· After contributing voices to the Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens, Seth Rogen will add Boo U -- another DreamWorks Animation franchise-in-the-making -- to his list of things to do. He'll voice the lead character, an apparition who must return to ghost school to learn how to be a scarier, more spirited spirit. Let's all look forward to reading Jeffrey Katzenberg's leaked, semi-grammatical thoughts on the subject soon. [THR]
· Piranha 3D and The Hills Have Eyes director Alexandre Aja plans a momentary detour from the viscera market for Cobra: The Space Pirate, an adaptation of the Japanese manga (which was itself adapted as a popular animated TV series) that the filmmaker wants to develop as a big-budget live-action tentpole blockbuster. And really, why not? Once you've made a penis fly, there is nowhere to go but up. [Deadline]
· It's not quite James Bond, but congratulations to Idris Elba for inheriting the role of Dr. Alex Cross from Morgan Freeman, the detective from James Patterson's series of novels previously tapped in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Elba will star in plain-old Cross, in which he goes hunting for his pregnant wife's killer. [Deadline]
· I don't know what's better about this announcement regarding the thriller Havana Heat: that the Holy Trinity of Wesley Snipes, Joey Lawrence and Michael Dudikoff are all signed up, or that the producers signed Snipes knowing full well he's expected in prison any day now. I love Hollywood, seriously. [Variety]
· Nov. 11, 2011, -- or 11/11/11 -- falls on a Friday, so leave it to an enterprising producer to make a whole film around the phenomenon. It will be called 11 11 11 (catchy!); deal in angels, spirit guardians and conspiracy theories; and Saw franchise regular Darren Lynn Bousman will direct. That is all. [THR]