Justin Bieber's Christianity Will Sell Never Say Never, and 7 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Also in this Thursday edition of The Broadsheet: Marvel may have found the perfect person to write and direct Iron Man 3... Michael Cera habla espanol... Baz Luhrmann will probably make The Great Gatsby after all... and more ahead.

· Bet you didn't think the Justin Bieber concert film Never Say Never would ever get placed within the same sentence as The Blind Side and The Passion of the Christ, but there you are. In the lead up to the film's release on Friday, Paramount has been screening Never Say Never for "faith leaders across the country," while also distributing "spiritual discussion guides" -- tactics which were used to make those other two films such huge box office hits. "People will walk away [from the movie] knowing faith is very important to him," said Bieber's manager Scooter Braun. Paramount seems to agree, writing in the discussion guides that Never Say Never "provides an opportunity to teach our children about the power of hope, prayer, faith and family." Smart, focused marketing, fellas! Just maybe try to keep any further mentions of The Passion of the Christ to a minimum. [USA Today]

· This is actually awesome: According to Heat Vision, Marvel may hire Shane Black to direct Iron Man 3. The writer-director is among many names being discussed -- which probably means nothing will come from this -- but if hired, he'd likely write a draft of Iron Man 3 before getting behind the camera. Black -- who wrote Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout -- worked with Robert Downey Jr. on the beloved Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Put in a good word, RDJ! [THR/Heat Vision]

· Dónde está la playa, Michael Cera? (That's about all I remember from high school Spanish.) According to Youth in Revolt director Miguel Arteta, Cera is spending "five hours a day learning Spanish" for a new project from director Sebastian Silva. Hey, why not? [The Playlist]

· Remember when Baz Luhrmann was like, "Oh, no, I don't know if I'm going to make The Great Gatsby even though I've been workshopping it with Leonardo DiCaprio for months!" Yeah, Warner Bros. will probably finance the film and distribute it worldwide. [Deadline]

· Andrew Garfield is not going to let Peter Parker dictate what kind of career he has. The Social Network star has signed on for Back Roads, an adaptation of Tawni O'Dell's Oprah Book Club-approved murder mystery of the same name. Adrian Lyne (!) co-wrote the script and will direct; Jennifer Garner and Marcia Gay Harde will co-star. [Variety]

· Speaking of books: Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman and Mia Wasikowska will join Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain in The Wettest County in the World, an adaptation of Matt Bondurant's Prohibition-set novel. John Hillcoat will direct from a script by Nick Cave. Needless to say, you should be pretty excited about this one. [THR]

· Ricky Gervais says he wants Will Arnett to replace Steve Carell on The Office. Sold. [Deadline]

· CBS has ordered a pilot for Person of Interest, about an "ex-CIA hitman and a scientist who team up to prevent crimes before they happen." That sounds ridiculous, but you'll probably care because J.J. Abrams is producing and b>Jonathan Nolan wrote the script. [THR/The Live Feed]