We’ve got a couple of director-related news stories to share this afternoon.  First up, Variety reports that Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog) has settled on 20th Century Fox’s The Other Woman as his next project.  The director intended to next helm the gritty actioner Cali, but star Kristen Stewart abruptly dropped out following Huntsman-gate her personal drama late last summer.  The Other Woman centers on a woman (surprise!) who, “after realizing she is not her boyfriend’s primary lover, teams up with the man’s wife to plot a mutual revenge.”

Cameron Diaz was previously rumored to star with Kristen Wiig in the mix for the other lead role, but those rumors were apparently premature as neither actress is attached at this time.  The studio wants to move quickly on this one, and they hope to have the leads locked up within the next week.  Melissa Stack is writing the screenplay.  Hit the jump for news concerning a director change on The Man in the Rockefeller Suit.

It’s been a few years since we’ve heard from director Nick Cassavetes (his last effort was 2009′s My Sister’s Keeper) but now we have a first look at his new film, Yellow.  Written by Cassavetes and star Heather Wahlquist (Alpha Dog), Yellow centers on Mary Holmes (Wahlquist), a substitute teacher and mother of four with a drug addiction and a complicated past to say the least.  This new video for Yellow features Wahlquist’s protagonist and a few trippy transition scenes that only twenty tabs of Vicodin can provide. Also starring Max Thieriot, Sienna Miller, Ray Liotta and David Morse, Yellow will be screening at this weekend’s 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  Hit the jump to check out the video and synopsis.

This may not come as a shock, but Kristen Stewart has dropped out of starring in the gritty actioner Cali.  Directed by Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog), the film was poised to start shooting within the next month or so but Variety’s Josh Dickey tweeted last night that the outlet could “confirm web chatter that Kristen Stewart has dropped out of Cali.”  No reason was given for the departure (take a wild guess), but Dickey notes that reports of a replacement actress are premature.

Stewart was poised to make her producorial debut on the project as well, but no word on whether she’ll stay on as an executive producer.  Alex Pettyfer was recently set as the male lead in the pic which revolves around two San Fernando Valley lovers who sell a fake snuff film and take off with the cash.  With Cali off the books, Stewart now has no confirmed commitments in the coming months besides the press rounds for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.  She recently landed the lead in Scott Cooper‘s Lie Down in Darkness, but that won’t start filming until next year.

Though Kristen Stewart’s personal life is apparently all anyone cares about at the moment, she also acts in movies from time to time.  Stewart is set to star in the gritty action pic Cali, and director Nick Cassavetes has now settled on the male lead for the film.  Per Variety, Alex Pettyfer has landed the role and will star as Stewart’s love interest in a story that takes place in L.A. and revolves around two San Fernando Valley lovers who sell a fake snuff film and take off with the cash.  Years later, the girl (Stewart) must “return from the dead” in order to save the younger sister she abandoned.

In addition to starring, Stewart is also making her producorial debut on the project, which is set to start filming later this summer.  Pettyfer was most recently seen opposite Channing Tatum in Magic Mike, and he also appeared in In Time, I Am Number Four, and Beastly.

With her Twilight duties nearly complete, Kristen Stewart is looking to branch out in a big way.  We recently reported that the actress has signed on to star in the gritty action pic Cali, which takes place in L.A. and revolves around two San Fernando Valley lovers who sell a fake snuff film and take off with the cash.  Years later, the girl (Stewart) must “return from the dead” in order to save the younger sister she abandoned.  With Stewart set as the female lead, it now appears that The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes will be taking the helm.  Hit the jump for more.

In further acquisition news, U.S. and Canadian distribution rights for director Derick Martini’s Hick have gone to Phase 4 Films. The pic, starring Chloe Grace Moretz (Let Me In) centers on a 13-year-old girl (Moretz) who runs away from home to escape her mom’s alcoholic boyfriends and to seek fame. On the road, she meets a moody drifter (Eddie Redmayne – Black Death) and a free-spirit (Blake Lively – Green Lantern) who becomes a surrogate mom. The pic also stars Juliette Lewis and Alec Baldwin.

