Media Media for Monday

MOVIES

It's official: Sam Mendes is indeed returning for the next film in the James Bond franchise. After his successful stint directing the recent Skyfall, it appeared he might not be available for the next installment, but apparently Mendes and the producers have come to an agreement. The film, Bond 24, will also bring back Skyfall screenwriter John Logan and actor Daniel Craig as 007.

20th Century Fox has acquired CyberStorm, a self-published book by Matthew Mather, with Chernin Entertainment serving as producer. Described as "a frighteningly realistic depiction of what would happen after a global digital meltdown from an organized attack," the story centers on a New York man and his family as they try and survive isolated in Manhattan with millions of scared and confused people around them. Mather is a former cybersecurity expert turned author who started out his career working at the McGill Center for Intelligent Machines.

Ben Affleck is in final talks to star as the male lead in David Fincher's big screen adaptation of best-selling mystery novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. This is leading to rampant speculation about which "girl" will play the title role, and allegedly Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt are currently the frontrunners.

Johnny Depp is in negotiations to star in the adaptation of the 1970s comedy-thriller novel Mordecai by Kyril Bonfiglioli (finished after the author's death by Craig Brown). Depp would play the role of debonair art dealer and part-time rogue the Hon. Charlie Mortdecai who globehops while on the trail of a stolen painting that contains a code for a hidden bank account full of Nazi gold.

Here's your first look at Solace, an indie supernatural thriller starring Anthony Hopkins stars as a psychic crime analyst who comes out of retirement to help a veteran FBI agent (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) solve a series of bizarre murders. 

Swedish director Jesper Ganslandt has been signed to direct Mission: Blacklist, a thriller starring Robert Pattinson as a brilliant young military interrogator who spearheads the capture of Saddam Hussein. The story is based on the real life experiences of soldier-turned-intelligence agent Eric Maddox and his book, Mission: Black List #1 – The Inside Story Of The Search For Saddam Hussein – As Told By The Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture.

Alfred Hitchcock's silent films have been added to the UN organization's U.K. Memory of the World Register. Hitchcock's films are among 11 items chosen from U.K. libraries, archives and museums to represent British heritage.

TELEVISION

Brad Furman has signed on to direct a drama pilot based on James Patterson's book series Private about  former CIA agent-turned-private eye Jack Morgan. Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro of Tribeca Productions will serve as executive producers for the project.

Cote de Pablo, who plays former Mossad agent Ziva in NCIS, has said she is leaving the show in the upcoming Season 11 "after finishing Ziva's storyline."

Theresa Rebeck (Smash, NYPD Blue) is developing Fortune, a new drama series for Bravo that is inspired by Charles Dickens' Bleak House. The series is said to follow a similar plotline, although it will be set in the present and follow a prominent New York family and the battle over an inheritance after the patriarch dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

Former House star Lisa Edelstein has signed to guest star in several episodes on ABC's Castle, playing a federal investigator.

William Abadie (Ugly Betty, Samantha Who) will join Showtime's Homeland for a multi-episode arc, playing Alan Bernard, a seemingly charming international journalist.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

NPR's Jacki Lyden chatted with author Mukoma Wa Ngugi about Black Star Nairobi, the second in a series featuring Ishmael and O and their Black Star detective agency in Kenya.

Daniel Silva was a guest on NPR's Diane Rehm Show: to discuss his latest spy novel, The English Girl.

THEATER

Enigma is an interactive, migrating mystery theatre performance that leads audiences on a clue-laden journey throughout Brooklyn Heights in New York, with performances Fridays through Sundays through October. Audience members embark on a journey into the heart of Brooklyn Heights, armed with a map and tasked with searching for a celebrated esoteric mystery writer.