* With Jason Bateman's Identity Thief opening tomorrow, the actor has come aboard to produce and star in the ensemble comedy, Game Night. Based on Mark Perez's spec script, described as being in the same vein as Horrible Bosses(I need to re-rate that movie, by the way. It sucks now.), the story follows a group of couples who get together regularly to play games, with one such evening going wrong and turning into a murder mystery. [Deadline]
* Irish author Stuart Neville's acclaimed novel, The Ghosts of Belfast, is being brought to the big screen by Pierce Brosnan and late night talk show host Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, who has written and directed a handful of films in the past including 2000's Saving Grace, will be adapting the book alongside Ted Mulkerin, with Brosnan set to star. He'll play a former IRA hitman who, after being released from a 20 year prison sentence, seeks revenge on behalf of his past victims. Terry Loan will direct, with filming to begin at year's end. Neville wrote a sequel, Collusion, which was published in 2010, so there may be franchise potential here. [THR]
* If it seems like there's a new project for Tom Hardy every other day, it's because that's not too far from the truth. The number of films he's attached to continues to pile up with the addition of Locke, a real-time thriller directed by Steven Knight(Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things). So what exactly does "real-time" entail. Well, it'll be filmed over the course of 90 minutes, but it remains to be seen what else could be involved. Single camera, single take, maybe? The details are vague, but Hardy is said to play a successful man who receives a mysterious phone call and must race to save his life from unraveling. Ok? Atonement director Joe Wright is on board to produce, adding to the substantial talent involved in what is shaping up to sound like an exciting experimental project. Filming begins later in the month. [Screen Daily]
