Hamming It Up: Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) will direct, Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia) will write, and Emile Hirsch will star in a contemporary “suspense thriller†version of Hamlet. The movie will be set in modern-day America and will revolve around a young man deciding whether to kill his uncle to avenge his father. Just to be safe, the young man will also be a vampire. [HR]
Jack’s Available: Jack Nicholson is in talks to join the untitled James L. Brooks romantic comedy featuring Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, and Reese Witherspoon as three points of a love triangle; Nicholson will play Rudd’s character’s father. Apparently Bill Murray was originally slated for the role but dropped out with only a few weeks to go until production, so Brooks reached out to Jack — making this officially the greatest “plan B†in history. [Variety]
Pour Another One: Paul Haggis will write, direct, and produce The Next Three Days, an adaptation of the French film Pour Elle. The original was about a husband who devises a plot to spring his wrongfully imprisoned wife, but Variety reports only hint at that (“an ordinary couple who find themselves in an unthinkable situation and have to make desperate choices that will test the limits of loveâ€), so perhaps some plot details will shift. By the way, you can tell the original was pretty intense — just look at these people hugging sadly. [Variety]
Double Bynes: Amanda Bynes has signed a two-picture deal with Screen Gems. First up is a role in Easy A, starring Emma Stone as a high-school student facing rumors that she lost her virginity; Bynes will play a goody-two-shoes popular girl. For the follow-up, Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper and Bynes will sit down and hash out a project together because, according to Culpepper “She’s one of the few who can make that graceful transition from kid to adult star.†Oh yeah? [Variety]
TV’s Don: Oddball-musical alert! 1983’s Valley Girl, starring Nicolas Cage (as a punk-rocker) and Deborah Foreman (as a San Fernando Valley–ite) in love, is getting the musical treatment. Jason Moore (Shrek: The Musical) will make his feature debut, directing a Romeo and Juliet–type story based around the movie’s new-wave tunes. [HR]
Recalled: Kurt Wimmer (The Thomas Crown Affair, the upcoming Angelina Jolie flick Salt) has been hired to write the screenplay for the new Total Recall. Should be a pretty easy gig — just hand in the original, Kurt, cause that shit was perfect. [Variety]