Well, with a title like Real Men Cry, I guess it's a relief that this won't be a movie about men taking sensitivity training. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Mark Ruffalo, Amanda Peet and Ethan Hawke have signed for the leads in autobiographical crime drama called Real Men Cry. The film was written by actor-turned-director Brian Goodman, and is his autobiographical story about a local Boston boy who overcomes his criminal past. "Hawke and Ruffalo will play childhood friends Paulie and Brian, respectively, who are forced to survive on the tough streets of South Boston through a life of petty thievery. They join a local gang of criminals, but Brian finds it hard to reconcile his work and friendship with Paulie and his relationship with his wife (Peet) and son."

After years of petty criminal acts and drug and alcohol abuse, Goodman was finally incarcerated and began to turn his life around. Goodman told THR, "I came from a broken home and was living in survival mode. I have three bullets in me, one in the back of my head." Goodman began to score parts in small, local films in the late '90s, and also crossed paths with boy-band veteran Donnie Wahlberg at a high stakes card game in Boston. Wahlberg, another native of Boston's mean streets, even collaborated with Goodman on the script with fellow Boston actor Paul T. Murray. According to THR, the film has been put on the fast track; now that casting is already underway, I wouldn't be surprised if the film is aiming for a 2008 release.

Whenever I hear or see that Donnie Wahlberg has a new gig, I imagine an excited and nervous Johnny Drama. Never mind that it is actually Wahlberg's cousin, John Alves, who is the basis for the Entourage character. I prefer to think that it's the former New Kid on the Block who is the real-life Drama. However, I can't even imagine how crazy Drama would be if he got the kind of job that Wahlberg just got. It may actually be his best non-television role since, well, ever. It's more like the kind of job his more-famous brother Mark would get (if he wanted to slum it just a bit). It's a part in Righteous Kill, the Jon Avnet-directed film that has the honor of reuniting Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. It also stars 50 Cent. Wahlberg announced the gig while promoting his Spike TV miniseries The Kill Point, though he didn't mention anything about his character nor did he say how big a role it would be. What he did say is that it's going to be a challenge and that he gets to drive to Boston every night. That sounds pretty significant to me.

Righteous Kill, which was scripted by Inside Man screenwriter Russell Gewirtz, is about two detectives tracking down a serial killer. Pacino and DeNiro play the detectives. 50 Cent plays a drug dealer who helps them out. Could Wahlberg be the serial killer? Since we don't yet know any other actors cast in the film, I'd maybe make the assumption. Of course, the part of the killer could be quite small. And he probably wouldn't have too much screen time with Al and Bob. And Wahlberg did imply he'll be working closely with the acting legends. So, I'd rather make the assumption that Wahlberg is another one of the good guys (or, as in the case of 50 Cent, someone who aids the good guys). Either way, I'm happy for the guy. Additionally, feel free to check out this newly-released teaser poster for the film (which may or may not be legit). Righteous Kill hits theaters next year.

Do you like movies about dolls that come to life and go on a murderous rampage? That's a rhetorical quesiton -- everyone likes those movies. There are Chucky people and Puppetmaster people, but no one can deny the sheer creepiness that comes from watching the waxy face of a child's doll start slowly twisting with evil life. James Wan, the writer/director of Saw, knows this full well, and we've finally got a peep at his next movie, Dead Silence, which seems to be about an entire army of crazy ventriloquist dummies that start terrorizing a town. The film, which stars Donnie Wahlberg and Amber Valletta, is being released by Universal Pictures on March 23rd and IGN has obtained the first full trailer. It has a sort of old-school 80s horror feel, with the present-day events being based around one character from the past who tangled with dolls and lost, and now exists as a ghostly cautionary tale/possible villain.

"There's an old ghost story around here about a woman named Mary Shaw," the narrator tells us in the trailer, as we get all kinds of weirdo imagery of an old lady doing a ventriloquist act. Then there's lots of running-around-with-flashlights stuff. The creepiest part of the trailer is reserved for the ending, when we hear a doll's nursery rhyme, that begins..."Beware the stare of Mary Shaw....she had no children.....only dolls."

Here's what we know already: Darren Lynn Bousman, the young filmmaker who cut his teeth on Saw 2, will be returning to direct Saw 3, which will arrive in theaters this October. Already signed to return are writer/producers James Wan & Leigh Whannell, and actors Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Donnie Wahlberg.

And today JoBlo treats us to a few more Saw-bits, none of which are all that dazzling, but they're intreresting enough if you're a big geeky fan of the Saw series -- like I so definitely am. Looks like Saw 3 is scheduled to begin production in Toronto on May 1st, and the casting directors are presently on the hunt for "Lynn, a married mother in her late 30s who is kidnapped by Jigsaw" and "Jeff, a dad who has never recovered fully after his son died. It was an accident but he's never been able to forgive himself."

Seems the producers are looking for "name actors" for these roles -- but ones who (obviously) don't already have a gig lined up for May. More details as they become available.

It's a college movie. No, it's a boot-camp movie. Wait, it's both. Annapolis takes place at the U.S. Naval Academy (commonly called Annapolis) in Maryland, one of the five American institutions of higher education for kids who just can't seem to make up their mind whether to join the armed forces or attend university following high school. Well, that is putting it rather simply. Like the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Annapolis preps its students to become officers in its respective branch of the military in addition to awarding them bachelor degrees. It doesn't charge tuition — in fact it pays those enrolled a weekly salary — but the Naval Academy is one or the toughest schools to get into, and it is even tougher to remain in.

This doesn't stop Jake Huard (James Franco), one of the incoming freshman, or plebes, in Annapolis' class of 2008. He manages to be admitted despite his lack of good grades. I assume he also falls short in the areas of SAT and ACT scores, leadership experience and any number of other expectations the school is likely to have of its applicants. What he does have is a dream, which he's had since he first laid eyes on the campus from his home across the river, as well as a nomination from a congressman — a requirement, not a guarantee, for acceptance. Oh, and he likes to box.