-Sienna Miller will star alongside Russell Crowe in yet another adaptation of the Robin Hood story. Miller will play Maid Marion and Crowe will naturally not play the good natured thief who robs from the rich and gives to the poor, but instead will play the Sheriff of Nottingham. This updated revisionist take on the merry men by director Ridley Scott (of course) tale boasts a love triangle btwn Hood, Marion and the aforementioned Sheriff (Robin has yet to be cast). Considering the shit work she takes (hello, “G.I. Joe” were you broke?), this is a step up in the quality dept. presumably (Unlike Kevin Costner, we presume Crowe can at least try to fake a British accent). The pic is scheduled for November 2009. [Variety]
Country pop star Toby Keith is coming back to the big screen again (he starred in 2006’s little-seen “Broken Bridges” alongside Kelly Prest0n). This one, eloquently titled, “Beer For My Horses,” was written, produced and will star the country crooner. The road-trip-centric script centers on two deputies who defy their local Sheriff by attempting to save a girlfriend from trafficking drug barons. No word if Keith is composing the soundtrack like he did for ‘Bridges,’ but ‘Beer’ is named after one of his hit songs. The film will also boast appearances by Claire Forlani, motor city madman /red meat enthusiast Ted Nugent, and cameos by Willie Nelson and Tom Skerritt. [Variety]
– Are documentary films losing muscle at the box-office? The L.A. Times says receipts for docs are way down. We swear to god, we read articles (probably on SpoutBlog) about how this was the best year for documentaries business-wise in years just two-three months ago [L.A. Times]
Mario Puzo’s son is suing Paramount because he claims the family and estate have not received proper royalties for the 2006 “Godfather” video game that featured the voices of original actors James Caan, Robert Duvall and our boy Abe Vigoda. If this is true, Paramount lawyers will soon sleep with the fishes. [Variety]
Trip-hop band Massive Attack mixed Vangelis’ original score for “Blade Runner” with the 45 piece Heritage Orchestra at the most recent Meltdown festival. [TheDailySwarm]
“Iron Man” is the first film of the year to top the $300 million mark in the U.S. Surprise, surprise. Will this finally get Marvel’s gear in ass with director Jon Favreau? [Reuters]
Yet another trailer for coming-of-age / weed dramedy, “The Wackness” – this one a red-band version – is online. Want a free screening to this film? Check their facebook, they’re practically giving away this movie. We just broke the news on the film’s soundtrack CD. [via Slash]