* Movie hunk overload! Gerard Butler, Matthew McConaughey, and Sam Worthington have signed on to star in Thunder Run, a long gestating(like four years!!) Iraq War film from director Simon West(Con Air). Based on David Zucchino and Mark Bowden's non-fiction book, the motion capture, 3D film tells a story of the capture of Baghdad by American forces at the beginning of the Iraq War. Considering the beefcake potential of the cast, why would any studio choose to do this in any way other than live-action? Weird. [Thompson on Hollywood]
* John Ortiz(Public Enemies) has joined the cast of David O. Russell's upcoming film, The Silver Linings Playbook. Starring Bradley Cooper, it centers on Pat Peoples, a former high school teacher released from a psychiatric institution into the care of his mother(Jacki Weaver), and tries to get a fresh start at life. Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence, and Chris Tucker co-star, with Ortiz playing Peoples' best friend. [Variety]
* The novels of late author Robert Ludlum have proven to be a popular and lucrative choice for studios looking to score with intelligent espionage films. The Jason Bourne series is a prime example of Ludlum at the top of his game, but his work has been adapted half a dozen other times as well. Universal has tapped John Hlavin to adapt Ludlum's posthumous novel, The Janson Directive, about an ex-Navy Seal turned security consultant who goes on the run after the government issues a termination order against him. [Deadline]
