There might be no word about Ryan Gosling, but Paramount is, indeed, moving forward with a Jack Ryan film that doesn't focus on one of Tom Clancy's novels. Variety reports that the company is currently in negotiations with Sam Raimi to lead the revival of Ryan for a series of films -- as both developer and director. They plan to create a series that would focus on the famous Clancy character when he's younger, and at an earlier point in his career.

Since they are still in the idea stage, nothing is set in stone, but Variety says that one idea is to have the film be set in the present, during a "global threat," which isn't very original. Personally, I would prefer something that went a little back in time, if they are looking at Ryan's start. Then again, these are studio musings completely free of the character's creator, so maybe they should just be considered a completely different entity. This project does, however, completely lead the way for Gosling to take over, if Phillip Noyce was right.

Right now, Raimi is busy with Drag Me to Hell, but the studio is hoping to get him working on this picture right after, so that the first flick can be released in the summer of 2010. I still don't understand why they can't just come up with a new action star, rather than young Ryan up and go on their merry way, but at least with Raimi involved, things could get interesting.

Back in November of 2006, I blogged about how Phillip Noyce, director of Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, had heard that Paramount was going to use the Jack Ryan character in stories not written by Tom Clancy, because of some legal loophole. Now, all these months later, there's more scoop. Noyce just talked with Moviehole and claims that while neither he nor Harrison Ford is returning to the world of Jack Ryan, there is, indeed, a film in the works -- a film starring Ryan Gosling.

This comes from the man himself, after Moviehole posted a story that Harrison Ford could be returning to the franchise. Now, this is just what he's heard. Since Noyce isn't involved, this is far from concrete, but it sure puts an interesting spin on things. As you can tell from the last time I wrote about this whole thing, I'm not a big fan of taking characters and running wild with them outside of the author's context. On the other hand, Ryan Gosling is a flipping great actor, and I'd probably check him out in just about anything -- even (or especially) a Breaker High reunion.

But that's just me. What do you think? Can Ryan Gosling pull off Jack Ryan?

Oh, the plight of the writer, who exists so low on the Hollywood power totem pole. They write up a script, and it gets swept away by producers and directors. If they're lucky or have some pull, they get taken along. Otherwise, it's out of their hands, either flying to the screen with the script intact, or being revamped by different writers. And, just sometimes, a legal loophole allows a literary and cinematic character to be stolen away.

Movieweb has reported that Phillip Noyce, director of Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, has heard that there are plans to bring Jack Ryan back to the big screen. The loophole allows Paramount to use the character in other films without any word from Tom Clancy. This means that we might just see Jack Ryan prancing around without the popular author's imagined landscapes and scenarios.

Why bother? Sure, Harrison Ford's Jack Ryan was a box office success, but that was as part of the film versions of Clancy's novels. If you have to go to all the effort to create a new story for an old, established character, why not just use that creativity to write up someone new? In any medium, once the original creator's vision exits stage, the audience starts murmuring sounds of protest. Eh, forget it. We should just throw all the classic icons into new settings, and I'm not talking about super heroes. How about Raskolnikov in a new college comedy, or a dead Emily Webb in a ghostly thriller?

Odds and ends from just another manic Monday:

• Okay, now that I've forced the song Manic Monday into your head, let's kick things off with another casting for the film Hairspray. Young Zac Efron has nabbed the role of Link in the big-screen version of the popular musical, which was based off the 1988 John Waters film. Efron, who previously appeared in The Disney Channel's High School Musical, had to convince producers that he could lose the wholesome Disney attitude and add the spunk needed for Link, the hunky heartthrob of The Corny Collins Show. I'm not sure what exactly he had to do to prove he was past Disney's cute and cuddly persona -- perhaps he took a page out of Britney Spears' book and just removed all his clothing.
• The rumblings, whispers and rumors are now over -- Keith Richards is officially onboard for a role in Pirates of the Caribbean 3. According to director Gore Verbinski himself, Richards will make an appearance in the third installment, albeit a small one. While Verbinski did not confirm who or what Richards would be playing, we all assume the character will be related in some way to Captain Jack Sparrow. Seeing as Johnny Depp used Richards as his inspiration behind Sparrow, it would be fitting if the Rolling Stones guitarist played Father Sparrow. I'm sure a script will leak online at some point so, until then, we're playing the waiting game.
• Paramount is definitely on the move and, unfortunately, it appears some future projects are being shelved for the time being. Two such projects are the big-budgeted Tom Clancy adaptations of Without Remorse and Rainbow Six, both recently placed into turnaround by the studio. Though Remorse was already building up steam, having John Singleton attached to direct and Joaquin Phoenix in the starring role, it appears Paramount wants to, instead, focus on reviving the character Jack Ryan. They want to update the role, which was previously played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck, by searching for a younger, new star. Hey, as long as they stay away from Freddie Prinze Jr., I'm a happy man.

John Singleton has agreed to direct Without Remorse, the latest film version of a Tom Clancy novel. Singleton will also write the screenplay for the movie, which is about a CIA operative (and ex-Navy SEAL) named John Kelly. Though the character was played by Willem Dafoe in Clear and Present Danger, Singleton is "looking to cast a young and athletic actor who can grow with the picture." (Willem, don't wait by the phone.) Also attached to the project is former super-agent, CAA founder, and Disney COO Michael Ovitz who both once represented Singleton and also owns the rights to the book. He'll be producing the film for Paramount.

There's nothing better than well-made action movie, and the success of the Bourne series makes it clear that audiences still love the genre. Singleton's statements about Without Remorse make it clear that he doesn't plan to stray far from the conventions set by the Jack Ryan movies, which shouldn't upset Paramount too much - given the money those movies made, there's no reason to reinvent the wheel with this one.

A Splinter Cell movie has been in the works for a long, long time - long enough, at least, to lose a director, a tentative star, and a writer. It is, however, still moving forward, and the news is actually somewhat encouraging. As opposed to the flood of video game movies that endeavor to reproduce game action on screen, according to Raymond Benson (who writes the Splinter Cell books) the movie will have nothing more than the character of Sam Fisher in common with the games and books. While I'm assuming that's an overstatement - surely the structure of the movie will be based on that of the game - it's nevertheless rather refreshing to hear about a game-based movie that is eager to set out on its own, rather than retread very, very old gaming ground.

Gamers, are you excited about this movie? If it makes any difference, the names currently being thrown around to star are David Boreanaz, Thomas Jane, and Christopher Showerman. What do you think?