Is Al Pacino Your Jack Kevorkian?

It's as intriguing a project as any since, well, last week: Al Pacino is said to be in talks to play Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the so-called "Dr. Death" who helped more than 150 terminally ill patients end their lives between 1990 and 1998. The HBO Films biopic -- tentatively titled You Don't Know Jack -- is set to be directed by Barry Levinson. But the bombastic New York Italian as a mild-mannered Michigan Armenian? Are you sure about that?
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J.J. Abrams to Revitalize Outdated Supreme Court Franchise

Burdened with a high-profile property steadily gathering dust and increasingly out of touch with public tastes, the California Legislature has enlisted franchise-resuscitating miracle-worker J.J. Abrams to inject some much-needed adrenaline and progressively minded storytelling into its hopelessly dated State Supreme Court.

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Buzz Break: What Goes Into Up

· The Visitor director Tom McCarthy had a hand in writing Pixar's Up, and the two definitely share a similar "old homebody learns to open his heart" story arc. I presume that the scene where maybe-Asian Boy Scout Russell teaches Ed Asner to play the djembe (gotta earn that "condescending appreciation for other cultures" badge!) was cut for time.

· Have a listen at the first single from the new Scarlett Johansson/Pete Yorn album of duets.

· Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has picked up the Michel Gondry documentary A Thorn in the Heart for his Oscilloscope Pictures (which Movieline profiled a while back).

· Secret confession: I can't get enough of the overblown articles that HuffPo editorialists still continue to crank out in the face of Kris Allen's upset Idol win. Today's fave? "In Israel, Adam Lambert Would Have Won."

· Those fighting, fussing parents Jon & Kate (their last name "Plus 8" really is superfluous at this new level of fame) rode their marital problems to massive ratings records last night. In response, Oxygen has promptly announced its new series, Tori & Dean: Divorce Court.

Sutherland Headbutt Downgraded to Intoxicated Love Tap

In the wake of his potentially career-wrecking designer headbutt, we were surprised that Kiefer Sutherland decided to follow Brooke Shields's lead by addressing the matter with light jokes. Turns out, they probably knew something we didn't: Sutherland has come to an agreement with his victim, Proenza Schouler designer Jack McCullough, that should exonerate the 24 star.
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When Studio Marketing Goes Wrong, Part MCLXXII: Angels & Demons Graffiti

The recession has afforded Hollywood impressive latitude in its battles to cut costs, and the next target may be one of the most historically important resources in town: Marketing. Even Disney hasn't ruled out overhauling its brand-pushing machine, and Sunday's NY Times has a glimpse at a group whose data and expertise may soon find its first film-industry client in Warner Bros. Until then, Sony has emerged as the standard-bearer for those hoping to outsource their outreach -- and pissing off more than a few urban moviegoers in the process.
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Jon Peters's 'Holy Grail of Gossip' Goes Back on the Shelf

Varying degrees of allergic reactions followed the publication last week of mega-producer Jon Peters's book proposal, a sort of tell-all-within-a-tell-all that landed on Deadline Hollywood more than a month after Kim Masters had previewed it at The Daily Beast. And now, perhaps befitting the story's toxicity, Peters and his agent have withdrawn the project from public view -- reportedly leaving $700,000 of HarperCollins's money on the table and sending media watchers into conspiracy-theory fits.
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Buffy to Slay Once More?

· Seeing as Dollhouse's renewal easily filled the annual good-news quota for Joss Whedon's beleaguered fans, no one should be too disappointed by his likely exclusion from a proposed remake/reboot of his 1992 breakthrough Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That film's director, Fran Rubel Kuzui, and her producer husband may instead look into a "darker, event-sized movie" (sorry, gang, no Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike, either!) for franchising down the line. Ideally, Buffy would dovetail with Twilight in a sort of Alien vs. Predator-style fight to the death; if you can't get excited about the prospects for Bella the Vampire Slayer, then what can you get excited about? [THR]

More Hollywood Ink after the jump...

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VIDEO: Mel Gibson Confirms Dropping Baby Blintz in Girlfriend's Babushka on Leno

Kicking off Jay Leno's final week of Tonight Show broadcasts was guest Mel Gibson, who slipped his old friend a headline-grabbing scoop before waving him off to an uncharted future in prime time. Not that Leno didn't work for it: Seconds after Gibson's ass made upholstery contact, the host went in for the kill, bringing up the topic of the prominent actor/director/judeotheorist's recent divorce from his wife of 28 years. Looking tan and relaxed, and free from the psycho-eyed intensity and unruly facial outcroppings that accompanied his precipitous drop from the public's good graces, Gibson was impressively forthcoming with his thoughts on the matter: "Look. When it's all said and done, I did a pretty good hatchet job on my marriage myself," he bluntly admitted. "I'm to blame. If you're inclined to judge, put it here."
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Museum's Capuchin Monkey Slings Feces at Salvation

Here's hoping you had a pleasant Memorial Day weekend, free from third-degree BBQ burns and residual beer bloat. After the jump are the final, five-day box office tallies.

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Wave the White Ribbon: Haneke Gets the Gold

Against the backdrop of one of the most serious economic crises the world has ever known, the 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival has come to a close on Sunday. This year's festival was slated to be more austere than in year's past, and that prediction proved true. There were fewer journalists -- a third less by some estimates -- and a far smaller Hollywood presence: No Vanity Fair party, fewer and smaller parties, and far fewer distributors in the marché.
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Friday Box Office: Big Night

In the box office battle of the behemoths yesterday, Ben Stiller gave Christian Bale plenty of new material to glower about. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian outdrew Terminator Salvation, though neither debut was exceptional enough to really pop through in a year of mega Fridays. It remains to be seen how Terminator will weather its bad buzz, though the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine may serve as some indication: despite opening far bigger than Star Trek, it's now on track to take in much less than the J.J. Abrams revival.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN: $15,300,000 (new)

TERMINATOR SALVATION: $14,845,000 ($28,217,000)

ANGELS & DEMONS: $6,050,000 ($66,161,000)

STAR TREK: $5,775,000 ($167,409,000)

DANCE FLICK: $3,900,000 (new)

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE: $2,100,000 ($157,354,000)

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST: $1,100,000 ($43,238,000)

OBSESSED: $575,000 ($64,483,000)

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS: $280,000 ($191,926,000)

17 AGAIN: $270,000 ($59,579,000)

Figures courtesy of Box Office Mojo

Movieline's Picks: Handicapping the Palme d'Or

As the Cannes Film Festival winds down amidst some of the hottest weather yet, it couldn't be a better time to look at the slate of contenders and their wholly subjective odds of winning the prestigious Palme d'Or.
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We Are the Champions

Movieline spanned the globe this week, from the sun-drenched French Riviera to the crumb-dappled rec rooms of despondent Idol viewers across America. Join us in looking back, and enjoy the holiday weekend. We'll see you Tuesday!

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Our Commenters of the Week Win Second Place!

Normally, we'd award the best commenters of the week a winning trophy of some sort, but you don't want to get locked into that restrictive first place contract, do you? No, you want to be free to pursue a career of whatever comments you want to make, not those that are forced upon you by the top brass. Really, it's a blessing that we've given you second place -- even if it's only because of all those COTW votes that arrived en masse from Arkansas (who knew?).

Here, then, are the five best comments:

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Mini Moi

· Pictured, Verne Troyer throws a peace sign to photographers on the Cannes black carpet. Seconds later, the talking fox from Antichrist trotted up to the actor and the two discussed future projects, big agency vs. boutique representation, and the overall babe-caliber at this year's festival. (Verdict: disappointing.) [via DListed]
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