While the film lover in me might be happy to see Matt Damon branching out with roles that don't trade on his looks, the red-blooded girl in me is happy to see Damon back in fighting form. Empire has the first still from the Iraq drama, The Green Zone, and he's back to the Matt Damon that we all know and love.

Zone is based on the 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Damon stars as Chief Officer Roy Miller, a soldier stationed in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein charged with the task of locating weapons of mass destruction. During the investigation, Miller begins to suspect that the WMDs may not exist, and then things really get dangerous. Amy Ryan also stars as a NYT correspondent, along with Jason Isaacs and Brendan Gleeson as fellow military men.

Studios might have a 'complicated relationship' with Iraq war films, but there is no chance that Zone is going to fall into the same trap of preaching to audiences. Damon made it pretty clear to Empire that Zone is strictly a Hollywood affair: "[We're] not trying to make a statement, particularly with a movie that costs $80 or $90 million. Hopefully this will feel like an accurate portrayal of what things were like for these guys. You can't do a polemic – you should be blogging if that's what you want to do." Maybe it's for the best, but I happen to think there is nothing wrong with mixing a little politics into your entertainment -- how about you?

Green Zone is expected to arrive in theaters in 2010.

After getting a glimpse of Matt Damon with more cushin' for the pushin', we now get to see him putting things in his mouth and baring his chest through a sexy Hawaiian shirt. Yes, the above is another picture of Damon as Mark Whitacre in The Informant. The Bad and Ugly has thrown up a handful of stills for Steven Soderbergh's film, from Damon putting what looks like some sort of dental add-on into his mouth, to showing off his expanding waistline in orange shorts and a loud, tacky shirt.

Whitacre seems happy with the casting. He told the Herald & Review: "It's like I was two people. I assume that's why they chose Matt Damon for the movie, because he plays those roles that have such psychological intensity. In the Bourne movies, he doesn't even know who he is." (The pic attached to that piece also makes it more obvious why Damon was chosen.) Matt has definitely morphed himself to play the famous FBI informant, and I wonder: will the morphing Oscar mojo work for him as it did for actresses like Charlize Theron?

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, The Informant hits theaters on March 27, 2009.

That chubby dude to the right is Matt Damon walking to the set for his role as Mark Whitacre in Steven Soderbergh's The Informant. He definitely looks nothing like this, so I guess this is a time before the man embraced the baldness. Still, it's cool to see Damon get a chance to morph physically for a role -- in a way that doesn't have him putting on disguises with the Ocean crew. You can check out a larger version of this picture, plus a bunch of others, over at Just Jared.

To refresh your memories, The Informant is the big-screen adaptation of Kurt Eichenwald's book, which focuses on Whitacre's role as an undercover, FBI informant during the investigation of Archer Daniels Midland and price fixing antitrust case. There should be a lot of meat for Damon to chew on in the role, considering Whitacre's biopolar disorder and strange actions.

Once The Informant is all wrapped, Damon will team up with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman for the Nelson Mandela film, The Human Factor.

There have always been those great Hollywood stories about how people got their big break. We all know the one about Lana Turner being discovered in a drugstore, and Steven Spielberg sneaking onto the lot in his Dad's suit (even though it never happened). But, how about the guy who's famous for writing a song about 'F**king Matt Damon'? Variety reports that Wayne McClammy has been hired to direct the comedy Cool School for 20th Century Fox.

Up until now, McClammy was best known as one of the writers behind the original comedy song with Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon. But, he was also responsible for the slightly less funny response from Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck. McClammy was a *writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live and worked as a director for The Sarah Silverman Show. Other than a few comedy shorts, McClammy has mainly worked in TV, and School will be his feature film debut.

Cool School centers on a group of ad-men in their 30's who feel like they have become out of touch in their middle age. The group is shuttled off to high school in hopes of learning how to be 'cool'. The story was written by Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman and casting will begin as soon as a final polish on the script has been completed.

*Correction: McClammy was a field director for Jimmy Kimmel Live

I have to hand it to the wardrobe people for Steven Soderbergh's The Informant since it's not easy making a guy who normally looks like this look like such a schlump. The Bad and Ugly have posted some behind-the-scenes photos for the comedic thriller, and even though there is nothing earth shattering going on, they are definitely a step up from the other pics floating around out there.

The Informant is based on the true-life novel by Kurt Eichenwald. The story revolves around Mark Whitacre (Damon), a rising star at the agriculture conglomerate, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). At the urging of his wife (who had threatened to go to the FBI), Whitacre spilled the beans to an agent that he had been involved in a price-fixing scam with other major corporations over the food additive, lysine. As if that wasn't enough of a story, it was later revealed that Whitacre (one of the most high profile, whistle-blowers in history) was suffering from Bipolar disorder and had defrauded millions from ADM.

For such serious subject matter, it came as a bit of a surprise when casting announcements first went out for the film and the list was chock-full of comedic actors (including Scott Bakula and Tony Hale). Soderbergh later confirmed that the film was going to be a "dark comedy", which makes sense because Damon is a pretty funny guy, and a great straight man. Soderbergh has just begun filming on location in Decatur, Illinois and there is no official release date, but The Informant is expected to arrive in theaters in 2009.

After the success of the crime drama, Gone Baby Gone, I guess Ben Affleck and everyone else involved figured why mess with a good thing, and jumped right into another project based on a gritty crime novel. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Affleck is reuniting with his producing (and writing) partner Sean Bailey for The Blade Itself. The two will be producing the flick along with Miramax for Bailey's Ideology Films.

