Sam Worthington is lining up another thriller.  THR reports that Worthington is set to star in the action-thriller For the Dogs, based on the Kevin Wignall novel of the same name.  Philip Noyce (Salt) is onboard to direct the film, which centers on a solitary assassin who helps a young college girl seek revenge for the murder of her parents and brother.  The script will be written by Oren Moverman (Rampart), and the project is currently being shopped to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin.  Worthington will produce alongside Anthony Rhulen and Navid McIlhargey from FilmEngine Entertainment, Josh Schwarz and Michael Schwarz from Full Clip Productions, and Paul Leyden.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the book.

With his new film Rampart (which ranked #4 on my Top 10 of 2011 list), writer-director Oren Moverman took the corrupt-cop genre and twisted it just like he did with The Messenger‘s soldier-PTSD story.  He’s one of the more exciting filmmakers working today because of his ability to play against expectations and come out with a more powerful, realistic story as a result.

I got the chance to interview Moverman about the film and we talked about where the real Rampart scandal came into the story, re-teaming with Woody Harrelson, shooting the movie as if it were two different films, and more.  Moverman also spoke about his collaboration with Ben Stiller for a David O. Selznic biopic for HBO, and we discussed his script for Steve Buscemi‘s upcoming film, Queer.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Rampart opens in select cities this Friday.  Click here to read my full review.

Oren Moverman‘s star has continued to rise since The Messenger and Rampart (along with his assorted screenwriter-only credits), and he’s eyeing a variety of projects for his next movie.  According to The Playlist, one of the films in the mix is The Big Blow, a complex drama with intertwining plot threads that revolve around the devastating September 4, 1900 hurricane in Gavelston, Texas.  Ridley and Tony Scott‘s Scott Free production company has had the rights to Joe Lansdale‘s novella for almost a decade.  A few years ago, Moverman was brought on to do further work on the late Millard Kaufman‘s screenplay, and now Moverman has moved into the director’s chair. Hit the jump for more details on the project.

Steve Buscemi has lined up quite the cast for his next directorial effort. The Boardwalk Empire actor is poised to direct an adaptation of William Burroughs’ novel Queer, and Vulture reports that Guy Pearce, Ben Foster, and Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire co-star Kelly MacDonald are set to star. The book was written in 1952, after Burroughs accidentally shot and killed his wife. The story, which mirrors Burroughs’ emotional and psychological state at the time, centers on an American named William Lee living in Mexico City, weighed down by drugs, guilt, and lust. The project is still in the early stages, and financing isn’t yet firmed up, but Rampart director Oren Moverman wrote the script and told Vulture that the plan is to shoot the film during Buscemi’s next hiatus from HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Hit the jump to read the synopsis for the novel.

When I saw Oren Moverman‘s Rampart at the Toronto Film Festival, I liked it alright, but I found I couldn’t shake it.  The more I thought about it, the more I saw how well it worked, how it subverts the corrupt-cop sub-genre, and how Woody Harrelson‘s outstanding performance ties it all together.  Millennium Films is rushing to get an awards strategy into place, and The New York Times reports that the movie will open for an awards-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles on November 23rd.  While I think the movie deserves attention for Best Actor (Harrelson), Best Director, and Best Screenplay, realistically its best chance for an Oscar nomination is Harrelson.  Millennium will then try to use the resulting awards buzz to boost the film’s audience when the movie begins a platform release on January 27, 2012.

Hit the jump for more on the film.  The movie also stars Ben Foster, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Sammy Boyarsky, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, and Robin Wright.  Click here for my full review.

David O. Selznick was one of the great superproducers of the studio era.  He was responsible for some of Hollywood’s biggest hits in the 1930s, peaking at the end of the decade with back-to-back Best Picture wins for Gone with the Wind and Rebecca.  With a life and career as grand as the movies he produced, Selznick is due for a biopic.  Enter Ben Stiller and writer/director Oren Moverman (The Messenger).  Show Tracker hears Moverman is developing a film about based on Selznick’s life at HBO.  At the current stage, Moverman has rewritten the first draft of the script by Donald Marguiles.  Stiller is on board as executive producer, and has reportedly met with Moverman and the network multiple times with keen interest to play the movie mogul.

HBO declined to comment, so it’s unclear how far along the project is, or if Moverman has any intention to direct.  I’m already sold, though.  I romanticize few eras moreso than Old Hollywood, a period which looks especially ravishing on screen.  And I’d like to see Stiller try his hand at a role like this.  I hope they push this one through as soon as Stiller has a hole in his schedule.

In his debut feature The Messenger, director Oren Moverman eschewed the simplistic and pandering Soldiers-with-PTSD story seen in films like Stop-Loss and In the Valley of Elah.  Moverman took a deeper look to see how two soldiers struggled to heal their personal wounds by examining how the men struggled to help others deal with the loss of loved ones.  It was a smart and unusual way to tell a story and he has continued that approach with Rampart.  Coupled with another astounding performance from Woody Harrleson, Moverman  turns the genre on its head by showing that one dirty cop’s warped sense of justice may be necessary to not only to the world, but to his own existence.

