Breaking Dawn's Half-Billion, and 6 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Happy Wednesday! Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Another Hollywood hack bellies up to the Natalie Wood-mystery gravy train... Gary Busey uncorks one of his better one-liners... The Raid is coming to America... The growing cult of Shame... and more.

· Fact: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 broke $500 million in worldwide grosses in 12 days. I know what you're thinking: "This is not a story I'll be talking about today. What makes you think that, Movieline?" Honestly, I don't know. I just figured since I'm citing it in my suicide note that you might mention it in yours as well. [Deadline]

· The director of an unreleased movie co-starring Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken -- Natalie Wood's shipmates the night she mysteriously drowned 30 years ago -- says it's nearing a distribution deal after years in the can. But never mind those guys (who don't even share a scene together) -- Life's a Beach also features Morgan Fairchild and Rutger Hauer! I'll bet you can see my hard-on from space. [FishbowlLA via THR]

· The Raid, director Gareth Evans's punishingly violent action-thriller that was the toast of Toronto's Midnight Madness section this year, has settled at Sony Pictures Classics. It will likely come to American theaters some time early next year. [Deadline]

· Gary Busey of all people really knows how to put the UK in its place: "You guys don't have guns -- you have sticks and dragons." Well, and knives. And broken glasses, I guess.

[Empire]

· Glenn Kenny on Michael Fassbender: "I've said it before, but I think he's the best lead actor to emerge in English-language cinema in the past ten years, and I can't wait to see what he'll do next." [Some Came Running]

· And not to be outdone, Ray Pride on Fassbender's character in Shame: "Every social grace, every touch toward intimacy, alarms Brandon. His date asks, 'What's your longest relationship' as we hear the suck sound of a wine cork as it's pulled, she pulls a face, wrinkles her nose, we hear the wine slop into a glass: it's the contortions of Brandon's insides, as well." [Newcity]

· Is Hugo "fundamentally dishonest about how World War I and the traumas of modern reality overrode audience's capacity for 'magic,' thus ruining [Georges] Melies' career"? Maybe! Discuss! [The eXiled]