Nineteenth-Century Breakdown: Hugh Jackman may never sleep again: He’s signed up for another post-Wolverine project, this time joining the cast of Unbound Captives alongside Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. The movie, about a woman (Weisz) attacked by a Comanche war party in 1859 and saved by a frontiersman (Jackman), was written and will be directed by actress Madeleine Stowe and has an interesting backstory: Stowe wrote the script in the early nineties, but turned down a $5 million offer from Fox in which Ridley Scott would have directed and Russell Crowe would have starred because she would have lacked control. “I can remember my husband putting a finger across his neck to signal not to take the offer,†Stowe says, although we’re pretty sure that actually meant Stowe’s husband wanted Stowe to kill Ridley Scott. [Variety]
Don’t Blink: Al Pacino has boarded the Leonardo Dicaprio–produced, Stephen Gaghan–written-and-directed adaptation of Malcolm Gladwell’s best seller Blink. He’ll play a finance-industry vet who reconnects with his idealistic twentysomething son (apparently several tween types are circling this second lead), a guy with the Blink gift of sizing situations up correctly on the spot; Pacino’s character then wants to use the kid to cash in big on Wall Street, and tensions assumedly rise. Fans of authors/actors that were once good/great but now not so much, rejoice. [HR]
Kidman Bounces: It’s a good thing Woody Allen has been stockpiling actors for his untitled follow-up to Whatever Works: That project, still starring Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts, and Freida Pinto, has lost Nicole Kidman for reasons unknown. We’re thinking either Allen pissed her off, or he realized he could just get Watts to play both roles for cheaper. [Variety]
Literature: Sarah Palin’s book deal is all sewn up at HarperCollins; her first memoir will be released in the spring of 2010, her reelection year. And if you fear a book by Sarah Palin will be a headache-inducing collection of run-on sentences, think again: Says the governor, “Being a voracious reader, I read a lot today and have read a lot growing up. And having that journalism degree, all of that, will be a great assistance for me in writing this book, talking about the challenges and the joys, balancing the work and parenting, and, in my case, work means running the state.†Real talk. [Variety]
Glover Goes to Sweden: Danny Glover will star in the Swedish movie Dear Alice, directed by a Swedish guy, featuring some Swedish actors, and to be shot somewhere in Sweden starting next week with a budget made up entirely of Swedish kroner. It may surprise some that Danny Glover is starring in the movie, about four people who make life-shattering decisions on the same day, but not us, because we’ve always suspected Danny Glover was Swedish. [Variety]
Scammed: Kevin Spacey will take on the title role in Casino Jack, a thriller based on the story of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose shady dealings with Indian casinos landed him in jail. On the flip side, those same shady dealings landed him an awesome nickname, so… [Variety]