It's a seemingly standard-issue career track for the modern actor: Indie success, mainstream notice ... and then the clout and cachet to move behind the camera. And word came from Empire this week that Paddy Considine, who you may recognize from films big (Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum) and small (Dead Man's Shoes, In America) is on that track now himself.

Speaking with the mag at its own awards celebration, Considine announced he's getting ready to direct his first feature, Tyrannosaur. Please note that the title's a metaphor; no dinosaurs for Paddy. Instead, as he explains, Tyrannosaur will be " ... about a woman leaving an abusive relationship. But it's not your run-of-the-mill, kitchen-sink drama, there are bits and pieces in there that hopefully make it a little bit different. Hopefully, we start shooting it at the end of the year."

There's no word if Considine will take a role in the film; the only casting note he shared on the red carpet was that "I've got Olivia Coleman in the lead role -- as we get further into the production we'll start casting the other roles." (I can't help but think of Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, whose own directorial debuts The War Zone and Nil by Mouth explored similar dramatic terrain.) Considine also gave a few hints about his next collaboration with director Shane Meadows, King of the Gypsies; the full Empire story has more.

If you love movie awards and dog shows, there's a new event that's perfect for you: the Fido Awards, which recognizes cinematic canines. Presented in conjunction with the London Film Festival, these awards were presented Sunday night with the top honor, "Best in World", going to five corgis -- named Poppy, Anna, Alice, Oliver and Megan -- that appear alongside Oscar-winner Helen Mirren in The Queen. The same dogs also won another award, "Best Historical Hounds for a dog/dogs in a film set in bygone days", beating out dogs from Control (I don't even remember a dog in this, which means it makes sense it didn't win) and Molière. Other winners include Travis, a Welsh cardigan corgi named "Comedy Canine for smochiest pooch in a romantic comedy " for his "method-acting" in Year of the Dog, Logan, a "Bernese Mtn English Mastiff X" named "Blockbuster Bowser -- best canine achievement in an action flick" for sharing a beer with Mark Wahlberg in Shooter, and dogs from the short film Dog Flap and the London Film Festival entry Far North. In addition to those from Control and Molière, losers included pups from The Holiday, Feast of Love, Shoot 'Em Up, The Savages (for some reason listed in the action category) and Paddy Considine's short Dog Altogether. Hopefully none of them were Old-Yellered because of their failures.

Isn't that cute? The Fidos are technically considered "the world's first-ever international awards ceremony for canine screen stars," but this isn't the first time awards have been given out to animal performances in film (I would be shocked if it were). Since 1939 -- after a horse was accidentally killed on the set of Jesse James -- the American Humane Association has honored animals in cinema and television with the PATSY Awards (yet apparently the first actual PATSY went to "Francis the Talking Mule" in 1951). Some of the obvious past winners include Lassie, the pig from Green Acres, the dog that played Benji (name: Higgins), Gypsy the horse (from Gypsy Colt) and Orangey the cat, who appeared in Rhubarb and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Unfortunately I can't seem to find a full list of the winners through the years, just this spotlight from TCM.

What is your favorite animal performance, canine or otherwise?

I used to think Julia Stiles was the next big thing. That was back when she seemed to star in every Shakespeare update around (10 Things I Hate About You; Almereyda's Hamlet; O). Then she somehow became better remembered as "Nicky", the deer-in-headlights character from The Bourne Identity and its sequels. Sure her part increased through the series, but all I can think of is that line, "I can send Nicky to do that, for Chrissakes." Now, I associate her with any role that's so easy even she could do it. Which certainly seems to apply with a movie in which she's just been cast, Cry of the Owl. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stiles is replacing Sara Polley in the thriller, which makes me wonder if maybe the part is too simple for the now-very-respected Polley. "They can send 'Nicky' to do that, for Chrissakes," the actress must have thought.

Cry of the Owl is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith (author of The Talented Mr. Ripley, which starred Bourne co-star Matt Damon) and was previously adapted by Claude Chabrol. This version will be helmed by Jamie Thraves, who directed my favorite Radiohead video, "Just", as well as videos for Blur ("Charmless Man") and Coldplay ("Scientist"; "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face"). The movie co-stars Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum) as a new guy in town who Stiles' character falls for. Problem is, he's also stalking her. Scott Speedman (who was probably looking forward to working again with Polley, his My Life Without Me co-star) plays her ex, who plots revenge for being dumped. The movie begins shooting in Toronto next week.

