Kate Winslet Is the New Nicole Kidman in ‘The Reader’

Kidman Out, Winslet In As Reader: Due to Nicole Kidman’s pregnancy-spurred departure, Kate Winslet will take the lead in Stephen Daldry’s postwar-Germany-set drama The Reader, making us about 30 percent more likely to see it. [Variety]

Chiklis Gets the Evil Eye: Michael Chiklis joins the cast of D.J. Caruso’s thriller Evil Eye, playing a Secretary of Defense who menaces two innocents (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) who are framed as terrorists. Typical Hollywood: Chiklis is way too attractive to be credible as Secretary of Defense. [HR]

Underqualified Talent Attached to Sci-Fi Classic: Kind of a mixed-news morning for William Gibson fans: Sure, there’s a $70 million Neuromancer set to go into production soon, but it’s gonna star Hayden Christensen under the direction of Joseph Kahn, director of Torque, that movie where the guys ride the motorcycles up the trees. [JoBlo]

Crowes, R.E.M. Headed SXSW: The Black Crowes, R.E.M., The Black Keys, and UGK rapper Bun B join the lineup at the 2008 South by Southwest Conference this March in Austin, Texas. Dude, can we crash on your couch? [Billboard]

Fools May Receive Ice Cube’s Pity: Ice Cube reveals that he is under consideration for the role of B.A. Baracus in John Singleton’s big-screen version of The A-Team. Click through: It’s a short but funny interview in which Cube promises that he would wear the mohawk but stops just short of calling the role a dream come true. [Blackfilm]