Hollywood Ink: Sam Mendes Dumps 007 -- For Now

· Like much of the rest of the moviegoing world, Sam Mendes is kind of over waiting for MGM to get its affairs in order and develop the next James Bond film. So the filmmaker has reportedly knocked the project to the back burner and picked up the planned stage-musical adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novella On Chesil Beach. He wants Carey Mulligan for the latter. The schedule has also bumped Mendes from his attachment to direct Disney's The Great and Powerful Oz, which is fine, since Tim Burton will probably wind up doing it anyway with... you know. [Deadline]

Sigourney Weaver will fulfill her closely held dream of working with Taylor Lautner, Fox Searchlight is playing with its Oscar formula, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.

· Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of Abduction, in which she'll play a psychologist opposite Taylor Lautner's teen who finds his baby picture on a missing persons Web site. [Variety]

· In an apparent quest to reclaim its Oscar mojo, Fox Searchlight is sending an ensemble of older actors to India for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The story involves a bunch of senior citizens who venture off to the subcontinent to live out out their days, only to find reinvigoration through a torrid affair with a nubile journalist communing with vibrant Indian culture. For your consideration, etc. [LAT]

· Ashley Judd just finished her advanced government degree at Harvard, so it's time to get down to business with... Flypaper? She joined the Patrick Dempsey heist comedy this week, replacing Liv Tyler as McDreamy's bank-teller love interest. Welcome back, Ash! [Variety]

· William Burroughs fans rejoice: Oscilloscope Pictures has nabbed distribution rights to the Slamdance hit William S. Burroughs: A Man Within. It'll reach theaters this fall. [THR]