· Back, back, back, back, gone. Twentieth Century Fox is close to picking up the film rights for ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun, the massive oral history about the rise of the Worldwide Leader in Sports that authors James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales put together. (They did similar work with their Saturday Night Live oral history in 2002.) Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti are among the producers here, which is significant since they also turned Ben Mezrich's Accidental Billionaires into The Social Network. No screenwriter or director is on board for Those Guys Have All the Fun just yet, but Deadline reports that there is interest. Perhaps Aaron Sorkin wants to take a pass? [Deadline]
· And you thought Limitless was important to Bradley Cooper's career! Director Neil Burger is in talks to grab his second high profile gig of the summer, following Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. If deals are signed, Burger will direct an adaptation of Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde. (Apparently, the Warren Beatty movie didn't get to the heart of the matter!) Up in the Air's Sheldon Turner will write the script. Allow Movieline to offer some Bonnie casting suggestions while negotiations are ongoing. [Deadline]
· Good news, film fans: Paramount will release the Diablo Cody-scripted, Jason Reitman-directed Young Adult with Charlize Theron on Dec. 9 in limited engagements. It will go wide on Dec. 16. [Deadline]
· Todd Phillips has optioned the film rights to a recent Rolling Stone article called "Dudes and the Arms", about two dudes who became Pentagon paid arms dealers. Phillips will produce the film adaptation with an eye to possibly directing. Check out Guy Lawson's original piece -- well worth the read -- by clicking here. [Variety]
· Welcome to the black parade. The awesomely named Rawson Thurber (Dodgeball) has been hired by Universal to rewrite The Umbrella Academy, a 2008 Eisner Award-winning comic from My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. Hey, why not? Umbrella Academy follows an "adopted dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers who are brought together by a mentor" to stop evil. "Sounds familiar," said Professor X. [Deadline]
· Christmas in July! Universal has picked up a pitch for a new version of The Nutcracker from writers Jon Gunn and John Mann. [Variety]