Mark Wahlberg Jumps Peter Jackson's Bones
· Peter Jackson's feature adaptation of The Lovely Bones suffers a severe cast downgrade as Mark Wahlberg steps in to replace Ryan Gosling, who's departing the project following the always-popular "creative differences." [Variety]
· Talks are underway to bring a reality series starring Scottish psychic Derek "The Baby Mind Reader" Ogilive to America, centering around his possibly telepathic ability to translate the secret language of an infant's mysterious cries, gurgles, and gassy smiles into something understandable by parents. [THR]
· Superman Returns writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris bail on the franchise, opting not to come back to write a sequel. Warner Bros. denies rumors that the studio is planning on hiring new writers to start the Superman saga over yet again, avoiding the potential Superboy Problem presented by the introduction of Kal-El's bastard, half-Kryptonian offspring introduced in Returns. [Variety]
· Mining their considerable experience in the area, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are producing an HBO drama series about humanitarian workers in dangerous places, the politics of international aid organizations, and the lives of the children who go uncollected by famous U.N. Goodwill Ambassadors because of Third World orphanages' maddening "one adoption per Hollywood couple per trip" policies. [THR]
· Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth debuts to mixed reaction at the Rome Film Festival. [Variety]