This was inevitable, but may have happened a little sooner than most anticipated–and with an unlikely name at the helm: JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot taking a bit of a genre turn with Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong to be released through Paramount. Also proving that notorious true stories get the fast-track-to-development, Happy Valley will cover Joe Paterno and the Penn State scandal, with Brian De Palma directing and Al Pacino attached to play the legendary coach. And over a decade after the enthralling original, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2 set to go into production. The Weinsteins producing.
Other script sales include:
– Apparently inspired by a mere illustration: the fantasy/family Teddy Bear, about a stuffed animal who protects its owner from monsters under the bed.
– Entourage the movie gets the green light. Mark Wahlberg co-producing. The original cast set to reprise their roles.
– MGM. Ben-Hur. That is all.
– Pirates of the Caribbean and the Terminator franchises will both see fifth installments.