Tony Gilroy, who wrote the first three Jason Bourne films, will direct the fourth one, currently entitled The Bourne Legacy. Matt Damon has gone on the record saying that he wouldn't return for a fourth Bourne movie (or fifth, if you count Green Zone) without ex-Bourne director Paul Greengrass. And while Damon's stance has softened somewhat of late, the conventional wisdom around Hollywood is that the Bourne franchise won't reboot if faced with the challenge of recasting the title role. Risky for Universal? Sure. But there is precedent for this -- with shaken, not stirred, results.
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To answer your first question: Yes, a wild pack of dogs will hunt me down for that headline. Until they do, however, I'm happy to pass along that A Few Good Men co-stars Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson are close to re-teaming for El Presidente. The action comedy would focus on an ex-president (Nicholson) and the secret service agent (Cruise) tasked to protecting him. No director is attached just yet, but -- are those barking dogs I hear? [LAT/24 Frames]
Movieline HQ isn't normally a place concerned with celebrity romances, but holy holy this one is just plain nuts. Pictures have surfaced of Michael Sheen and Rachel McAdams holding hands in Toronto over the weekend -- and if being in elementary school taught me anything, it's that holding hands can lead to k-i-s-s-i-n-g (no tree necessary). Apparently the pair have been dating since the Toronto International Film Festival in September. What would Liz Lemon say? Probably, "gangway for footcycle!" [Us]
Congratulations to Peter Jackson, who has outlasted set fires, labor strife and Guillermo del Toro's ejector seat to officially inherit directing duties on The Hobbit. As noted previously, production will commence in January -- in 3-D, budgeted around $500 million -- with the two-part film arriving in theaters in December 2012 and December 2013 installments. Get excited! (?) [Deadline]
· If Bayifying your favorite Internet meme isn't good enough, there's always building them out of Lego. Sad Keanu gets the treatment here, but I'll keep holding out hope for Sad Don Draper. Click ahead to see the larger image and strap in for more Buzz Break.
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It was exactly 20 years ago today that Henry & June hit theaters as the first NC-17-rated movie in Hollywood history, a long-overdue reaction to the X-rating having been co-opted by the pornography industry and the R-rating's increasing challenges from serious filmmakers looking to push the boundaries of sexuality and/or violence in mainstream cinema. Two decades on, it remains an imperfect solution for a problem that refuses to go away.
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Should you look for important social messages in the same forum that rehashes Britney Spears music videos? Ryan Murphy seems to think so because he is following up last week's "Britney/Brittany" episode with a tribute to religion in tonight's Kurt-centric episode "Grilled Cheesus." The Fox showrunner is also allegedly writing an episode that addresses gay suicide in the wake of Tyler Clementi's tragic death. If Murphy's show choir series continues in this PSA direction, keep your eyes peeled for a cautionary sex trafficking plot that coincides with Regionals this year. [E!]
Every fall, like clockwork, a studio decides it's time for the season's definitive inspirational, feel-good type movie. You see, people really like inspirational, feel-good type movies! And judging from the genre's history, I can only assume, when trying to decide what feel-good topic to cover, the executives' conversations inevitably drift from underdog sports story to debilitating illness story to, eventually, someone saying, "So... how about a horse story?"
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Here's a pretty great fan-made video that re-imagines Inception as a '50s sci-fi flick, complete with a collage of narration from the late, great Art Gilmore. Really, if you think about it, the plot sounds exactly like fodder for the out-there B-movies that were being cranked out at the time. Maybe the best thing about this trailer is seeing how the music, voice-over, titles and grainy black-and-white can make super-expensive scenes look like they belong in an Ed Wood movie. That zero-G elevator scene still looks cool, though.
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Also in today's edition of the Broadsheet: Aaron Sorkin takes on Sarah Palin... Christopher Hitchens appeals to Jon Stewart... New Zealand pols take on The Hobbit... and more...
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So Zack Snyder will be bringing his singular, slow-motion-CGI aesthetic to yet another incarnation of Superman. Casting speculation for the man of steel has begun, but really, the villains in these movies are always more fun, especially when dealing with the most clean-cut, indestructible super hero of all time. Now the Hollywood Reporter says Superman will be facing off against General Zod, so let's start brainstorming!
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Norman Wisdom, the prolific British actor who many compared to Charlie Chaplin, died Monday in a nursing home on the Isle of Man at 95. Wisdom was most well known for his child-like character Norman Pitkin in movies like On the Beat and The Square Peg (which are both great to watch if you've had a long day). He received knighthood in 2000 and interestingly was extremely popular in Albania, where he received the honor of "Official National Comedy Hero." He died peacefully of natural causes. [The Guardian]
· : The first preview for TBS's Conan shows our jolliest ginger scrubbing down a dirty old desk and humping around to Def Leppard. It's everything you've ever wanted (and sort of not wanted) from Conan O'Brien. Verdict: Hilarious. [YouTube]
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Die Hard director John McTiernan (funny that no one is referring to him as "Last Action Hero director John McTiernan") was sentenced to a year in prison for not being completely honest with the authorities about his involvement in a wiretapping scandal. That got me to thinking: This is the guy who directed Predator and Die Hard! If anyone knows tricks on how to escape an impossible situation, it's him.
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Boom! Zack Snyder will direct Superman for Warner Bros. and executive producer Christopher Nolan. Snyder has previously helmed 300 and Watchmen for the studio and has Sucker Punch lined up for next spring. Will his version of Superman include ridiculous slow motion fight scenes and/or excessive amounts of blue wang? Developing... [Deadline]
