If you're going to return to the big screen after a long break and a big scandal, it probably helps to have the biggest co-star you can grab. It looks like Mel Gibson has done exactly that with his upcoming Edge of Darkness, because according to Variety, Robert De Niro is in talks to join the cast.

Edge is a big-screen remake of the 1985 BBC miniseries, and it centers on Thomas Craven, a Boston detective, whose 24-year-old daughter is murdered on the front steps of their home. Assuming he was the target, Craven begins investigating the murder, only to discover a startling conspiracy that reaches into high levels of government. Robert De Niro will play an operative sent to clean up the evidence, which probably means he'll engage in fisticuffs with Gibson at some point. The movie is set to begin filming this month in Massachusetts, and has a SAG waiver to continue if a strike occurs.

As I've stated before, I'm really looking forward to seeing Gibson acting again, and I love the idea of him pairing up with De Niro. It's a casting combination that I'm surprised hasn't happened before. I just hope the film, and its performances, can be judged on its own merit and not condemned because of Gibson's past behavior. And with that, I ask you to try and remain civil in the comments!

24 is ridiculous, repetitive, and morally suspect -- and I love it with all my heart. I'm a card-carrying liberal, but I've offered to surrender my card if it means that I can jump up and down with glee as Jack Bauer yells "There's no time!" and shoots another terrorist in the kneecap. Close friend of Rush Limbaugh or not, then, co-creator Joel Surnow is one of my favorite people in Hollywood (he left the show earlier this year). And that means I'm excited about this announcement that Surnow and 24 co-producer Michael Loceff are collaborating to write and produce a new "contemporary spy thriller" for United Artists.

Surnow and UA have enlisted Casino Royale's Martin Campbell to direct the movie after he finishes the newly announced Mel Gibson thriller Edge of Darkness. The Hollywood Reporter speculates that this project might constitute an attempt by UA to find a viable franchise for part-owner Tom Cruise, though there's no official word that Cruise is going to star in the film.

The bad news, I guess, is that this probably means it'll be a while before we see that 24 movie that's been rumored for years now. (I still fantasize about it being called 2.) But maybe that's an opportunity for the show to get back into everyone's good graces after an unpopular sixth season and a writer's-strike-related delay of season 7. Meanwhile, as Jack Bauer would say, "tell me where the bomb is or I will kill your son." Wait, what? Never mind.

I am bracing myself for the negative comments on this one. Variety has announced that Mel Gibson is taking the lead role in Edge of Darkness, the big-screen adaptation of the 1985 BBC miniseries.

It will be Gibson's first acting role since Signs and We Were Soldiers in 2002. He will play a straitlaced police officer whose activist daughter is killed. He takes on investigation of the case, and discovers a trail of corruption that led to his daughter's death. Sounds just up Gibson's alley. He's been a fan of the miniseries for years.

It is being directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed the BBC miniseries, and penned by William Monahan, who was the Oscar-winner behind The Departed. Graham King (also an Oscar winner for The Departed) is producing, alongside Michael Wearing (who produced the BBC original). Filming is set to begin in August, on location in Boston. A solid team all around, and I don't think I've ever seen a bad BBC production.

As Scott told you in April, the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds is soaring forward. It no longer looks like the film will start production this year, but it does seem to be a definite "go." The studio claims that the remake will be based less on the classic Hitchcock film and more on the source material -- a Daphne du Maurier short story. Still, I have no doubt some of Hitchcock's classic visuals will re-appear. Naomi Watts has been circling the Tippi Hedren role for a while now, but she is waiting to see the script (which already has four writers listed) before she officially signs on. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the film now has a very likely director -- Martin Campbell. Campbell recently won over a lot of critics with Casino Royale, and if his take on The Birds sticks with the same sleek, stylish, subdued style, it could be something worth watching.

Any mention of this project riles up fans of the original, and Michael Bay is listed as one of the producers, which only upsets purists more. Bay's involvement does suggest birds with mini-bazookas on their beaks, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm looking forward to The Birds 2.0: Bye Bye Birdie. Naomi Watts is one of my favorite actresses, and she's elevated genre material before (see The Ring). I don't have some great personal attachment to the original film -- it wouldn't even land on my list of Hitchcock's top ten. I'm not saying this new film would be an improvement, but it could be a scary, suspenseful good time. Yes, it's tempting to hate on the filmmakers for not being original, but how many bird attack movies do we get to see in the multiplexes? I'm all for another one. The new Birds is currently scheduled to fly into theaters on July 3, 2009. "Fly," get it? Cuz they're birds. Thank you.

Just last week we got news that Martin Campbell was possibly going to direct a movie called Unstoppable for 20th Century Fox. Now there's another report that says Campbell is already attached to helm 36, the remake of Olivier Marchal's 36 Quai des Orfèvres, which we told you about back in January. The original, which stars French superstars Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu, is about two detectives investigating a series of armored car robberies. The remake was set to cast George Clooney and Robert DeNiro (who is still producing through Tribeca Films) in place of Auteuil and Depardieu, but a new rewrite from Richard Price (Clockers) has the detectives' ages lowered, so younger actors will now be required.

