One of the biggest surprise hits of this year was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, about seven cash-strapped seniors who decide to retire to a resort in far-off India, where they find friendship and romance in the most unexpected ways.  In fact, the film did so well at the box office, that there have been recent talks about developing a possible sequel.  From director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) and screenwriter Ol Parker, the film stars Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Dev Patel.

With awards season gearing up, and Fox Searchlight hoping for something in one of the major categories, director John Madden spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how it felt to have the feel do so well at the box office, how slow the industry has been to notice that older audiences are viable, whether or not a sequel could really happen and if he’d want to be involved, and what all of the awards season hoopla is like for him.  He also talked about how excited he is that Showtime has ordered Masters of Sex to series (he directed the pilot) and that he hopes to stay involved, and that Murder Mystery, with Charlize Theron in the lead role, will be his next film, once he finishes casting.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Hot off a killer past 18 months with darker turns in Young Adult, Snow White and the Huntsman and Prometheus, Oscar winner Charlize Theron is looking to do something a bit lighter in tone.  THR reports that Theron is in talks to star in director John Madden’s (Shakespeare in Love) comedy whodunit Murder Mystery.  The project, written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man), has actually been in development for several years with State of Play director Kevin Macdonald attached to helm at one point.  Hit the jump for more.

If you’re a fan of David Fincher’s Zodiac, Peter Berg’s The Rundown, or are looking forward to either Sylvain White’s The Losers, Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot, or director Kevin Macdonald’s Murder Mystery, you’re going to really enjoy my interview with screenwriter James Vanderbilt.  That’s because earlier today, I got to sit down with the talented screenwriter for an extended interview that covered almost his entire IMDb profile.

We first started talking about The Losers, then we went to Zodiac.  From there I tried to ask about Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot, and then we got to a project he is writing for director Kevin Macdonald called Murder Mystery.  Finally, Vanderbilt talked about a project he is writing for himself to direct that takes place in the world of journalism, and then we covered how he writes and The Rundown.

Trust me, it’s a great interview.  Since it’s over 20 minutes, I’ve time indexed each question so you can decided what you want to hear us talk about.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play) has signed onto helm the murder mystery, Murder Mystery.  Billed as a “whodunit” (I never would have guessed), Variety says the film, “revolves around an American couple honeymooning in Europe who are implicated when they witness a murder and wind up embroiled in international intrigue.”  Yet another reason why there’s no good reason to go to Euro Disney.

The screenplay is by James Vanderbilt who wrote Zodiac as well as the upcoming Spider-Man reboot.  Macdonald’s next film, the historical drama The Eagle of the Ninth, which stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell, is set to hit theaters on September 24th.