A rather unfortunate situation has arisen on the promising drama Jane Got a Gun.  The Western drama has a Black List script by Brian Duffield and an outstanding cast that includes Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, and Jude Law, and production was set to begin yesterday with We Need to Talk About Kevin director Lynne Ramsay at the helm.  However, it appears that Ramsay has decided to announce her dropping out of the project by simply not showing up to set on what was to be the first day of filming.  Hit the jump for more on this supremely disappointing news.

In an effort to try to stay ahead of the next YA craze, producer Scott Steindorff has acquired the feature rights to Origin, a debut novel from 22-year-old author, Jessica Khoury.  The novel centers on Pia, a young heroine created by scientists and gifted with immortality.  On her 17th birthday, Pia escapes the compound in the Amazon jungle and heads off on an adventure with a local village boy, Pio, in search of her true origin. The blend of romance and action should provide a draw to a wide audience with the inevitable water mark set by The Hunger Games.  Hit the jump for more on Origin.

Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who came to prominence in the 90’s with his sexual thrillers like Basic Instinct, Flashdance and Showgirls has returned to Hollywood with a new script, Lust. The film centers on “ a 30-year old beauty who is married and in love with an older Miami-based fashion magazine publisher, only to be seduced by a younger charming playboy on a business trip in Los Angeles.” Obviously, the young playboy has a Russian assistant who is in love with him, further complicating matters.

THR reports that Scott Steindorff (The Lincoln Lawyer) is producing, and the duo will begin looking for a cast and director next week in order to shop the project at Cannes next month. Lust is set against the backdrop of high-stakes real estate brokering in Miami, so expect, um, good-looking people to fill out the cast. Steindorff currently plans to independently finance the $30 million project through a private equity. Eszterhas previously left Hollywood behind after the fallout from Showgirls, but it appears he felt the world was in need of some more erotic thrillers, so he graciously answered the call.