Frears finds his own comics inspiration, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.

· It had to come to this: Resident Evil helmer and international K-Y Jelly smuggler Paul W.S. Anderson will take advantage of The Three Musketeers' title for a new 3D adaptation. Expect some genius at Touchstone to have Three-D Men and a Baby greenlit by lunch. [THR]

· Or maybe it had to come to this: Director Stephen Frears will turn from adapting Cheri's gorgeous fin de siècle France to the grittier graphic novel drama of Tamara Drewe. Gemma Arterton will star as the title character, a "sexy flirt" who inspires a bit of local controversy upon returning to her small home village. The story is itself a loose adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, which is likely the first thing Frears reminds peers and colleagues who ask what he's working on next. [Variety]

· In TV news as surprising as yesterday's Mad Men renewal, HBO picked up the Martin Scorsese-directed, Steve Buscemi-starring pilot for the period drama Boardwalk Empire, ordering 11 more episodes to debut in 2010. [THR]

· The 2009 Toronto Film Festival's biggest deal to date was announced Tuesday, more than a week before the fest even begins: Sony Pictures Classics acquired French master Jean-Pierre Jeunet's fantasy epic Micmacs for a little more than $1 million. [Variety]