And Good Theme Music to Boot: Is George Clooney about to become the Lone Ranger? Yesterday’s news from Disney that Johnny Depp will play Tonto in the Jerry Bruckheimer–produced remake has fueled tons of speculation over who will play the ranger himself, and Clooney’s name just keeps coming up. Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that, while it’s “far from a done deal,†it “could be pretty cool.†Good enough for us, although it remains to be seen if his cowboy costume will feature prosthetic nipples. [Aint It Cool News]
Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go: But in what has to be our favorite Internet rumor of the week, Cinema Blend is reporting that the producers of Beverly Hills Ninja 2, which already stars David Hasselhoff and High School Musical’s Lucas Grabeel, are pursuing Jackie Chan to co-star in what’s turning into the Snakes on a Plane of 2009. All we need now is Samuel L. Jackson to play The Guy Who Yells a Lot. [Cinema Blend]
Nolte of Arcadia: Nick Nolte, Music and Lyrics’ Haley Bennett, and Carter Jenkins will star in the indie drama Arcadia Lost, the story of step-siblings whose first family trip ends when their parents die in a car crash. The stunned teens end up roaming the Greek countryside until they meet an expat vagabond (Nolte) who “leads them to a mysterious spiritual ceremony.†Nice; we remember from Donna Tartt’s Secret History that “spiritual ceremony†is Greek code for “orgy and a murder.†[HR]
One Shot for Olson: Josh Olson (A History of Violence) is adapting Lee Child’s mystery best-seller, One Shot, for Paramount. Story follows a “Dirty Harry–like†homicide investigator who tries to crack what seems like an open-and-shut murder case after a sniper shoots five random people — but are they really random?! It’s sort of the American fantasy, isn’t it, to have a single man find meaning in these kinds of inexplicable, sociopathic acts that keep happening? Oh well. So long as the man says funny one-liners when he kills bad guys, obvi. [Variety]
The Wolf Bites Q: Maggie Q will star in The Warrior and the Wolf, a historical action movie directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang (might be Chinese, we can’t be sure). She takes the place of Tang Wei, who’s been banned from appearing onscreen in China because — no joke — her turn in Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution caused too many Chinese boners. [Variety]