· It's only Feb. 5, but good luck topping this casting rumor for the rest of 2010: Russell Crowe is reportedly a front-runner to co-star in Warner Bros.' planned remake of A Star is Born, in which he'd play an alcoholic mentor/love interest to an up-and-coming singer played by... Beyoncé Knowles. There are any number of ways to react to this news, but I'm really just hoping this film will finally revive the trend pairing Aussie leading men with American R&B icons that has lain dormant since Mel Gibson and Tina Turner sizzled together in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It's time. [LAT]
Another big casting saga unfolds with Brad Pitt and/or Ryan Reynolds, Sony enters the Terminator sweepstakes, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
· Brad Pitt is said to be campaigning for the lead in CBS Films' big-screen revival of Gunsmoke, in which he'd play gunslinging Marshal Matt Dillon. Also vying for the part: Ryan Reynolds? Huh? Too young. And Canadian! This is frontier Kansas we're talking about. Team Pitt. [LAT]
· Sony Pictures has made a bid on the Terminator franchise, challenging Lionsgate on the last day to make an offer. The amount wasn't announced, but Lionsgate's original bid was $15 million and 5 percent of gross to the sellers at The Halcyon Company. And Sony did just come up with a few million extra bucks to burn, so... [Variety]
· Speaking of which, director McG will likely follow his own Terminator adventures with the spy-love-triangle comedy This Means War. Reese Witherspoon and Bradley Cooper are attached. [Variety]
· The Saoirse Ronan thriller Hanna recruited Eric Bana to play the father of Ronan's cold-blooded teen assassin. Shooting starts next month with director Joe Wright behind the camera. [Variety]
· DreamWorks is launching a nationwide casting call for an adolescent boy to star as Hugh Jackman's son in the forthcoming Real Steel. The first auditions are Feb. 14 in Chicago; the next round will be held Feb. 20 in New York. Surely some R&B diva out there must fit the bill. [Variety]