Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling Might Head to Gangster Squad, and 6 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Also in this Thursday edition of The Broadsheet: Ridley Scott adds another project to his impressive list... James L. Brooks now besties with a young screenwriter... The Playboy Club could bring nudity to network... and more ahead.

· If you can't make a sequel to the excellent L.A. Confidential, here's the next best thing. Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has given the green light to Gangster Squad, and the studio wants Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling for the lead roles. Penn would play Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen, while Gosling would act as one of the two cops hoping to bring him to justice. Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer is directing. If James Cromwell doesn't find his way into this one, something is amiss, boy-o. [Deadline]

· Here at Movieline, we take pride in keeping tabs on the ever-growing project list of Ridley Scott. The latest? Scott wants to direct a film about Gertrude Bell, who (per Wikipedia, obvs) was an English "writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making." Sounds like a job for Hilary Swank! [Deadline]

· James L. Brooks has taken it on the chin lately, but that doesn't mean the writer/director/producer is slowing down too much. Brooks' Gracie Films has acquired the spec script Besties by Kelly Fremon. The script is a "John Hughes-style comedy about two high school girls who are best friends until one dates the other's older brother." Not bad! Before you get your hopes up however, remember that Fremon also wrote Post Grad, which was terrible. [Deadline]

· The NBC pilot The Playboy Club might be more risque than you assume. According to Variety, actors and actresses cast in Club were required to sign a nudity clause. Never mind that the show would air on a broadcast network -- there are DVDs to sell! With the possibility of naked girls! Amber Heard stars, BTW. [Variety]

· In less titillating television news: Will Arnett has been cast opposite Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph in an untitled NBC comedy pilot from former SNL writer Emily Spivey. [TVLine]

· According to TheWrap, the initial coroner's report about the murder of Ronni Chasen was incorrect. Expect more details to come out in the next couple of weeks. [TheWrap]

· Finally: Happy 68th birthday to Christopher Walken! Let's watch (zing!) his monologue from Pulp Fiction together. [YouTube]