Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is now playing in theaters.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

Last weekend, I sat down with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for an extended interview.  Over the past few days we’ve posted what he said about Jack Ryan and Red 2, an adaptation of the Vince Flynn novel American Assassin and the true story Deepwater Horizon.  But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because we also talked about making G.I. Joe, the nine-minute dialogue-free action sequence featuring Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, the 3D post conversion, changes from the first film, the rumored reshoots, what it was like to film at NASA, how involved Hasbro is with the project, and what he’d like to see in G.I. Joe 3 if they make it.  In addition, we also talked about how the collapsing home video market has changed the way movies are made, the lack of risk-taking with regards to the material that studios are choosing to make, the difficulty of selling sci-fi and the key to landing audience interest, whether he’s read any great scripts recently, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Though producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is best known for his huge tentpole films like the Transformers franchise and the G.I. Joe series, his resume is also filled out with more character-centric pics like Side Effects and Red.  Steve recently spoke with di Bonaventura in anticipation of G.I. Joe: Retaliation and got updates from the producer on a number of upcoming projects, and today we’re sharing what the producer had to say about a couple of “smaller” films that he’s producing: an adaptation of the Vince Flynn novel American Assassin and the true story Deepwater Horizon.

American Assassin tells the story of a college scholar and athelete who becomes a relentless anti-terrorism agent for the CIA, while Deepwater Horizon is a feature film based on the events of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster that killed 11 people and injured 16 others.  Di Bonaventura gave an update on the progress of American Assassin and talked about his passion for Deepwater Horizon, which he likens to A Perfect Storm.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say about these two projects as well as the hostage rescue film The Mission.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is one of the more prolific producers in Hollywood.  In addition to producing the Transformers franchise, Red, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Salt, and many others, di Bonaventura has a number of exciting films coming up like The Last Stand, Side Effects, Red 2, Jack Ryan, and American Assassin.

Last week I was in London and while there landed an exclusive interview with di Bonaventura.   We talked about the Red sequel, why they hired director Dean Parisot, Transformers 4, The Last Stand, the Salt sequel, his thoughts on Warner Bros. doing a 3D re-release of The Matrix, the G.I. Joe sequel and the 3D conversion, American Assassin, his upcoming ABC show Zero Hour starring Anthony Edwards, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Some (un)casting news today.  Check out the highlights below:

• Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is reportedly out of American Assassin, the CBS Films’ adaptation of the Vince Flynn novel.  A source cited scheduling conflicts.
• Ty Burrell (Modern Family) will join Adventureland duo Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins as Hader’s lover.
• Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) is in consideration for Our Kind of Traitor, an adaptation of the John le Carre novel. Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Jessica Chastain (Lawless) are also rumored.

Hit the jump for more on each project. 

It looks like CBS Films has found their terrorist hunter in Chris Hemsworth (Thor) for American Assassin.  Hemsworth would be playing Mitch Rapp, a college scholar and athlete who becomes a relentless anti-terrorism agent for the CIA as a result of a personal tragedy.  The adaptation is actually from Vince Flynn’s 11th novel in his best-selling series, but since it’s a prequel, it acts as a good jumping off point for a potential movie franchise.  Other talent involved with the picture is director Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Traitor, Homeland), writers Ed Zwick (Defiance) and Marshall Herskovitz (The Last Samurai), and producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler.  Oh and did I forget to mention that Bruce Willis is circling a role as a CIA mentor of sorts?  Hit the jump for more.

When last we reported on American Assassin, it was to inform you that Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Traitor) was set to direct.  Now, it looks like Bruce Willis is in negotiations to join the adaptation.  Based on the novel written by Vince Flynn and adapted by Mike Finch, American Assassin is a prequel story that shows the tragic road that led college scholar and athlete Mitch Rapp to join the CIA in order to hunt down terrorists.  While the part of Rapp has yet to be cast, Willis is in talks to play a CIA operative who acts as a mentor to Rapp.  Hit the jump for more.

CBS Films has tapped Jeffrey Nachmanoff to direct an adaptation of Vince Flynn’s spy novel American Assassin. The book is actually the 11th in Flynn’s series that centers on CIA Agent Mitch Rapp. Assassin serves as a prequel to the series and tells the story of how, as a college scholar and athlete, tragedy forged Rapp’s path to become a ruthless hunter of terrorists for the CIA. Edward Zwick was initially tapped to direct the film, but he dropped out when the schedule conflicted with his next directorial effort, The Great Wall.

Nachmanoff previously directed the 2008 thriller Traitor starring Don Chedele, and recently helmed two episodes of Showtime’s fantastic series Homeland. Deadline reports that Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz wrote the most recent draft of Assassin, but Herskovitz exited when Zwick did. There’s no word on who’ll they’ll bring in to do a rewrite. Nachmanoff himself wrote The Day After Tomorrow and the upcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner The Last Stand. CBS Films previously planned on beginning the potential Mitch Rapp franchise with Consent to Kill, but decided Assassin provided a better starting point. The film really hinges on who plays Rapp, and CBS Films plans on going with a younger actor. Hopefully we hear some casting news soon. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the book.

Director Ed Zwick recently tried his hand at romantic dramedies with Love and Other Drugs.  That didn’t work out so well.  Now he’s moving on to spy thrillers with an adaptation of Vince Flynn’s novel American Assassin.  The book is the 11th in the series about CIA Agent Mitch Rapp, but it’s a prequel that tells “how, as a college scholar and athlete, tragedy forged Rapp’s path to become a ruthless hunter of terrorists for the CIA.”  You may recall that last January, CBS Films planned to adapt the first book in the series, Consent to Kill, with Antoine Fuqua attached to direct and Gerard Butler, Colin Farrell, and Matthew Fox all being considered to play Rapp.  Deadline reports that CBS Films now considers American Assassin a better starting point for the franchise and it allows them to choose from a younger crop of actors.  I haven’t read any of the Rapp books but judging by Zwick’s track record, I’m sure the character will save lots of minorities.

Hit the jump for a synopsis of American Assassin.