You hear that a new movie is coming down the pike that will tell the story of three soldiers from Iraq called The Return (not SMG's latest). Chances are, you think of a number of people including Mark Whalberg, Christian Bale or any of the other actors who can pull off the buzz-cut tough guy thing. Hell, you might even think of Michael Peña, who was recently in World Trade Center and Babel. Peña is one, and he will be joined by none other than Rachel McAdams and Tim Robbins. The film is about three soldiers returning from the Iraq war, each trying to find their own way back into civilian life and deal with the trauma of their experiences.

The story, which was penned by Neil Burger and Dirk Wittenborn will follow the three as they return to the states and take an unexpected road trip together across the country. Burger, who just wrote and directed The Illusionist, will also direct the feature this May, with a possible release in December. I can only hope that he's got some more subtlety for this film, as his previous effort had the least climactic, and most obvious revelation that I've ever seen. But the bigger challenge might be getting the audience to buy McAdams as a soldier. She's done some decent work and has successfully come up against a killer, but that's not the same as going through boot camp and Iraq. Thoughts?

Upon surfing over to Variety this morning, I noticed an article titled "U Orders up Burger Pitch." Right away, I was under the assumption that Universal had snatched up a comedy pitch that revolved around burgers (like, the kind you eat), but immediately realized (after reading the first few lines) that they were talking about The Illusionist director Neil Burger. Still, those brief thoughts lingered around, thus prompting me to pick up a tasty burger for lunch. Thanks Variety! Perhaps I shall sue you for inadvertently making me gain weight. But anyway ...

Universal Pictures has picked up an untitled pitch, not for a comedy, but a contemporary drama to be co-written (along with Dirk Wittenborn) and directed by Neil Burger. Oh, but there will be no magicians in this tale -- we're looking at a film about bad guys fighting bad guys for the chance to do bad things without law enforcement getting in the way. Sounds good, eh? Set in New York, concerns over an imminent terror threat (what else is new?) have the cops on high alert, which has subsequently shut down crime and forced the regular old friendly criminals out of work. Hell-bent on being able to still make money off their illegal activities, the criminals band together to track down the terrorists ... and, well, the whole thing sounds a bit cheesy on paper. It's supposed to be a drama, but for some reason I can't get snapshots from My Blue Heaven out of my mind. Why is that?

There are few things in the life of a cinephile more exciting than opening night of a film festival. Okay, it's not world peace, maybe, or birth of a child, but on the scale of coolness and sheer energy, Opening Night is way up there. Last night was the Opening Night of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Film Festival -- the largest film fest in the United States, according to the festival staff who kicked things off. 400-plus films, shown over 25 days, to more filmgoers than anywhere else in the US. Why? Well, because we really love our movies here. That, and it rains a lot here.

Opening Night, showcasing Neil Burger's darkly magical fairy tale The Illusionist,  was held at The Paramount, an historic "movie palace" complete with balconies, lots of gold overlay, and sparkly chandeliers. The theater was packed with the usual eclectic Seattle blend of party people: film geeks, college students, yuppie couples all dressed up for a night on the town, and, of course, the passholes. This is Seattle, not Cannes, so formal wear is not required (heck, we might even laugh at you), but a few people show up dressed to the nines anyhow. Most of the crowd was "Seattle-dressy" - meaning you wear your nice blue jeans (the $500 ones with the holes artfully placed in just the right places), and add on a dressy top, jewelry, and non-Birkenstock footwear to gussy it up.