· It's only Tuesday, and already the Say Whaaaa? suggestion box welcomes its first submission of the week: Madonna plans a return to directing with the biopic W.E., about the affair between King Edward VIII and his twice-divorced American lover Wallis Simpson. The relationship caused Edward to abdicate his throne in 1936 -- an event whose historical repercussions persist today as Vera Farmiga has been linked to the role of Simpson and Madonna is co-writing a script with her Truth or Dare director Alex Keshishian. No actor has yet been attached to the role of Edward, but Madonna stock player Eugene Hutz deserves at least an audition. [Variety]
Nick Cave tries his own bizarro pairing, Kathryn Bigelow finds temp work at HBO, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
· In a small but powerful bombshell out of the Berlin Film Festival, motion-capture veteran Andy Serkis announced he would collaborate with Nick Cave on an entirely mo-cap adaptation of the communist musical The Threepenny Opera. That's pretty much all the info anyone has to date; the disclosure dosage will apparently be upgraded when our brains can suitably handle it. [Screen Daily]
· Kathryn Bigelow will take a cable detour before her Hurt Locker follow-up Triple Frontier, agreeing to direct the pilot for HBO's planned series The Miraculous Year. The story focuses on the family life of a "charismatic, self-destructive Broadway composer" -- show tunes are a drug, etc. John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator) contributed the script; shooting begins this spring. [THR]
· Also in Berlin, Mel Gibson's upcoming Mexican-prison sojourn How I Spent My Summer Vacation is finding plenty of love at the European Film Market. The violent action-drama has attracted deals for distribution throughout most of Europe, inspiring optimism that the indie market is on the rebound. Particularly for films starring Mel Gibson. Imagine! [THR]
· Director Mike Newell has advanced to the latter half of of Hollywood's "one for them, one for me" cycle, planning to follow The Prince of Persia with an untitled biopic about the late KGB spy Alexander V. Litvinenko, who died under mysterious circumstances (i.e. was poisoned and murdered) in 2006. The script is based on Alan Cowell's book The Terminal Spy; Newell is currently adapting with co-writer David Scarpa. [Variety]