Tommy Lee Jones set to direct and costar in 'The Lincoln Lawyer': movie news recap

In the movie news recap for Wednesday, October 14: Tommy Lee Jones may direct and co-star with Matthew McConaughey in The Lincoln Lawyer; Oscar-winning director Gus Van Sant is co-writing a screenplay with American author Bret Easton Ellis about the 2007 double suicide of two art-world figures; and Chris Pine may reprise the role of Jack Ryan in a reboot of the Paramount spy franchise.

Tommy Lee Jones in talks to direct and co-star in The Lincoln Lawyer
Oscar-winning American actor Tommy Lee Jones is currently in advanced negotiations to direct and co-star in The Lincoln Lawyer, according to entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter. Starring American actor Matthew McConaughey, the film is an adaptation of the bestselling 2005 novel of the same name by American author Michael Connelly. McConaughey will portray Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles lawyer operating from the backseat of his Lincoln Continental defending a Beverly Hills playboy accused of murder.

Gus Van Sant scripts double-suicide drama with author Bret Easton Ellis
Based on the American journalist Nancy Jo Sales's 2008 article "The Golden Suicides" (from American arts culture magazine Vanity Fair), the screenplay will be jointly produced by PalmStar Entertainment, Celluloid Dreams and K5 Film. American painter Jeremy Blake and American videogame designer Theresa Duncan were a fixture on the downtown New York City art scene; Duncan committed suicide first, and Blake drowned himself in the Atlantic Ocean one week later. Van Sant is not attached to direct the film. Bret Easton Ellis's novels Less Than Zero and American Psycho have been previously adapted into Hollywood movies.

Chris Pine negotiates to reprise Jack Ryan role for Paramount reboot
American author Chris Pine is in talks with Paramount Pictures to portray CIA analyst Jack Ryan in a reboot of films starring the action hero, according to the movie studio. American actors Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck have all portrayed Jack Ryan in several Hollywood films, including The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), and Clear and Present Danger (1994). The Jack Ryan character stems from a popular novel series by American author Tom Clancy. It is currently unclear whether Pine will begin this reboot of the Paramount series before or after reprising the role of Lt. James T. Kirk in a sequel to the 2009 summertime blockbuster Star Trek.

TUESDAY'S NEWS

Sharon Stone stars in indie production, Satisfaction
American actress Sharon Stone has committed to the independent film production Satisfaction, which English director Anya Camilleri begins filming in the UK during the first quarter of 2010, according to entertainment trade magazine Variety. The film revolves around a young gigolo cruising London, England, oscillating between a wealthy, calculating older woman (Stone) and a young woman (Dutch actress Carice Van Houten) offering unconditional love. American actor Chris Evans, known best for his recurring role in The Fantastic Four superhero franchise, is currently negotiating for the role of the gigolo.

Chris Pine breathes life into Rolling Stone article for The Art of Making Money
American actor Chris Pine is in advanced negotiations to star as a counterfeit artist in The Art of Making Money, according to entertainment trade publication Variety. American director D. J. Caruso is set to helm the movie, based on a 2005 article in the American pop-culture magazine Rolling Stone (subsequently expanded into 2008's The Art of Making Money: The Story of a Master Counterfeiter, by American author Jason Kersten). Pine will portray real-life Chicago counterfeiter Arthur Williams, and production may begin in early 2010.

Studio renames Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz romantic thriller Knight & Day
20th Century Fox has confirmed Knight & Day as the official title of its action comedy starring American actors Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, according to entertainment trade magazine Variety. American director James Mangold has been shooting the film in Massachusetts since last month under the working title Wichita, though Trouble Man was another strongly considered title. Knight & Day reportedly stars Cruise as a secret agent who pulls his blind date (Diaz) into intrigue surrounding the protection of some infinite power source.

MONDAY'S NEWS

Director Bryan Singer seeks crack at X-Men 4
American director Bryan Singer expressed interest to 20th Century Fox in directing a third installment of the X-Men superhero film franchise, according to entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter. Singer, the director of both 2000's X-Men and 2003's X2: X-Men United, turned down completing the trilogy with X-Men: The Last Stand to direct Superman Returns in 2006 instead. At the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea, Singer revealed recent talks with Fox concerning his return to the X-Men franchise.

Charlize Theron abandons another lead role, in The Tourist
Oscar-winning South African actress Charlize Theron abandoned her lead role in the American remake of the 2005 French romantic thriller Anthony Zimmer entitled The Tourist, according to The Hollywood Reporter movie blog Risky Biz. Theron is likely to be replaced by American Oscar winner Angelina Jolie. British director Bharat Nalluri has also left the project behind, with the studio avidly seeking a replacement. The film deals with an American tourist who goes undercover on behalf of Interpol to entrap a former lover. Theron recently bowed out of a lead role in The Danish Girl, a biopic on the transsexual Danish painter Lili Elbe.

Studio greenlights The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn for 2011
Summit Entertainment okayed a fourth installment in The Twilight Saga franchise, according to the studio. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is an adaptation of American author Stephenie Meyer's 2008 novel Breaking Dawn (the fourth and final book in the Twilight series), and begins filming in Portland, Oregon, in September 2010. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn may be split into two films due to the complexity of plot developments in Meyer's source material. A director has yet to be named.