You'll have to dip a bit back into the memory banks for this project. Back in 2007, well before Jake Gyllenhaal got buff for the Prince of Persia, he and Tobey Maguire were circling an English-language remake of Susanne Bier's Brothers. No longer rivals for the web of Spider-Man, the two would play brothers that get torn apart by war, assumed death, and familial drama. The film will finally get released this year, and there's a solid first trailer over at ET Online.

Maguire plays Sam, a marine off on his fourth tour of duty while Gyllenhaal plays Tommy, his charming bad-boy brother, fresh out of jail. When Sam's copter is shot down, he's assumed dead and his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) tries to pull her life back together. Tommy helps, the line blurs, and in true Hollywood fashion, just as she starts to fall for Tommy ... it turns out Sam is alive. He was tortured by the Taliban, but now returns home visibly on edge both from his experiences and Tommy's inclusion in his family's life.

Talk about a welcome change. The film looks good. It's been long enough since the seemingly daily influx of war films that the premise doesn't seem tired, and it's almost jarring to see Maguire getting serious again -- in a gaunt and crazy Machinist sort of way. Since the first Spider-Man came out, the only non-webbed wonder movies to get released were Seabiscuit and The Good German. It's about time Maguire showed off more non-Peter Parker fare. As for Jake, well, he doesn't really look like a bad boy and brings to mind Marc Blucas in Prey for Rock & Roll, but that's not entirely surprising.

The film is slated to hit screens on December 4.

Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal are giving onscreen love another go in Love and Other Drugs, an adaptation of pharmaceutical sales rep Jamie Reidy's insider-y book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Reidy worked at Pfizer during the '90s, and according to him, everything you thought was true about those creepy folks pushing samples and pens to your doctors is true. Show me the Viagra! No wait, don't.

Gyllenhaal will play the Pfizer-pusher who meets Anna Hathaway's character during one of his sales calls. She has Parkinson's disease, so it's safe to assume that Reidy will have some sort of epiphany about the shadiness of the industry that pays him (and pays him very well) and throw it all to the wind for the woman he loves. Last time Hathaway and Gyllenhaal were together onscreen was in Brokeback Mountain, so let's hope things end a little happier this time around, eh?

Charles Randolph (The Interpreter, The Life of David Gale) adapted Reidy's book for the big screen, and Ed Zwick (Defiance, Blood Diamond) is directing. Hathaway has two movies in the queue: Tim Burton's hopefully awesome Alice in Wonderland in 2010 and Gary Marshall's Valentine's Day, which is currently in pre-production. Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal has been equally busy wrapping up David O. Russell's Nailed, Jim Sheridan's Brothers, and Mike Newell's video game abs-fest Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

[via Empire]

I have a weird relationship with musicals -- and unfortunately I don't always have the best taste. For example, I can sing every song from Xanadu, but I don't think I've ever made it through an entire viewing of Meet Me in St. Louis (musical heresy, I know). But, one classic musical I have always loved is Damn Yankees, so the announcement of an updated version has me a little nervous -- throw in two untried singers and dancers and we just might be reaching panic. Variety reports that Jim Carrey (the man famous for talking out of his butt ... literally) has signed to star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in an update of the 1958 musical.

Yankees was the story of Joe Boyd, a loveable loser who is so dedicated to his team, he makes a deal with the devil, and boy, does the devil deliver. Boyd is soon transformed into a star slugger by the name of Joe Hardy, who can help the team win the world series, but only in exchange for his soul. Throw in a sexy dame by the name of Lola, fantastic music, and dance routines by Bob Fosse, and you have one of the greatest musicals ever made. Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel have already been tapped to write the script, and according to Variety, Carrey is set to play the devil, with Gyllenhaal as Boyd, but the production has yet to cast the role of Lola.

A Yankees update almost made it into production back in 2004 under Miramax, but after Mr. Weinstein left the building, the rights lapsed and now New Line is the proud owner of the property. So place your bets: what do you think are the chances of either of these guys being musical wunderkinds? Or, are we doomed to another so-so remake of a classic musical?

It came to my attention today that: a) S. Darko is going direct to DVD on April 28th, with the hideous subtitle "A Donnie Darko Tale" and b) Cinematical has not made mention of this. The news is a couple weeks old, but I found (b) unacceptable.

Some films get so much acclaim in so short a time that it becomes sort of unhip to love them. Take American Beauty, for example: I don't think people who adored it when it came out (like me) changed their minds, I think they just sort of burned out on it. Similarly, Donnie Darko's "cult classic" status has been drilled into our heads to such an extent that to place it among one's favorite films seems like a faux pas. Call it overexposure.

