Quickhits: Monaghan Joins Itch, Ferrera Heads into Darkness and Bruckheimer Talks More Pirates and National Treasure Sequels

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• The other day, Martha reported on a Boston Herald article that claimed Gwyneth Paltrow had nabbed a role in Seven Day Itch, the latest Farrelly brothers comedy which is inspired by Neil Simon's The Heartbreak Kid. The article also claimed those Farrelly boys were after actress Michelle Monaghan, though nothing was even close to being certain. Okay, now reverse everything. According to Variety, Monaghan has officially snagged a role in Itch, while Dreamworks denied those Paltrow rumors claiming actresses were still reading for the part. Pic tells the story of a groom (Ben Stiller) who questions his marital commitments after meeting another woman (Monaghan) while on his honeymoon.
• America Ferrera (Wow, imagine growing up with the first name 'America'? Would you then celebrate two birthdays -- one being the day you were born and the other on independence day? That would be sweet!) has signed on to star in and executive produce the indie bilingual thriller Hacia la oscuridad (Toward Darkness) for writer/director Antonio Negret. Story revolves around the last 90 minutes in the life of a kidnapped Colombian. Ferrera is best known for her roles in Real Woman Have Curves and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
• Okay, so we all know by now that, if it were up to Johnny Depp, the actor would continue making Pirates of the Caribbean sequels forever and ever ... and ever. That's wonderful, but what about everyone else involved in the hit franchise? Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently chimed in with his thoughts on possible Pirates sequels saying that if Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio continue to come up with solid stories and Disney wants to finance them (they'd be stupid not to), then you bet your ass he's down for more. Also, when asked what he was working on now, Bruckheimer noted, as we previously reported, that he's trying to put together a sequel to 2004's National Treasure with the original cast all returning minus Sean Bean. They're currently working on a script which, like the first, will revolve around some phenomenal facts in American history.