To be fair to Stiles, I have to admit that coming from Highsmith, Cry of the Owl may not be just another stalker thriller. Also, she has been delivering fine performances in little-seen movies like A Little Trip to Heaven and Edmond -- never mind that she also starred in The Omen remake. She's also just made her directorial debut with the short Raving and she's set to star in an adaptation of The Bell Jar. Perhaps one of these days I'll have something new, and more favorable, to associate her with.

Recently, when Paddy Considine was being considered for the role of the villain Jigsaw in The Punisher: War Zone, a fan questioned why the movie would cast a Brit as an Italian mobster. That fan will probably continue wondering, because, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate has finally announced the actor who won the part over Considine, and it is another English actor, Dominic West. If you remember, Considine was offered the role when the first choice had to pass, but then that first choice ended up taking it after all. So, West must have been that first choice. Funny, I was expecting someone more well-known, but I guess with recent appearances in 300 and Hannibal Rising and a recurring part on the popular television series The Wire, West is still more famous than Cinderella Man's Considine (personally, I can only place West in 28 Days, while I've seen much of Considine's work). For those unfamiliar with the comics, Jigsaw has a torn-up and re-stitched face, so it isn't like audiences will be recognizing West's own mug anyway.

Joining West is a more familiar actor who has also just been cast in the movie. Everyone's favorite conniving fat man, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld's "Newman"), will play Microchip (aka Linus Lieberman), the lone confidant who works with The Punisher, supplying him with guns and ammo -- think James Bond's Q meets Batman's Alfred, says Wikipedia. Because we can expect nothing less from Knight, though, I have to assume he also stabs The Punisher in the back and then gets eaten by dinosaurs. West and Knight join Ray Stevenson, as The Punisher, and the recently announced Dash Mikok (Romeo + Juliet's "Benvolio"), as Detective Soap, Colin Salmon (Resident Evil), as Agent Budiansky, and Doug Hutchison (The Green Mile) as LBJ (aka Looney Bin Jim). The comic adaptation will be directed by Lexi Alexander and may be released as early as late 2008.

HBO Films has locked up Uma Thurman to star in My Zinc Bed, a film based on a popular British stage play by David Hare, who also wrote The Hours. The story of Zinc revolves around a young alcoholic who has an affair with the wife of his boss. Paddy Considine will play the young lush and Jonathan Pryce will play the old man who is wealthy enough to bag Uma Thurman. Directing duties will be handled by Anthony Page, most known for his television work. BBC is also co-producing with HBO, and the film is apparently set for first-run broadcast on HBO, not in theaters. As Variety points out, this project is being shepherded by Julie Goldstein, a Miramax honcho who was brought on board HBO earlier this year.

As for Uma, this isn't her first daliance with HBO -- she also starred in the 2002 Mira Nair film Hysterical Blindness. Aside from Zinc, she's also got a couple of interesting projects lined up for the end of 2007 and early 2008. She's going to be starring in a film by Vadim Perelman, the guy who directed House of Sand and Fog, and she's starring in The Accidental Husband, a romantic comedy in which she plays a radio talk show host who ruins a guy's marriage by telling his wife to dump him. This causes the guy to seek some kind of revenge on her. And speaking of revenge, no matter what roles she lines up after these, Uma will still have to show up in 15 years or so to do another turn as The Bride in Kill Bill 3.

It seems pretty definite to me: Patrick Wilson is playing Nite Owl (aka Dan Dreiberg) in Watchmen. In an interview with Coming Soon.net/Superhero Hype!, Wilson does everything but actually confirm the rumors. But he comes pretty darn close. Basically, through his wording of answers and his questions to the interviewer (Max Evry), he insinuates that he's doing the movie but that he's unsure if he's allowed to talk about it -- though he claims he's never been told not to. What he does mention is that the script is phenomenal writing and that the project is really exciting stuff. He also says he should be respectful and wait until everyone is on board and there is an official announcement. So, yeah, he's been cast.

This will be sad news to both John Cusack and his fans, who have been hoping the actor would get the part of Nite Owl. But Wilson isn't a bad choice for the part. And Watchmen loyalists (and Cinematical commenters) are already happy enough that Keanu Reeves apparently turned down the part of Dr. Manhattan. We still have to see if the Jude Law rumor is also true (director Zack Snyder nearly confirmed him and Reeves, but now that Reeves is out, who knows?), and we still await some word on the rest of the characters' casting. We are getting some more rumors, though. According to AICN's 'Moriarty', the new front-runner for Dr. Manhattan is Jason Patric. According to actor Paddy Considine (in the forum part of his site), the part of Rorschach has gone to Jackie Earle Haley. And somewhere, while writing about these other two rumors, film ick has gotten the idea that Thomas Jane will be playing The Comedian. So when are we going to hear something about the part of Laurie (aka Silk Spectre 2)?

