Jon Hamm Considers Returning to High School in EPIC FAIL

Jon Hamm ("Mad Men," "30 Rock") is considering starring in the comedy Epic Fail, about a high school teacher who hires two of his students to pretend to kidnap his wife so that he can swoop in and "save her," therefore looking like a hero and reigniting their marriage. ESPN director Marc Tietelman (he makes the network's funny short segments) will direct from a script by up and coming writer Kevin Costello.

Costello has a pretty cool story - the way most people get going in Hollywood is to first intern, then be someone's assistant for a couple of years, then hopefully move up the chain. Costello interned and then was the assistant to writer-producer Sheldon Turner (who wrote X-Men: First Class) and producer Jennifer Klein (Pearl Harbor) - they are now producing Epic Fail. The system works!

Costello is also in rewrites on Six Month Curse, a romantic comedy for Universal. Costello is currently enrolled in Twentieth Century Fox's emerging writers program. 

Source: Variety

Brad Pitt: "I'd Love to" Star in 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

UPDATE: Conditions look good for Brad Pitt to board the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Director David Fincher has said he'd like Brad Pitt to play master harpooner (or is it harpoonist?) Ned Land. Fincher and Pitt are long time colleages, with Pitt starring in Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club and Se7en. Now, Pitt tells MTV, "I'd love to, I mean, he's my man. He's got a great take on it. That's just gonna be about schedule and time allocation, but he's my man." SO, that's a yes?

May 18, 2010 - When Rich Ross was promoted to head cheese of Disney Studios, one of his first acts was axing the remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea because he thought it was off-brand for the Mouse House. Now, Disney is trying to revive the project in a high-class way: they're in negotiations with Oscar-nominated director David Fincher and Bourne Ultimatum writer Scott Z. Burns to adapt. Superweird since the McG-directed version that was yanked was said to be too dark. Fincher's works (Fight Club, Se7en, Zodiac) would most likely be defined as "dark" but this 20,000 Leagues will take on a sci-fi Star Wars type feel.

The Jules Verne novel is about a shipful of men being sent to investigate an oceanic mystery and encounter Captain Nemo and his advanced, futuristic submarine "Nautilus."

BUT, the plot thickens...with the book being published in 1869, the source material is now public domain (meaning, the studios don't have to pay anyone to get the rights nor can anyone have exclusive rights to the story). 20th Century Fox is developing its own 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea film with Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov in talks to helm, Ridley and Tony Scott producing with a script by Clash of the Titans co-writer Travis Beacham (again, the word "dark" comes to mind).

Neither project is a solid "go" just yet.

To read more, go to:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i417b9e1bf4bfc8ece72cfd333ffdba27

FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR Remake is Taking Off

Disney is prepping to remake its 1986 classic Flight of the Navigator. The studio is hiring Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, the team behind the time travel indie Safety Not Guaranteed starring "Parks and Recreation" actress Aubrey Plaza, to write the script and the intention is for Trevorrow to direct. Flight of the Navigator is about a 12-year old who goes missing for eight years and when he turns up, he hasn't aged at all. At the same time, alien spacecraft crashes nearby. A young Sarah Jessica Parker (New Year's Eve) was among the stars and Paul Reubens, better known as Pee Wee Herman, was the voice of the spaceship pilot.

Source: Variety

FRANKENWEENIE Writer Finds WONDER in Outcasts

Having written Frankenweenie and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, John August knows a thing or two about telling stories about creatures that are different and treated like outcasts. That experience may get another run for Lionsgate's adaptation of R.J. Palacio's kids book "Wonder." The story is about 10-year old Auggie whose face is disfigured and is going to school for the first time. Auggie tries to convince his new classmates that he's just like them, his face just looks different, but he ends up as a target for bullies. The book unwinds the tale from different points of view. Lionsgate, the studio behind The Hunger Games, hasn't officially closed the deal for the movie rights for "Wonder."

Source: Variety