The same writers behind the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, are writing an original action thriller that takes place among the nomadic Taureg tribes of West Africa, an area rich with uranium that's a target for both energy companies and terrorist states. A producer at Parkes Macdonald/Imagenation added that "At its heart, this is an action movie set within a world that is morally complex, alluring and completely real -- which is why Robert and Neal, whose work spans James Bond to John Le Carre, are uniquely suited to bring a project like this to life."
Karl Urban (Star Trek and Lord of the Rings) has been signed to star in a remake of the Judge Dredd story, based on a comic character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra and set in a futuristic world filled with violence, where Dredd acts as judge, jury and executioner.
Legendary Swedish actor Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island and Minority Report) may soon be joining the cast of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, playing Henrik Vanger, the man who hires Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) to investigate the decades-old disappearance of his favorite great-niece.
Idris Elba will star as Dr. Alex Cross in Cross, a new installment of James Patterson's murder mystery series that will be directed by David Twohy and written by Kerry Williamson. Elba takes over the role originated by Morgan Freeman in 1997's Kiss the Girls and 2001's Along Came A Spider. (Hat tip to Crimespree Cinema.)
TV
Bobby Cannavale (star of Third Watch and regular guest star on the Law & Order franchise shows and Cold Case) has joined the cast of CBS' new cop drama Blue Bloods. Cannavale will play Charles Rosselini, the boss of Tom Selleck's character and an ex-cop himself.
The USA Network announced that Psych, now running the first half of its fifth season, will return Wednesday, November 10 for the second half, while Burn Notice will follow on Thursday, Nov. 11 with the debut of the second half of its fourth season.
TV Guide has a sneak preview of season 8 of NCIS. "We pick up the show right where we left off, and I advise every fan of the show to sit down and watch that first minute. It's explosive," executive producer Shane Brennan.
Teri Polo has joined the cast of the new Law & Order: Los Angeles debuting this fall in the recurring role of Casey Winters, wife of Det. Rex Winters, played by Skeet Ulrich. Casey is a former cop who has settled down to raise a family.
PODCASTS/RADIO
BBC 4's podcast Front Row talked with novelist M C Beaton about her popular fictional detectives Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin, and the reason for her many pseudonyms.
NPR waded into the "digital" vs. "print" book controversy and concluded that "books have many futures."
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