He’s on, He’s Off, He’s on: Denzel Washington is now recommitted to Unstoppable, the Tony Scott runaway-train action flick he bounced on just over a week ago. Budget cuts led to a demand in salary reduction from Washington, which initially caused him to walk away. So did they find an extra $4 million lying around somewhere, or did Denzel just remember he’s already really, really rich? Either way, preproduction has resumed in Pittsburgh. [Variety]
Evil Aliens: Visual-effects supervisor Matthew Gratzner (Hancock, Iron Man, the upcoming Shutter Island) will make his directorial debut on UFO, an adaptation of the seventies TV show. The series revolved around Shado (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a secret military operation hidden below a Hollywood studio that battled an alien race kidnapping humans in order to use their body parts. Says Gratzner, “My vision is to utilize visual effects as a supportive storytelling device that draws audiences into this universe.†That’s code for “Oh yeah, we’re gonna blow some shit up.†[Variety]
Like a Glover: Donald Glover has landed a two-year deal with Universal Media Studios that includes a blind script commitment to a project written by and starring himself. Glover is a former writer for 30 Rock and will appear in the upcoming Joel McHale community-college comedy Community as a slacker-jock character; he’s also a member of the Internet-famous comedy team Derrick, and does a good deal of stand-up. Glover has no immediate plans to start writing the script or any idea what the show will be about. Still, between this and the Minda Kaling deal, we are totally amped for the distant future of NBC. [Variety]
Huston, Texas: Danny Huston has joined the cast of You Don’t Know Jack, HBO’s Jack Kevorkian biopic. He’ll play Kevorkian’s longtime lawyer, Jeffrey Feiger. That’s not particularly notable, we know — we just thought we’d mention it for all the sweet Danny Huston–driven page views we’re gonna get now. [HR]
In the Year 2000: Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard) will direct an adaptation of the graphic novel Shrapnel. In the book, humans have colonized the entire solar system save for the rebellious Venus; the protagonist is a self-exiled former Marine who helps the Venus-people fight back. Also, in this alternate future, the humans don’t bother colonizing Pluto because, come on, that shit ain’t even a planet. [HR]
Drawn Back Together: Comedy Central will release The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie straight to DVD in 2010. The plot revolves around the characters of the fake reality TV show realizing they’ve been canceled and fighting to get their show back on the air. The show ran for three seasons and was canceled in 2007. This is great news for the guy retiling Adam Carolla’s bathroom. [HR]