Peter Berg Packs His Bags for Arrakis

Berg Climbs Dune: Peter Berg will be the next director to fail to bring the grandeur of Frank Herbert’s Dune to the screen, following David Lynch and whoever the hell directed that Sci Fi Channel mini-series. Producer Kevin Misher and Paramount believe that novel’s twin themes of ecological peril and expensive special effects will be especially appealing to contemporary audiences. [Variety]

WB Sees With Nolent’s Eye: Warner Bros. has yoinked the rights to Alexis Nolent’s sci-fi graphic novel, Cyclops, with an eye for James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) to direct. Comic is set in the near future, where mercenary soldiers wear helmet cameras and broadcast their actions on live TV. As for casting, James Marsden doesn’t care what it’s about — he’s definitely interested. [Variety]

Bloom Drops Out of School: Orlando Bloom has pulled out of Lone Scherfig ‘s An Education on the first day of shooting. Replacing him in the Nick Hornby–penned project is Dominic Cooper, best known for, um, replacing Orlando Bloom in Lone Scherfig’s An Education. Oh! And he was the sexy one in The History Boys. [HR]

Hines Speaks the Truth: Larry David’s fake wife, Cheryl Hines, has joined the cast of Lakeshore’s The Ugly Truth. Reuniting the team behind Legally Blonde, pic tells the story of a romantically challenged news anchor (Katherine Heigl) who goes through a series of “outrageous tests� to find love. Hines will play Heigl’s self-possessed co-anchor and promises to do a good job to make up for RV. [Variety]

Coolidge Rides the Bronco: Jennifer Coolidge will join the already stellar cast of Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement, and Michael “Sky High� Angarano in Jared Hess’s Gentleman Broncos. Coolidge will play the mother of a high-school nerd whose story gets ripped off by a legendary fantasy novelist. [HR]

Hatem and Fineman Wreck CW: Richard Hatem (Miracles) and Ross Fineman got a greenlight for their Wrecking Ball pilot at the CW. Story centers on a young male politico who, after his campaign is derailed by scandal, opens a law firm with his female assistant. A romantic tension brews between them as they help out desperate legal causes like “a cancer patient against the medical establishment,� or a smoker against big tobacco, or Eliot Spitzer. [Variety]