Shia LaBeouf's (Alleged) Knife, and 5 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Happy Thursday! Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Behold the Matt Damon/John Krasinski braintrust... Mark Romanek may be a surprising heir to Ron Howard... More sad news about Transformers 4... and more.

· The guy who restrained Shia LaBeouf after the actor's beat-down this week alleged that LaBeouf -- who was visibly wasted well before the pummeling -- threatened to pull a knife on the aggrieved bargoer who later kicked his ass. "Well, what if I grabbed my knife on you?" were his attributed words, which are basically the only words I'm ever going to say again in the midst of conflict. Try it! It feels great. [TMZ]

· Matt Damon will make his feature directorial debut on a project he co-wrote... with John Krasinski. The two will also co-star in the as-yet-untitled film about a salesman whose life changes when he arrives in a small town; little more is known about the project beyond Dave Eggers having reportedly helped Krasinski develop the idea. Speculate away! [THR]

· Mark Romanek is said to be the frontrunner to helm The Lost Symbol, the third installment of films based on the bestselling Da Vinci Code series of books. Ron Howard, who directed the first two hit adaptations, bowed out a while ago. [Deadline]

· Speaking of Sony movies, the studio has decided at the last minute to platform Roland Emmerich's historical thriller Anonymous, launching Oct. 28 in 250 theaters and going wide from there. [Deadline]

· As if it weren't depressing enough to consider the next Transformers films without Michael Bay in the director's chair, now we have to move forward with Jason Statham also denying that he'll be in them. Thursday, you are cruel! [MTV]

· John Singleton is suing, saying Paramount owes him at least $20 million in unpaid producer's fees for Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan. Considering he might never work again after Abduction, let's hope for the best. [TMZ]

[Photo: TMZ]