According to Variety, Campbell is currently prepping for Unstoppable, so his attachment to 36 won't be conflicting with that film. But unfortunately for many James Bond films, these two projects seem to indicate further that Campbell will not be directing the next 007 feature, despite his acclaim for and success with Casino Royale. One thing I find interesting is that previously 36 was being reported with Marc Forster set to direct. Forster was also rumored to have been offered "Bond 22" last month. If he was to take it, there would have to be a petition from Campbell's fans to call for another switcheroo. Meanwhile, I'll be circulating a petition calling for somebody in America to put out a Region 1 DVD of the original 36.

Hollywood is one of those places where things happen -- movies become big hits, actors become huge stars or directors take on certain projects -- that I sometimes just don't quite understand and can't really explain. Maybe it's because I am, for the most part, not inside the studio system and basically on the outside looking in. One of the things I don't get today and can't quite explain is someone like Martin Campbell not signing up for another go-around as director of the next James Bond film -- at the moment known as Bond 22.

According to Variety, Campbell, whose other directorial efforts include GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro and one of my favorite guilty pleasures, No Escape, will not be taking the reigns of Bond 22 as his next project. Instead, he is in talks to direct the action-thriller Unstoppable for 20th Century Fox and producers Julie Yorn and Mimi Rogers. The film, said to be on the "fast track" at Fox, is scripted by Live Free or Die Hard vet Mark Bomback and tells the story of a train engineer and his conductor in a race against time to stop a runaway train filled with toxic chemicals before it derails and takes out a town. Ok, I guess that sounds better than another Bond film. Although, given that other directors have decided not to do Bond 22, including Roger Mitchell (which I told you about before), perhaps there's something negative about the project that's influencing their decisions?

The producers of the James Bond series have historically taken on very traditional directors -- guys who got the job done solidly, with little innovation or originality. It seems, though, that the huge success of Casino Royale has the producers understanding that shaking (not stirring) up the formula can be a good thing. LatinoReview is reporting a rumor (and it is, at this point, still a rumor) that an offer has gone out to Marc Forster to helm Bond 22. Forster made his name with Monster's Ball, solidified his status as a major player with the entertaining but overrated Finding Neverland, and his last project was the interesting Stranger Than Fiction. According to LR, several major directors have met about the possibility of directing Bond 22, including Tony Scott (Top Gun, True Romance), Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City), and Jonathan Mostow (the excellent Breakdown, T3).

This isn't the first time Forster has been offered a major franchise. He was asked to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but chose to work on Finding Neverland instead. I would imagine taking on a Bond film creates the same concerns in a director that it does in the actor who steps into the tuxedo. You don't want to get pigeonholed. But each of these guys has established himself, and each would bring a completely different take to the material. Considering all the love for Casino Royale, it's a little strange Martin Campbell is not in the running, but I think fresh blood is definitely the way to go. Out of the candidates above, I personally would want to see Tony Scott's take most, just because his trashy pop sensibilities might just be what the often stuffy Bond series needs. And I know it's wishful thinking, but wouldn't you love to see what Spike Jonze, Darren Aronofsky, or Alfonso Cuaron would do with the superspy?

Considering how most of the James Bond news I have come across lately has revolved around cars, it was a welcome change to get some more substantial news about the sequel from Patrick yesterday. Now, USA Today spoke with director Martin Campbell about his involvement in the spy franchise and the Casino Royale DVD release. There is plenty of info about the extras on the DVD, including behind-the-scenes of some of the film's more elaborate action sequences. The real eye-catcher in the interview though is the director's answer to the question about whether he is on board for the upcoming Bond 22. Campbell was quoted as saying. "After GoldenEye, I was asked to do subsequent Bonds, but I declined because it felt as if I'd be repeating myself. But this one is based on a Bond that's more interesting. To be honest, I would just say I'd never say never." Is it just me, or does that quote seem to put former Bond Pierce Brosnan into the less than "interesting" camp?

This seems to be a bit of a switch from what Campbell was saying back in January when he was still claiming that he would not be returning for the sequel. But, it doesn't look like he is going to be giving a straight answer anytime soon. With Bond 22 skedded to be released on November 7, 2008, you'd think a decision will have to come sooner rather than later -- so, until then, I guess I'll just have to keep listening to those fantastic (cheap plug) Cinematical Bondcasts ...

For some guys, the reason to sit through Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers is to see Eva Green naked ... a lot. Well, guys, I hope it is enough, because the actress may never do another nude scene. She told The Guardian that she found the nudity in The Dreamers "troubling" and that she had to refuse to get naked for Casino Royale. Green was asked to disrobe for a scene in which her character, Vesper Lynd, breaks down in the shower. If you've seen the movie, you will probably agree with Green that the scene works better with her clothed.

She states that her parents were against her doing The Dreamers because of how Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris affected Maria Schneider (she entered a mental hospital and alleges the director manipulated her). But Green claims she couldn't say no to working with Bertolucci, and despite her trouble with the nudity she apparently has no ill feelings toward him. Has he turned her off from doing more nudity later, though? She doesn't say. For those guys who want more, there's always the older films starring Green's mom, Marlène Jobert, who looked enough like Green when she was younger.

In the Guardian interview, which was conducted as promotion for Green's BAFTA nomination, the actress also mentioned that it is okay that Daniel Craig's chest is bigger than hers because the way the film was shot, he ended up as more the Bond girl than she. