1.) Steven Spielberg is looking to rival Kathryn Bigelow‘s Zero Dark Thirty with his own account of Osama Bin Laden‘s manhunt. Retired Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, who wrote the memoir “[amazon asin=”0525953728″ text=”No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden”] under the pseudonym Mark Owen, has entered talks with the filmmaker about turning the book into a movie. Bissonnette has also been in discussions with DreamWorks and HBO.
Robopocalypse is locked in as Spielberg’s next directing gig, so even if he wins the rights we won’t see the film for at least a couple years. Even still, it would be interesting to see what this take would add to the story. It would be nice to see a more personal, focused character piece, whereas Bigelow’s film seems more operations-based, looking at the hunt from several levels of government intelligence. [NY Post]
2.) Jamie Bell and Connie Nielsen have joined the cast of Lars von Trier‘s Nymphomaniac, which begins its 11-week shoot in Germany tomorrow. [THR]
3.) Adrien Brody has entered negotiations to star in Albert Hughes‘ Motor City. He would replace the originally cast Gary Oldman, who recently left the project due to scheduling issues, as the lead villian opposite Gerard Butler. Butler plays a recently released felon who begins tracking down the men who framed him. The film will shoot next month in Atlanta with plans for an April release. [Variety]
4.) Jason Momoa (Conan the Barbarian, “Game of Thrones”) has joined Wolves as the lead villain. He’ll play the head werewolf in a small town, where our hero (Lucas Till of X-Men: First Class) winds up when he hits the road after being accused of murdering his parents. The film will mark the directorial debut of screenwriter David Hayter (X-Men, Watchmen), while Dave Elsey, who designed Beast for X-Men: First Class, will handle the creature effects. [Variety]
5.) While the entire Internet community continues to wait for any confirmation regarding David Fincher‘s next project, his recent interview with Art of the Title offered a few teases. What’s he been up to? “Well, trying to figure out a sequel to Dragon Tattoo. We’ve got to be able to make it our own thing,” he said. That quote, coupled with his recent departure from the Angelina Jolie-led Cleopatra (Sony is now looking at other directors, including Ang Lee, for that film) signals that a Fincher-helmed The Girl Who Played With Fire still has a good chance of happening.
Fincher has otherwise stayed busy with his Netflix series, “House of Cards,” confirming he directed the first two episodes. Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, Phone Booth), James Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross) and TV vet Charles McDougall have also directed two episodes each. That’s quite a mixed bag, but I have confidence in the project as long as Fincher is overseeing the whole thing.
