Sure Shots: Nick Nolte; 'Poltergeist'; Guillermo Del Toro

* It's been a long time since Nick Nolte has had a chance to play the leading man, having found a niche in stellar supporting turns of late. He'll get a chance to show his starring creds once more as he'll star in Bitterroot, the directorial debut of music video helmer, Chris Milk. Nolte will play a Montana rancher who gets screwed out of his life savings in a bank scam, and since nobody will do anything about it, he grabs his guns and heads off to find the culprits. Nice. A perfect for the grizzled Nolte, who has been killing it lately, earning an Oscar nomination for his performance in Warrior. The Black List approved script comes from Michael Giglio. [Variety]

* For awhile there, it looked like Sam Raimi(The Evil Dead) might be coming aboard MGM's upcoming remake of Tobe Hooper's 1983 horror, Poltergeist, but according to Heatvision that's not the case. Instead, Raimi will be joining in a producer capacity, with the hunt for a director still underway. Last June we learned that David Lindsay-Abaire(Rabbit Hole) will pen the script, having worked with Raimi on the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful. Am I wrong in thinking Ti West(The Innkeepers) would be perfect for this?

* Guillermo Del Toro is adding the muscle of his name to The Bloody Benders, a horror movie which he'll join as a producer. Based on a spec script by Adam Robitel, the film will tell the true story of the Bender clan, who in the late 19th century owned an Labette County, Kansas inn. They would reportedly kill any guests staying at the inn using a complex system which involved a hammer blow to the head, followed by a knife cut to the throat, and finally the disposing of the bodies through a trap door positioned beneath the dining room table. The search for a director will take place while Del Toro is in post-production on Pacific Rim, his big budget monster invasion film hitting theaters next year. [Deadline]