Clive Owen, Frank MillerPhoto: Getty Images
Owen, Miller Go Noir: Sin City’s Clive Owen will go noir again, starring as private eye Phillip Marlowe in Frank Miller’s adaptation of Trouble Is My Business, novella by Raymond Chandler. It’ll be nice to see what those two can do in a movie that isn’t ruled by the iron fist of two-dimensional production design. [Variety]
Bond Director Chosen: Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) will direct the next James Bond movie, shooting in December. It wasn’t so long ago that every Bond movie was just directed by Hacky McHackenstein, but Casino Royale was so good that everyone’s taken an interest. [Hey NYT, it’s “Forster,” not “Foster”]
Apted to Direct Third Narnia Movie: Michael Apted — coincidentally, one of the Hacky McHackensteins previously mentioned — will direct third Chronicles of Narnia movie for Disney and Walden Media. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will include adorable Georgie Hensley in its cast and will be released in 2009. [HR]
Stiller In Deep?: DreamWorks hires Steve Conrad to rewrite comedy script In Deep as starring vehicle for Ben Stiller. Screenplay, by George Beckerman, is about a man who fights a parking ticket and becomes enmeshed in a bureaucratic nightmare, and should allow Stiller plenty of chances for his trademark brand of comedic grumpery. Mark Romanek will direct. [HR]
Sicko Opens Week Early: Michael Moore’s health-care doc Sicko will open a week early in a single theater in New York, while also playing sneak previews in 40 markets nationwide. The Weinstein Company claims change in plans is in response to successful New York premiere this week, but it also seems likely that the movie’s online leak hastened the move. [HR]
Martin Joins Young Frankenstein: Not satisfied to have cast Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster, Shuler Hensley, and Christopher Fitzgerald, Mel Brooks casts Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher in his musical of Young Frankenstein. That’s it, Mel! No stars left! [Playbill]
LoveMusik to Close: Kurt Weill jukebox musical LoveMusik will close on Sunday; Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy were both Tony-nominated for their performances. In the case of this show, it’s pronounced “yukebox.” [NYT]
Balanchine Ballet Resurrected: The Vail International Dance Festival will present a 50-year-old work by George Balanchine, Square Dance, in its original, rarely produced form: mixing ballet and hoedown, with an actual square-dance caller. [NYT]
Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem Tour: Indie-rock giants Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem will play a series of dates together this fall, including a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. [Pitchfork]
New Heroes Discovered: NBC’s Heroes adds cast members for second season; we’ve never heard of them but are excited at the roles they’ll play. Characters are I.D.’d as Claire’s classmates in California, the leader of an Irish gang, a New York cop, a Japanese princess, and Takezo Kensei. Oh, the actors’ names are Barry Shabaka Henley, Holt McCallany, David Anders, Eriko Tamura, Lyndsy Fonseca, and Dianna Agron. [HR]
Dunder Mifflin, The Game: NBC’s series The Office will be the basis for a video game to be released this fall from MumboJumbo. Game will pit Jim against Dwight in an office-related task; in a nice touch, characters will be portrayed as bobble heads. [HR]
Lonelygirl15 Gains Sponsor: Popular Web series Lonelygirl15 teams up with Neutrogena, incorporating a character who’s a handsome young Neutrogena scientist into its fictional world. Producers defend sponsorship as “totally necessary” in order to prove how a real 15-year-old could have skin as clear and clean as star Jessica Lee Rose. [Variety]
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t8HLrayrnV6YvK57kWlncGdga3yurdOcn5ilkZmyoLXNmKWooaJjtbW5yw%3D%3D