ScreenTalk: Slate's the talk of the toons

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jenny Slate has been hired to write a script for a hybrid live-action/CG version of Looney Tunes.

The classic Warner Bros cartoon shorts began in the 1930s and feature animated characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester and Tweety Bird.

Cruise cohort's a man on a mission

Viacom and CBS Corp controlling shareholder and executive chairman Sumner Redstone is working on a second book following his 2001 autobiography, A Passion to Win. He recently said he is "very close" to Tom Cruise and is looking forward to more Mission: Impossible movies.

Black Box ready to take flight

Davis Guggenheim, the US Weekly editor-turned-movie writer's latest effort, Black Box – billed as a thriller surrounding an Air Force One crash – sparked a studio bidding war. Universal, which backed one of Guggenheim's previous specs Safe House, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, emerged victorious.

Robocop remake has a new recruit

Jose Padilha's remake of 1980s sci-fi film Robocop has secured the acting chops of Dexter actress Aimee Garcia. She will star opposite Joel Kinnaman in the remake, which began shooting in September. Garcia will play a scientist who helps put together the Robocop with his creator, played by Gary Oldman.

Island couple are playing with fire

Belarus-born Makinov wore a mask while directing horror film Come Out and Play. The single-moniker film-maker likes to maintain an enigmatic air. The film follows a couple, played by Vinessa Shaw and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who go to a remote island after the birth of their child and discover only children live there.

King's a man for Four Seasons

Oscar-winning producer Graham King has signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros for one year only. The studio wants to make a big-screen adaptation of Jersey Boys. Warner missed out on the musical in 2010 in a race to it and when King's Columbia deal soured, Warner struck the deal with the producer and got the project.