* Ridley Scott probably isn't the guy you'd associate with YA novels, but he's apparently found one he really digs. He's picked up the rights to produce Fae, the first in a trilogy (duh, aren't they all?) of novels by C.J. Abedi, and basically it sounds like every other book in the genre outside of The Hunger Games. The story follows Caroline Ellis, a "descendant of Virginia Dare, the first child born in the lost colony of Roanoke, and unaware of her birthright as the heir to the throne of the Light Fae, it isn't until Caroline begins a tumultuous relationship with Devilyn Reilly that the truth of her heritage is revealed." The book is apparently quite the Twitter and Facebook phenomenon, and a best-seller in digital media, although I've never heard of it before. [Deadline]
* The long-developing biopic on Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has finally come together. Once with Sacha Baron Cohen attached, who would have been perfect in my humble opinion, Ben Whishaw took on the role recently, and now the film has a director. Actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill) will be at the helm of Peter Morgan's script, which follows the band from their early days all the way to the Live Aid concert in 1985. Fletcher is already meeting with the band to get a feel for his approach, and one thing they won't be covering is Mercury's later illness and death in 1991. Filming is set to begin next year. [Deadline]
* Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica) will play Anastasia Steele's stepfather Ray Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey. The film has nearly completed casting at this point with Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Ehle, Victor Rasuk, Luke Grimes, Max Martini, Dylan Neal, Rita Ora, and Eloise Mumford. Sam Taylor-Johnson is directing the film for release on February 13th 2015.