The Messenger was one of the nice surprises of 2009, a nuanced look at the life of the American soldier.  The gang—Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, and writer/director Oren Moverman—is getting back together for Rampart, which gives us hope for a nuanced look at the life of the American police officer.  Harrelson stars as “a never- changing LAPD cop (Woody Harrelson) whose past is finally catching up with him in the wake of a department-wide corruption scandal.” Foster is joined in the supporting cast by Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Sammy Boyarsky, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, and Robin Wright.

Rampart is about halfway through its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as I write this, but we have the first clips from the movie after the jump.

Writer/director Oren Moverman (The Messenger) has reached a deal to adapt the New York Magazine piece “The Terrorist Search Engine” for Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin (The Social Network). Back in May, we reported that Rudin had optioned the piece as a starring vehicle for Jesse Eisenberg. With Eisenberg’s attachment still in place, Moverman’s signing looks to be the next logical step in the development process. As Deadline reports, though, his deal is only to write the adaptation, not direct it. That said, the report claims that Moverman has not closed the door on helming the pic and will pen the script with an eye toward directing. His next writer/directorial effort, the crime drama Rampart, stars Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi, and Ben Foster. That film will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this September.

For more details on the project, hit the jump for a look at the New York Magazine‘s original piece.

Writer/director Oren Moverman (The Messenger) go-to guy for biopics about musical icons.  Todd Haynes brought him on to co-write the avant-garde Bob Dylan tribute I’m Not There.  Moverman will strike out on his own to write and direct a Kurt Cobain biopic.  Now, 24 Frames Moverman has signed on to write a film about the life of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, the deeply troubled genius responsible for some of the world’s most beautiful music.  Bill Pohlad (The Tree of Life) and John Wells (ER) hired Moverman shortly after acquiring the life rights from Wilson and his wife, Melinda.

The producers have secured the rights to much of Wilson’s catalogue, but don’t expect the soundtrack to top the charts.  Said Pohlad, “We’re not thinking about this as the hit parade.”  More quotes from Pohlad after the break.

New images have gone online for Rampart, the new drama from The Messenger director Oren Moverman.  The film stars Woody Harrelson as a corrupt cop and the story is set against the backdrop of the scandal involving the LAPD’s Rampart Division.  Moverman wrote the script with acclaimed crime novelist James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) The impressive cast also includes Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi, Cynthia Nixon, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, and Ned Beatty.

Hit the jump to check out the images along with the first official synopsis for the film.

If you’re a fan of Jason Statham action films, you’ll be happy to know his latest movie, a remake of The Mechanic, opens this weekend.  Like the 1972 Charles Bronson film that it’s based on, Statham plays a ‘mechanic’, which is “an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets.”   Unlike some remakes that stray far from the original, Statham’s remake uses the same plot, but updates all the technology and kills.  Also, Simon West directed (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) the film so the action is well done.  I actually thought the remake was a lot of fun and casting Ben Foster to play the apprentice was a smart move as he’s an awesome actor that brings a lot to the role.  For more on the film, watch 4 clips here.

Anyway, I recently got to participate in a roundtable interview with Foster and you can either read a transcript or listen to the audio after the jump.  During the interview, Foster talked about working alongside Statham and what it was like to make The Mechanic, the nasty injury he landed as a result of doing his own stunts, how he prepares for each role, why he tends to play tough guys, and he gave us updates on Contraband, Fernando Meirelles’ 360, and Oren Moverman’s Rampart.  If you’re a fan of this great actor, you definitely should check out the interview:

Following his interview with Jason Statham, Steve had a chance yesterday to speak with the other star of The Mechanic, Ben Foster.  It just so happened that Foster had been announced as a cast member of Fernando Meirelles’ 360 about an hour before the interview, which came as a surprise to the actor.

Foster has quite a few projects on the horizon in addition to Meirelles’ 360.  He stars opposite Mark Wahlberg in Contraband.  The romance Here is set to premiere at Sundance later this month.  And he’s reuniting with The Messenger director Oren Moverman and co-star Woody Harrelson for Rampart.  Hit the jump for his updates on these projects and more.

Steve Buscemi, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, and Robin Wright have joined Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster in Oren Moverman’s upcoming cop drama Rampart.  The story is “Set against the backdrop of the scandal within the L.A.P.D. Rampart Division in the late 1990s and is the fictional account of a veteran police officer (Harrelson) caught up in the scandal, and his search for redemption.”  Variety also reports that the film is now fully financed and is set to begin shooting October 25th in Los Angeles.

If you saw Moverman’s first film, The Messenger (which also starred Harrelson and Foster), then you’re probably excited to see what he’s going to do this time out, especially since he’s working from a script he co-wrote with James Ellroy.  Harrelson and Foster leading the pic was already great news, but when you throw actors like Buscemi and Weaver into the mix you have the makings of a powerhouse ensemble.

Three quick pieces of casting news for you tonight.  First up, Deadline reports that Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) has signed on to voice the character of “Jokey” Smurf in the upcoming CG-animated film The Smurfs.  Reubens joins Neil Patrick Harris, George Lopez, Quentin Tarantino, Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, Sofia Vergara, Hank Azaria, Jonathan Winters, and Jayma Mays.

Hit the jump for news on Ice Cube joining Oren Moverman’s (The Messenger) police corruption drama Rampart and Bryce Dallas Howard coming on board Tate Taylor’s The Help.