Reports confirm that Keira Knightley is set to star opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in director Morten Tyldum’s (Headhunters) The Imitation Game.  The indie drama about the brilliant British mathematician and cryptographer Alan Turing will center on his breaking of the German enigma code at the end of World War II, his prosecution by his own government for being a homosexual and his resulting suicide.  With Cumberbatch in the lead role, Knightley would play “a woman from a very conservative background who not only forms a complicated relationship with Turing but is there for him until the end,” according to THR.

The Black List script The Imitation Game has had a rather dynamic development thus far, but it looks as though the film is now finally close to coming to fruition.  Warner Bros. initially bought Graham Moore’s screenplay for a hefty sum with Leonardo DiCaprio eyeing the lead role of Alan Turing, a brilliant cryptanalyst whose expertise cracked Germany’s “Enigma code” and helped turn the tide of World War II for the Allies and whose homosexuality made him a target of prosecution (yes, he was taken to court for being gay).  DiCaprio eventually left the project and Warner Bros. followed suit, and recently Morten Tyldum (Headhunters) came onboard to direct.  Now a new lead has been found in the unendingly popular Benedict Cumberbatch.  Hit the jump for more.

Scandinavian director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters) is set to helm The Imitation Game, the 2011 Black List topper that is based on the life of British mathematician Alan Turing. Graham Moore’s script centers on Turing, a brilliant cryptanalyst whose expertise cracked Germany’s “Enigma code” and helped turn the tide of World War II for the Allies. Leonardo DiCaprio was previously attached to star in the picture with J Blakeson to direct, but neither party is still involved. Hit the jump for more on The Imitation Game.

Current reports have it that Leonardo DiCaprio is passing on the WWII picture, The Imitation Game and Warner Bros. is following suit.  The studio previously picked up the Graham Moore script for a seven-figure sum as part of last year’s Black List.  The script, an adaptation of Andrew Hodges’ 1983 book, “Alan Turing:The Enigma,” centered on Turing, a mathematician and British cryptographer who cracked German codes and helped the Allies win the war.  Later in life, Turing was prosecuted for being a homosexual, an event that led to his eventual suicide.  There is little word as to why DiCaprio passed on the role, but director J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) is still attached.  Hit the jump for more on why WB has backed out.

Warner Bros. has finally landed a director for one of its more high profile projects. Variety reports that The Disappearance of Alice Creed director J. Blakeson is currently in negotiations to helm the WWII pic The Imitation Game. The film is a biopic of Alan Turing, a mathematician who helped crack the Enigma code during World War II. He was criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality and subjected to chemical castration, after which he committed suicide by eating a cyanide apple. The project was a hot property when WB bought the spec script from Graham Moore, attracting directors like Ron Howard and David Yates.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been keen on playing Turing since Warner Bros. acquired the script, but its unclear if he’ll still star given that he recently committed to shooting The Wolf of Wall Street with Martin Scorsese later this year. When we last heard, the studio was putting together a list of potential directors that included Ralph Fiennes and Bryan Singer. Blakeson is certainly lesser known, but his feature directorial debut Alice Creed turned many heads, and WB must be convinced that he’s the man for the job. I’m eager to see this project come together, so hopefully we hear casting news soon.

Though the Harry Potter franchise has come to an end, a reunion of sorts is already in the works. David Yates, who directed the last four Potter films, has chosen the drama Your Voice in My Head as his next project, and now he’s in discussions with Emma Watson to star. The film is based on the memoir by Emma Forrest and centers on “a young woman who attempts suicide before being saved by a New York-based psychiatrist who’s dying of cancer.” It’s some pretty heady stuff, and I commend Yates for choosing a small, intimate character drama as his follow-up to the massive Potter franchise. Hit the jump for more, including who Warner Bros. is looking at for the male lead and the possibility of Ralph Fiennes or Bryan Singer directing the studio’s Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game.

Each year, Hollywood releases “The Black List.” The list is a compilation of the “best” unproduced scripts making the rounds of Hollywood, as voted on by hundreds of film executives. Past scripts that have made their way to the list include Diablo Cody’s Juno and Aaron Sorkin‘s The Social Network. This year, topping the list is Graham Moore’s script for the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game. Turning was a mathematician and codebreaker during World War II who was criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality, after which he elected chemical castration over prison, and eventually ended his own life.

The Imitation Game has been in the works for a while, and last we heard Warner Bros. was keen on getting Harry Potter director David Yates to take the helm. Leonardo DiCaprio is also said to have taken a liking to the role of Turing. Also appearing on the list is Matt Damon’s planned directorial debut Father Daughter Time and Chewie, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of Star Wars from the perspective of Peter Mayhew. Hit the jump to peruse the entire list, which includes two Pinocchio projects, a movie about catching a screening of Jurassic Park, and zombies!

Earlier today, it was announced that David Yates (the man behind the last four Harry Potter movies) is set to helm a feature film adaptation of the beloved British time traveler series Doctor Who. Yates himself said that the Who movie is two to three years away from coming to fruition, and he recently told Steve that he plans on helming a smaller film next year. While he didn’t reveal the projects that he’s currently mulling over, Warner Bros. is apparently trying hard to get him to commit to The Imitation Game. The project was announced earlier last month, with Leonardo DiCaprio “very interested” in starring. Hit the jump for more.

Warner Bros. bought Graham Moore’s spec script The Imitation Game in a 7-figure deal today.  The buzz is reportedly great on Moore’s debut script about the life of British mathematician/computer scientist Alan Turing, though that is not necessarily why the studio outbid several independent companies for the rights.  Rather it is because Leonardo DiCaprio is very interested in the project and has “the inside track” to star.  Moreover, Ron Howard—who won the Oscar when he directed the math biopic A Beautiful Mind—is reportedly interested in the directing.  No talent is officially attached yet.

Turing’s life is absurdly suited for the cinematic ups and downs of a biopic.  Credited as the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, Turing was integral in the development of the modern computer, and a key codebreaker for the British during World War II.  And the downs: Turing was criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality, elected chemical castration over prison, and finally ended his tormented life with a cyanide apple.  More after the jump.