But, uh: I love Donnie Darko. I recently got a chance to see the Director's Cut on the big screen: my fourth or fifth viewing of the movie, though the first of the Director's Cut and the first time on film. I do think the longer version gets a bit hung up on the arcane details of "The Philosophy of Time Travel," to its detriment. But even the slightly more self-indulgent cut is extraordinary, a wonderfully sad allegory about the teenage desire to escape -- no, transcend -- the phoniness, banality and evil of the everyday world. (In this sense, it's like a more earnest Catcher in the Rye.) Donnie Darko is also Exhibit A for why the Gyllenhaals are a big deal.

Pictured: Our first look at Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton in Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

The first behind-the-scenes video from the set of Disney's Prince of Persia has made its way online, courtesy of Entertainment Tonight, and in it you'll get to see a glimpse of the sets in London at Pinewood Studios (where they're still shooting for about another couple of weeks), as well as a taste of what was done in Morocco and a quick chat with the Prince himself, Jake Gyllenhaal. But don't let Jake's regular old American accent fool you -- the dude has taken on a whole new accent for Persia, but you'll have to wait a little while longer before we're allowed to share the type of accent it is.

Cinematical was lucky enough to visit the set of Prince of Persia earlier this month, and while we can't really go into details, we have no problem placing a bet now that Persia will go down as the most successful (in terms of quality and box office numbers) video game adaptation of all time. This sucker is a monster, and you have my word that it looks damn good. Much more coming soon -- in the meantime, check out ET's video over here.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits movie theaters on May 28, 2010.

While you suffer through those back to school blues ...

Guitar Hero: The Movie -- I have to start with this one. Have to! Because not only are we talking about a possible big-screen movie based on the popular video game, but we're also about to tell you who wants to direct the thing. Can you guess? Here's a hint: It's not Uwe Boll. And if it's not Boll, it has to be ... Ratner! YES! (I really do think I love this maniac in a totally platonic, yet sadistic way -- sorta how you love a great movie villain.) Anyway, Brett Ratner tells MTV that he'd love to make a Guitar Hero movie, possibly about "a kid from a small town who dreams of being a rock star and he wins the 'Guitar Hero' competition. One of these dreams-[come-true] kind of concepts." Ratner adds, "I would love to do a 'Guitar Hero' movie, if Activision would ever let me. I'm trying to convince them, but why would you have a movie screw up such a huge franchise? Not that I would make a bad movie. So that would be cool, to do a 'Guitar Hero' movie. " I'm leaving this one to you, folks -- have at it!

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: In case you're interested in seeing what a standard Persian-esque set looks like, Korben.info has put up a few select shots (see one above) of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time set. Based on the popular video game (hurray for themes in posts!), Prince of Persia stars Jake "I didn't know he was Persian" Gyllenhaal as a young prince who teams up with a hottie princess (Gemma Arterton) to stop an evil ruler from doing evil things.

A director has been chosen to remake Poltergeist and Cinematical says we likey him ... after the jump ...

It was almost a year ago when news hit that Jake Gyllenhaal was going to the moon with director Doug Liman. Literally, not the Honeymooners way. Focusing on a private expedition to the moon to create a Lunar colony, the project was set for another rewrite in June. But that was all we heard. Now rumors are bubbling about casting, and if true, we could see a clash of the private and public.

Just Jared has posted that In Touch insiders have pegged Abbie Cornish as Jake's co-star in the lunar film -- in other words, Jake's current girlfriend Reese Witherspoon's ex-husband Ryan Phillippe's current girlfriend. Oh, those messy Hollywood lives. The insider states: "This is one of those only-in-Hollywood situations. It could work out as long as Reese doesn't visit Jake on the set."

Whatever the potential drama, this would definitely be an interesting casting move for the feature, which is hoping to hit screens in 2010. Cornish has taken on a number of themes over the last few years, from the times of Queen Elizabeth to being a tough Texan girlfriend, so why not add some moon action to the mix? Thoughts?

Ladies, get ready for Jake "Prince of Persia" Gyllenhaal! Just Jared has nailed the first set photos from the highly-anticipated Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, based on the popular video game in which a Prince does ... stuff ... God does he look hot, or what!? Okay, for realz now -- Jake plays a young Prince named Dastan who must team with a feisty and exotic Princess (Gemma Arterton) and stop an evil ruler from destroying the world. Something tells me this is one film where looks will definitely kill. Check out two more photos below, then the rest over at Just Jared. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will hit theaters on May 28, 2010.



And speaking of guys who look good with their shirt off and shoot movies based on video games, 20th Century Fox has put out a few new promotional pics from Max Payne, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. In the film, based on yet another popular video game, Wahlberg stars as a guy whose family was killed and, well, he's out to kick some ass. Kunis plays a hottie assassin out to avenge the death of her sister. Together, these two are the kind of nuts you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley -- but you'd definitely want to meet in a darkened movie theater. Max Payne hits theaters on October 17. Check out the new pics below.



Keanu and a spaceship after the jump ...