Illegal Aliens: Emile Hirsch has signed on to star in the Summit Entertainment thriller The Darkest Hour, which is supposed to be similar to 28 Days Later. Hirsch will play one of a group of American kids, including Oliva Thirlby, stuck in Moscow with a bunch of invading aliens. The only thing worse than that is being stuck in Moscow with your parents. [Variety]
Ghost Story: Dennis Iliadis has found his next gig — directing Pay the Ghost, a supernatural thriller from Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Adapted from a Tim Lebbon short story, the film will focus on a couple whose son is abducted on Halloween. A year later, they begin sensing his presence in strange ways and start searching for him, only to discover much more disturbing secrets. Sounds like something you should take a second pair of pants to. You know, just in case. [Variety]
They Have the Power: Mike Finch and Alex Litvak, the pair behind the forthcoming Predators remake, will write Columbia’s Masters of the Universe. Finch and Litvak will develop the property from the ground up. Before Columbia picked up the movie rights for He-Man, Warner Bros. owned it and had a script that was described as “Lord of the Rings meets The Matrix meets Batman Begins,†which actually sounds pretty awesome. But that script is gone and we’re now left to wonder if the new writers will find a way to squeeze Dolph Lundgren in. Fingers crossed. [Heat Vision/HR]
Dirty Deal: Delroy Lindo has landed a lead role in Fox’s drama pilot Ride-Along. The Shawn Ryan–created show centers on a cowboy cop (Jason Clarke) and Chicago’s first female police chief (Jennifer Beals), both of whom are hell-bent on cleaning up the city’s streets. Lindo will play a politician well-loved by his constituents and suspected of dirty dealings. He’ll shadow Governor Paterson for a few days to see how it’s done. [HR]