Though production was just pushed back due to Akiva Goldsman's script not being ready, it appears casting for Angels & Demons is still moving ahead. According to the New York Post, Naomi Watts has landed a starring role in the flick opposite Tom Hanks, which, like The Da Vinci Code, will once again be directed by Ron Howard. An insider told the Post that production has been put off "until at least February," which means we'll hopefully see the film arrive in theaters at some point in 2009 (it was originally scheduled for release on December 19, 2008). Though it was critically panned and, let's face it, not that good, The Da Vinci Code ultimately went on to gross a ridiculous $758 million worldwide.

Angels & Demons, which was also written by Dan Brown, is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code. The book once again follows Robert Langdon (Hanks) as he races against time to find a hidden bomb and hunt down a serial killer in Rome. Joining him in his quest is the adoptive daughter of a physicist who's strange murder (in which his chest is branded with a symbol) sparks a hunt for the truth. The girl's name is Vittoria, and we presume this is who Watts will be playing ... though Watts is not Italian, and doesn't exactly fit the character description. However, she is a high profile name and a damn good actress, so it'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. Watts is also attached to star in the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, which is currently eying a Summer 2009 release. For those that have read Angels & Demons, is Watts what you had in mind for Vittoria? Good choice? Bad one?

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• When I first heard that Ben Affleck was directing a film in which he also wrote the screenplay, my first thought (without knowing anything about the project) was, "Okay, who's ghost writing it for him?" Regardless of whether or not you got that one, Affleck is currently shooting Gone, Baby, Gone in Boston. Man, talk about guys that can't leave their hometown, now I know why he and Kevin Smith are so close. Anyway, though it's been rumored for awhile, Morgan Freeman has now officially signed on to star in the film alongside Casey Affleck, Ed Harris and Michelle Monaghan. I should note that Gone, Baby, Gone is based on a novel written by Dennis Lehane and has to set some sort of record for commas in a movie title.
• To all those Lord of the Rings fanatics out there, you may want to shut your ears for this one. Okay, well, here's the thing: I'm not so crazy about Viggo Mortenson. Honestly, the guy is so wooden up on that screen, I half expect women who kiss him to pull away with splinters all over their lips. But what can you do -- chicks dig him. Viggo is now attached to star in the screen-adaptation of the award-winning stage play, Good. Story is set in Nazi era Germany and centers around a professor who gets seduced by the dark side.
• Let me ask you this: Your good friend makes you a character in one his novels. Some time goes by and this novel becomes one of the most successful in recent memory, so much so that a film is made and Tom Hanks signs on to play you. I'm sure the last thing you would do in a time like this is complain, right? Well, tell that to symbology expert John Langdon (Geez, you'd think Dan Brown would get a bit more creative with the name change) who, according to reports, thought the film version was not as good as the novel. In fact, he claimed it was a bit "over the top." Over the top? You're making a film about one of the greatest secrets ever held in the history of great secrets, what do you expect -- a quiet, silent film featuring an assortment of hand puppets? Look, not many people get to say Tom Hanks played them in a movie. Be grateful. Now, if Ron Howard were playing you, that's a completely different story.

• The Weinstein Company has acquired the rights to Miss Potter, the Renée Zellweger-starrer about Peter Rabbit creator Beatrix Potter. Due out some time next year, the movie "follows Potter's struggles to overcome a domineering, unsupportive mother and the chauvinism of Victorian England."

• In addition to people who think he's ripping off their work, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has also offended The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentationare. Yeah, sure Dan. You never write about an albino until you throw in one that's "hulking." They know how it is with you fully-pigmented people. According to Brown, however, Silas (the albino) is "a far more sympathetic character than anyone else in the novel." Having not read the book, I am unable to confirm or deny Brown's assertion but, since Silas is played by Paul Bettany in the movie, I can confidentially assert that at the very least, the albino is far better looking than any of the other characters.
  

• Susan Sarandon is in talks to star in a planned biopic about human-thorn-in-W's-side Cindy Sheehan. Sweet - I can't wait for wave two of the rabid articles about how out of touch Hollywood is with Mainstream America.

• New Line has bought the rights to a spec script entitled Disappearance of Trout and, even without knowing what it's about, it's hard to blame them. I mean, the whole field of movies with the names of fish in the title is WIDE open, and we all know how rare originality is in Hollywood these days. Disappointingly, the movie doesn't actually seem be about fish. Instead, it's a fantasy story about a young amusement park heir who disappears only to return 20 years later, "unaged, to help repair the lives of those once close to him and the heart of the town." Um, cool. Hell, I'd see that even if it didn't have "Trout" in the title.
  

• It's the superduper, mega, gigantic post-Oscars issue, with behind the scenes photos, news and quotes from all the parties, and a roundup of what the Oscar winners are going to work on next.
• New movies: the mag gives Failure To Launch a C, The Hills Have Eyes a C-plus, The Shaggy Dog a B, and Ask The Dust a D.
• New DVDs: Good Night, and Good Luck gets an A-, and A History of Violence gets an A.
• The Davinci Code won't be released til May, but you can read all about the lawsuit against author Dan Brown now. It's like a prequel!
• Critic Owen Gleiberman never gave Diane Lane a chance to make it big. He was wrong.
• An online exclusive: a Q and A with X-Men 3 director Brett Ratner.