Director Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog) had his dark comedy Yellow picked up by Seven Arts Entertainment and GFM Films LLC in their first acquisition for distribution. Similar in tone to Cassavetes’ Alpha Dog and She’s DeLovely, Yellow follows a woman coming to terms with her family’s shadowy past. The pic stars Sienna Miller, Melanie Griffith, Gena Rowlands, Ray Liotta and debuts Heather Wahlquist. Hit the jump for more on both projects.

Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog) has vacated the director’s chair for the biopic Gotti: Three Generations. TheWrap reports that the director has been released from his contract due to scheduling conflicts with Yellow, a drama he is acting as writer/director for starring Sienna Miller, Ben Foster, Hank Azaria, and Luke Wilson. Gotti producer Marc Fiore is apparently still set on beginning production this fall and will be on the lookout for a new director in the interim.

Written by Leo Rossi, Gotti: Three Generations focuses on the father/son relationship of John Gotti, Sr. and Jr. John Travolta is currently signed on to play the famed New York mafia boss with Joe Pesci set to make a turn as Gotti’s deputy, Angelo Ruggiero. Lindsay Lohan is currently in negotiations to play Gotti’s daughter, Victoria.

Joe Pesci will join John Travolta in the biopic Gotti: Three Generations.  Travolta will play the famed New York mafia boss; Pesci has agreed to play Angelo Ruggiero, deputy to infamous New York mafia boss John Gotti (Travolta).  Lindsay Lohan is in talks for an unspecified role to add a bizarre level of eclecticism to the proceedings.

Nick Cassavetes (My Sister’s Keeper) is on board to direct from a script by Leo Rossi.  Fiore Films made the announcement today at a press conference which featured Travolta, Cassavetes, and John Gotti Jr.  Hit the jump for more information revealed at the event.

With just weeks to go before the release of The Hangover Part II, director Todd Phillips has announced that Liam Neeson’s cameo performance as a Bangkok tattoo artist has been cut from the film.  Back in October Neeson was called in to replace Mel Gibson, whose appearance in the sequel “did not have the full support” of the Hangover cast and crew.  Details on who will replace Neeson are after the jump.

John Travolta could soon be making a turn as one of America’s most recognizable criminals.  The actor is said to be in serious talks with producer Marc Fiore to make a turn as mob boss John Gotti, Sr. in Fiore Films’ Gotti.  When asked about the potential casting, Fiore told EW’s Inside Movies:

“We would love to have him. He’s a terrific actor. John Gotti, Sr. — he’s an icon. And so is Travolta … The Gottis have an image already. People know who they are. You can’t just be a good actor, you have to be a great actor who can become John Gotti.”

Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog) is also in talks with Fiore to direct Leo Rossi’s screenplay with the film aiming for a summer 2011 shoot.  Although Gotti has yet to officially name any cast members and/or a director, Fiore has his sights set high with the project telling the same EW report that, “it’s going to be the new Godfather.”  For his sake, I hope those who miss the moon really do land among the stars.

Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) is currently in negotiations to helm the John Gotti Jr. biopic.  The project, which is being produced by Fiore Films, is currently being penned by Leo Rossi and will reportedly follow the tumultuous relationship between “Junior” Gotti and his father.  Per Variety, Cassavetes said of the project, “I think it’s a great story about redemption and America.”  I couldn’t agree more.  After all, what screams “America” more than spending almost nine years in prison only to re-enter society with the resources required to make a movie about yourself (I digress, of course).  As of now, production on the film has an ambiguous start date of sometime in 2011.

In case you’re concerned that The Notebook and mob crime don’t have a lot in common, you might be reassured in remembering that Cassavetes also wrote/directed 2006′s Alpha Dog and penned the screenplay for 2001′s Blow.  Presently, he is directing the drama Yellow which stars Ben Foster, Sienna Miller, Hank Azaria, and Luke Wilson.  That film is currently looking at a 2012 release.