Miramax owns the film rights to Marcus Sakey's crime novel about two childhood friends. The Blade Itself centers on Evan and Danny, two kids from the 'mean streets' of Chicago. After a botched pawn shop robbery, Evan serves hard time and Danny turns to the straight and narrow. Seven years later, Evan is out and comes looking for Danny for payback. Using their past ties as a bargaining chip, Evan tries to drag Danny back into their partnership.

Back in October, Sakey himself had announced that it was Affleck and Matt Damon who would be producing. But it looks like there have been a few changes, since it is now Bailey and Affleck in charge. Bailey recently scored a first look deal with Disney for Ideology Films, and in the tradition of keeping it in the family, they will also produce the Jennifer Garner film, Sabbatical. Aaron Stockard, who also co-wrote Gone with Affleck, has been hired to adapt the script. I can't see them making many changes, but something tells me that with these two in charge, The Windy City will most likely be transformed into Bean Town. Just call it a hunch.

Over at our sister site Moviefone, they have a piece up counting down Hollywood's 25 hottest on-set hookups. From Bogey and Bacall to Madonna and Warren Beatty, from Brad and Angie to Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, those Hollywood stars just can't seem to keep their movie romances confined to the screen. We thought it might be fun to pit some of these on-set romances against each other, in sort of a celebrity hook-up showdown. Sound off and let us know which of each pair of hook-ups you think is hottest:








Which Hollywood hookups from Moviefone's list do you think were smolderingly hot? Which leave you cold? And whose hookups did they overlook?

From a magical private school to the heart of the Iraq war is quite a jump. Luckily, Jason Isaacs is just the kind of versatile actor to pull it off. (If you don't believe me, take a look at the man's IMDB page -- talk about well-rounded!) Variety reports that Isaacs (aka Lucius Malfoy of Potter fame) has signed to star in Paul Greengrass' military drama, Green Zone. Isaacs will play an American officer in Iraq in the days following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Matt Damon stars as an investigator searching for weapons of mass destruction, Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) plays as a foreign correspondent from the NYT, and Greg Kinnear makes an appearance as a CIA agent.

Zone is based on the non-fiction book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, titled Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad's Green Zone. For those of us who maybe don't watch the nightly news as much as we should, here is a little reminder: "The Green Zone, (the common name for the International Zone of Iraq), is a 10 km² (4 mile²) area in central Baghdad that was the center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city." Chandrasekaran's book highlighted the "absurdities, incompetence, and bureaucratic failings which prevented a timely transfer of power to the Iraqis and bred the growing insurgency" -- you know, just your usual fun bedtime reading.

Greengrass wrote the original script for the military thriller, but eventually L.A. Confidential scribe Brian Helgeland was brought aboard to help smooth out some of the rough edges. Green Zone started filming in Spain last month, and will then move to Morocco (the two locations have served as stand-ins for Iraq, since the production could obviously not work in the actual area). The film has yet to secure a release date, but is scheduled to arrive in theaters sometime in 2009.

I guess hearing musical numbers about different celebrities f**king each other is going to be all the rage for the next little while. On the heels of the highly successful Sarah Silverman/Matt Damon gag, and the only slightly less funny revenge song courtesy of Silverman's boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck, comes a contribution from Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks from the set of Zack and Miri make a Porno (courtesy of Quick Stop Entertainment)

It's pretty much the same jokes as the other two videos but with one notable difference; this time there is not a 'bleep' to be heard. Honestly, maybe that's what's missing; sometimes a well-placed bleep can almost be funnier than the naughty word itself. But, this is marketing for a Kevin Smith movie after all, so get ready for some truly crude lyrics; funny, but kind of gross. As for the cameos? Don't go looking for any A-listers in this video, but Jason Mewes, Traci Lords and Craig Robinson all make a brief appearance (but I guess they kind of had too since they are in the movie after all).

Smith and company are still shooting the romantic comedy about two childhood friends who get into the porn business. Rehearsal finished back in January and now Smith has begun shooting on location in *Chicago. Zack and Miri make a Porno is scheduled for release later this year. As for this 'I'm F**cking ____", craze, I can only image who might come up with one next? Hilary Clinton is f**king Obama? Not to mention, it is getting just a little less funny each time -- where is the next 'D**k in a Box' when you really need it?

*Correction: Smith is shooting in Pittsburgh

Frankly I'm amazed that the announcement for a fourth Bourne movie wouldn't get a little more fanfare than buried half way down an article. In a press release in Variety, Universal announced that Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass will be returning for a new installment of the Bourne franchise. Originally, when the two were peppered with questions about a fourth film, they had the stock answer that Damon would only reprise his role if Greengrass returned to direct, and Greengrass would only return to direct if Damon was willing to star. Confused? Don't be, it was basically the PR equivalent of keeping the idea of a film on the back-burner without promising anything too specific.

Universal released the info in a release about their upcoming slate of films, and according to them both Damon and Greengrass are definitely returning to work together on the spy franchise. There are two books left in the Bourne series, so at least there would be some source material to start with. The two are currently working on the Iraq drama, The Green Zone, and Damon has already signed to star in The Informant for Steven Soderberg and is also in talks to star in The Human Factor for Clint Eastwood. Greengrass is also going to be busy with his upcoming Vietnam drama, They Marched into Sunlight. So it could be as late as 2010, before the two can even get started on making another Bourne flick, let alone get one into the theaters. However, with Bourne Ultimatum taking home three Oscars last night (three!), I imagine the fourth flick might be made a priority. For Universal's sake, I hope this one is a done deal. I can't help but think how embarrassing it must have been for MGM's Harry Sloan when his studio got a little overzealous about a certain spy franchise.

[via Empire]