MOVIES
The Directors Guild of America handed out its annual awards this weekend. Ben Affleck was named recipient of the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Argo, while Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series went to Rian Johnson for the episode "Fifty-One" of the AMC series Breaking Bad.
Bradley Cooper has signed to star in and produce the upcoming adaptation of James Renner's novel The Man From Primrose Lane. Southland writer Chad Feehan is adapting the story, about a true-crime writer who finds himself at the center of a chain of serial murders and "must look outside the parameters of what he believed to be true about time and space" in order to solve the mystery.
Johnny Depp will star in Barry Levinson's gangster thriller Black Mass, centering on the real-life story of South Boston criminal mastermind Whitey Bulger. The project is based on the book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob, by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerland O'Neil. Bulger was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for more than a decade before his capture in June 2011.
Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg, the same screenwriters behind the Swedish adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, will also adapt Don Winslow's crime thriller The Power of the Dog. The plot hinges on a 30-year struggle between a hardened DEA agent and a family of cartel kingpins in Mexico.
Jeremy Renner has been cast in the lead role in Kill the Messenger, playing journalist Gary Webb. The project is based on the real-life story of a journalist who committed suicide after being smeared by the CIA.
Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace are in talks to star in the thriller Child 44, based on the Tom Rob Smith novel about a 1950s-era Soviet police officer who tries to solve a string of child murders.
Tom Welling, who starred as Superman in the TV series Smallville, has signed to play an unnamed role in Parkland, a movie from director Peter Landesmant that's based around President John F Kennedy's assassination.
Will Daniel Craig return for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sequel? Some sources say the actor is demanding a larger salary to return, which may force producers to cut his role out of the picture or find another actor. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the actor claims Craig hasn't started negotiations yet and is "keen to return" for both The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.
Comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment has taken over the film adaptation of Harbinger, after a project at Paramount fell through. The Harbinger series, created by Jim Shooter and currently written by Joshua Dysart, follows a rogue group of psychics who set out to bring down a powerful organization. Valiant is in talks with producer/director Brett Ratner to head up the project.
TV
CBS has ordered a pilot titled Second Sight, a detective drama from Homeland director Michael Cuesta and CSI's Carol Mendelsohn. The project is based on a BBC psychological thriller (starring Clive Owen) about a detective afflicted with an autoimmune virus causing hallucinations that mirror his subconscious.
To almost no one's surprise, CBS has renewed NCIS for an 11th season after coming to an agreement on a contract for star Mark Harmon. The procedural is still the top-rated scripted drama on television.
The BBC commissioned a second season of the historical crime drama Ripper Street, set in London's East End in 1889 around the time Jack the Ripper, with eight episodes to air in 2014.
Cinemax has given a second season order to its original drama Banshee, starring Antony Starr as an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, Pennsylvania.
Jamie Dornan will reprise his role as Sheriff Graham on Once Upon a Time in an upcoming episode arc.
Gerald McRaney (Major Dad; Simon and Simon) has signed on to appear in a multi-episode arc of the TNT police drama Southland. He'll take on the role of retired Detective Hicks, who trained Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) years before.
Melinda Clarke (The O.C. and Nikita) is joining freshman CBS drama Vegas playing Mia's mother, Lena, a charismatic, shrewd, strong woman who is attracted to even stronger men.
David "Dr. Who" Tenant has signed aboard a BBC three-part drama, playing Will Burton, a talented junior barrister who has earned the nickname "The Escape Artist" due to his ability to get his clients out of tight legal corners.
The 1970s teenage heart-throb from the Partridge Family, David Cassidy, has landed a guest-starring role on CSI as a veteran poker player named Mr. Coe.
PODCASTS
This week's Guardian Books Podcast features American crime writing, with Gillian Flynn, Joseph Wambaugh, Michael Koryta and Peter Messent.
THEATER
The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective is staging Arthur Bicknell's Moose Murders through February 10 at The Connelly Theatre in New York. The play is about owners and a group of guests at a hunting lodge in the Adirondacks who discover that a murderer is among them. Although the play was a notorious flop on Broadway in 1983, it has since been revived and staged successfully in other venues.
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