Ah, Lionsgate. Thank you for keeping the horror film torch burning by bringing us films like the Saw franchise, Hostel, The Descent and so many more to come (as our own Scott reported recently). In the world of modestly budgeted splatter-fests you guys pretty much rule. And now, according to Variety, you've picked up yet another potential winner from your old friends at Filmax -- the horror/thriller The Backwoods, starring Gary Oldman.

When we wrote about this film wayyy last year, it was just a mention regarding the casting of Oldman in the film. And now, over a year later, the film is in the can, getting picked up by a major horror-friendly distributor and is slated for a U.S. release next year. Not bad. Although, it's not that unusual for Lionsgate to acquire product from Filmax considering the long-standing relationship between the two companies. Since 2000, the distributor has picked up quite a few films from the Spanish producer -- including Arachnid, Dagon, Faust and one of my faves -- Beyond Re-Animator.

The Backwoods, directed by first-time feature helmer Koldo Serra, is an English-language thriller set in Basque Country in 1978 which tells the story of a couple on vacation who stumble upon a deformed and seemingly helpless girl trapped in a cabin. Of course, the couple tries to help her and ends up fighting for their lives against the local villagers who have imprisoned the girl. The film co-stars Paddy Considine (who was so good in Jim Sheridan's In America), Aitana Sanchez-Gijon and the super-hot Virginie Ledoyen. Plus, as Gary Oldman happens to be in it and I'm a huge fan of his, I plan on catching this film when it's released. Lionsgate, keep up the good work. For more on The Backwoods, check out its official site.

While the film is still without a villain (I take it negotiations are ongoing with Gael Garcia Bernal), that's not stopping The Bourne Ultimatum from snatching up some of its supporting cast. Brit actor Paddy Considine has joined the third installment in the Bourne franchise, which finds everyone's favorite amnesiac once again dodging bullets in search of the truth behind who he really is.

In this pic, Considine will play a journalist placed in charge of tracking a former CIA agent. I loved this dude's performance in 2002's In America and, along with the entire planet (okay, maybe half the planet), I'm really itching to see how he fairs in Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz, the highly anticipated follow-up to one of my favorite horror comedies of all time, Shaun of the Dead. As far as Ultimatum goes, I'm really digging the franchise so far and absolutely loved the last installment, The Bourne Supremacy. There aren't many smart action flicks these days (District B13 comes to mind), and so the Bourne films are a nice change of pace.

Today's odds and ends:

• Hands up, who wants to spend some time expanding their minds with David Lynch? For a fee of just over $100, the experience can be yours: nested on a campus in Indiana Iowa, you and other Lynch-ites can spend a weekend enjoying organic vegetarian food, listening to the man himself talk about Filmmaking, Consciousness, and the Creative Process, and learning about "Samadhi: the fourth major state of consciousness." Did I mention the food? [via Pop Candy]

• I've already updated you a couple of times about the ever-expanding cast of Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's follow-up to Shaun of the Dead and, over the past 24 hours, that cast has completely exploded with much-loved British talent. In addition to the recently-announced Timothy Dalton and Jim Broadbent, a slew of others including Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Edward "The Equalizer" Woodward have been confirmed. Whether they're do more in the movie than just stop in and say hello is, of course, anyone's guess.

• John Cusack, apparently tired of making a lot of money for annoying me (and being loved by the whole rest of the world), is taking a very, very indie turn with Grace is Gone, which he'll produce and star in as a man whose military wife is killed in Iraq. After learning of her death, he takes their two daughters on a cross-country road trip that is sure to feature lots of sugary sweetness, combined with hard lessons absorbed with a smile. I can't wait.
  

To call My Summer of Love just a lesbian coming-of-age flick is to do this intricate movie a grave disservice. Not that I have anything against lesbian coming-of-age flicks, mind you but My Summer of Love is ever so much more than just that. Proletariat Mona (Nathalie Press) and upper-class Tamsin (Emily Blunt), on a break from boarding school, meet each other during a hot summer in the Yorkshire countryside.