Is Jack Black replacing Matt Damon in the Bourne franchise? Thankfully, no, however The Hollywood Reporter tells us the funnyman has teamed back up with Kung Fu Panda writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger for a live-action comedic take on The Bourne Identity. In the film, Black will play some dude who washes up on the shores of Cuba with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Of course, he automatically believes he's a superspy (thanks Hollywood!), though nothing could be further from the truth. Sounds like a funny premise -- but is Black the right one for the role?

Meanwhile, Sky High's plant-loving sidekick, Danielle Panabaker, is going back to school. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she'll star in Chuck Russell's upcoming sci-fi action film called Prodigy. Based on Dave Kalstein's book, the film focuses on an elite prep school that takes teaching to the extreme -- they make students into geniuses with a "drug-and-diet regimen." Panabaker will play the smartie daughter of a senator who questions the powers that be. This might be particularly bad for those powers since, as Publisher's Weekly describes it, the conditioning makes these kids "ninja-assassin geniuses."

Last but not least, there's the talented Michael Sheen. Putting aside retro politics and The Music Within, Variety reports that the actor has picked up two new gigs. First, there's Sam Jackson's Unthinkable, which dips into the ethics of torture and terrorism, and then comes a little Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, there's zip-all on who he's playing in these films. At least that leaves us free to speculate -- who on Earth will Sheen be in the world of Mad Hatters and White Rabbits?! Not Tweedledee and Tweedledum -- that's Matt Lucas, it seems.

Remember how for the longest time whenever anyone talked about Samuel L. Jackson it was usually followed by the description of Jackson as one of the hardest working actors in the business? Well, it is not like he didn't earn that reputation -- Jackson currently has one film already headed to theaters and three other films in production. Variety reports that Jackson will add the spy thriller Unthinkable to the pile.

Gregor Jordan (The Informers) has already signed to direct the story of a "major threat to the United States when the locations of three nuclear devices are shrouded in secrecy by a single terrorist. With only two days before they are deployed, a black-ops interrogator and a female FBI agent have to decide how far they will go to find them" -- knowing Jackson's flair for interrogation I can only assume he will play the interrogator in the film.

Jackson is still filming the musical comedy Soul Men with Bernie Mac, so production on Unthinkable won't start until this fall in Minneapolis. But remember, Jackson likes to keep busy, so stay tuned for those Nick Fury updates -- because let's face it, Unthinkable will likely not be the Jackson film everyone is talking about in 2009.

Say what you want about Tarsem Singh, but you can't deny the man has a way with art direction. If you don't believe me, take a look at the trailer over at IGN for Singh's fantasy film, The Fall. Dan Gilroy's story focuses on a young girl in a hospital who befriends an American actor. The tales he tells her to pass the hours begin to bleed into the real world and suddenly everyone around her becomes part of the story. Lee Pace *(Friday Night Lights) stars as the storytelling actor, and Catinca Untaru as his captive audience. The trailer might not explain much about the film, but it now carries the seal of approval from respected directors David Fincher and Spike Jonze in the form of a 'so and so presents'. You never know, maybe it was their combined star power that helped get the film a deal with Roadside Attractions.

Unfortunately for Singh, his film career has been filled with very few ups and plenty of downs. Despite his success with music videos, critical response to his debut film, The Cell, wasn't exactly encouraging. As of late, it hasn't gotten much better for the director, and he was recently replaced by David Slade (30 Days of Night) as director on the thriller Unthinkable. The Fall is proving to be no exception to Singh's track record in Hollywood. The film was completed back in 2006, and only a few people got the chance to actually see it when it premiered at TIFF. Hopefully putting Fincher and Jonze's name on the marketing is going to help draw an audience. The Fall is expected to go into limited release in March.

*Correction: Pace stars in Pushing Daisies

According to Variety, David Slade will now direct Unthinkable, the story of a nuclear bomb in the United States. Tarsem Singh, director of the visually spectacular but dramatically weak 2000 thriller The Cell, was originally attached to direct (we brought you that announcement over a year ago). He has moved on, and no reason is given, but I'm sure it's something along the lines of "creative differences." Peter Woodward (Closing the Ring) penned the script, and Oren Moverman (co-writer of I'm Not There) is now listed as a co-writer.

Unthinkable centers on "investigators who push the limits of interrogation as they seek a suspect's knowledge of an impending nuclear attack on the United States." The film is budgeted at $15 million, so it will likely be a pretty small affair. No casting announcements have been made at this time. Slade made his feature debut with Hard Candy. That sharp, entertaining 2005 thriller starred a pre-Juno Ellen Page as a young girl who turns the tables on a pedophile. He followed that with 30 Days of Night -- last year's vampire flick that was chock full of beautiful camerawork...but not much else. Slade is definitely a director to watch though, and I'm excited to see what he'll bring to this project. Miss this one? Unthinkable! Damn, I'm good.

Considering what a fruitcake of a movie The Cell was, it is a bit of a surprise that Tarsem Singh is still directing feature films. The Indian-born director got his start in music videos and commercials, but he is probably best remembered for his video for REM's Losing My Religion. His debut film might have been visually stunning, but that was unfortunately all it had going for it. Singh's second film The Fall was on a much smaller scale than The Cell, but it did get some positive reviews when it screened at the Toronto Film Festival.

Variety has announced that Tarsem Singh has been signed to direct the political thriller Unthinkable for Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. The plot is being kept under wraps with the only detail being provided was that the film would be set in contemporary America. While, it is not exactly the most illuminating information, it helps to remember that when it comes to Tarsem Singh's films, plot isn't always foremost in his mind. Peter Woodward is overseeing a re-write of the original script, and SKE hopes to start production later this year. This movie sounds like a bit of stretch for the director, who is known for surreal and fantastic imagery. If it works, it should be one trippy political flick.

[via Empire Online]