Fincher Set For "Dragon Tattoo" Remake

The American remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is now set to be the next film of David Fincher ("Se7en," "Fight Club") reports The Playlist.

According to the Playlist: The American remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is David Fincher's next film.

The first in the "Millennium" trilogy based on late Swedish author Stieg Larsson's international bestsellers, the story follows disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist and misunderstood rebellious female hacker Lisbeth Salander investigating the 40-year-old disappearance of a industrialist's niece on a remote island. Their investigations uncover religious killings, Nazism, rape, child abuse and murder.

All three books have already been adapted into a Swedish language film trilogy with the first, 'Dragon Tattoo', having hit theaters in the US, UK and Australia in recent weeks to very good reviews and strong sales for a non-English language film. The next two films are scheduled for release later in the year.

Carey Mulligan has been tipped for the Salander role but the actress herself claims no-one has been in contact. Fincher apparently wants an unknown for the very complex Salander character. Scott Rudin will produce and Steve Zaillian ("Schindler's List," "American Gangster") will pen the script with shooting to kick off around October once Fincher wraps press for his upcoming drama "The Social Network".

Earlier this month there was talk Fincher was to helm the 1970s-set chess drama "Pawn Sacrifice" with Tobey Maguire, however its now been revealed Fincher only met with the filmmakers to advise them rather than take on a directorial capacity.

Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds Top Choices for "Gunsmoke"

Brad Pitt is the top contender while Ryan Reynolds is amongst potential backup candidates to star as the lead in a film remake of classic western series "Gunsmoke" at CBS Films, reports The LA Times.

According to the LA Times: The job of Dodge City peacekeeper is proving to be one of the most desirable assignments around.

Several top-flight actors are in the running to play Marshal Matt Dillon, the lead lawman in CBS Films' big-screen adaptation of the classic Western television show "Gunsmoke" that starred James Arness.

Brad Pitt has emerged as a top contender for the role, with Ryan Reynolds also a candidate for the juicy, gunslinging part.

Currently tied with "Law & Order" as the longest running primetime drama in U.S. television history, the series was set in Dodge City, Kansas during the settlement of the American West. The show ran on CBS from 1955 to 1975.

Dillon is the Western hero charged with maintaining law and order in the period Kansas town filled with colorful vagrants, misfits and desperadoes. He carries on in these adventures with the help of town physician Doc Adams and tavern owner Miss Kitty Russell.

In the film version, penned by Gregory Poirier ("National Treasure: Book of Secrets"), Pitt or the other potentials would play the lead role of Marshall Matt Dillon, which Arness memorably played for 20 years. Several other actors are said to be in the mix for the Dillon part, which offers the dual appeal of playing an action hero who also has depth and period cachet.

Pitt would be an excellent choice for this role. He was excellent in the underrated “The Assassination of Jesse James,” so he would be comfortable in the Western scene. Reynolds also would be a great choice. After some recent humorous roles, Reynolds has remade himself as an action lead, preparing to shoot the titular role in "The Green Lantern.”

Either way, the studio is hoping that “Gunsmoke” will be the film that gets audiences excited for Westerns again, which have faded out in recent years.

"Sgt. Rock" Ditches WWII For The Future

Producer Joel Silver tells The Los Angeles Times that the long-gestating comic book adaptation "Sgt. Rock" has moved into a higher gear.

According to the LA Times: Sgt Rock Producer Joel Silver says the long-discussed Hollywood adaptation of the "Sgt. Rock" combat comic books has new life -- but the leader of Easy Company won't be fighting the good fight in 1940s Europe this time around.

Silver said the plan now is for the old warhorse of DC Comics to serve his country in the not-too-distant future. Part of the reason it seems is that Silver just received a new draft of the script this week and the story will not be set during World War II.

Said Silver: "It's a little bit in the future. As a war movie, it's not going to be 'where it's been,' it's going to be 'where it's going.' We didn't want to do Iraq, we didn't want to do a contemporary war. We wanted to do a sort of futuristic war."

In the 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was prepared to play the G.I. hero, and John Milius and David Peoples had a script together that would have changed the soldier's heritage to explain the action star's Austrian accent.

That project petered out but Rock's name came up again as a film property, most notably when director Guy Ritchie was planning on directing a version set in World War II with Silver as producer and, it was rumored, Bruce Willis in the title role. That was the plan as recently as 2008. But now, with the new script in hand, things have changed.

Silver added: "It's pretty strong. Chad St. John wrote the script and we've got Francis Lawrence involved in developing it with us. It's not a 'go' movie yet but I'm feeling good about it."

Although I think the WWII era is the perfect backdrop for any Hollywood project, it might serve this franchise better to move it into the future. With the character of “Sgt. Rock” recently celebrating a 50th anniversary, it might be time to update the look and feel for a new generation. With most of the youth out there a bit unfamiliar with the original character, this change may turn out to be for the better,

The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.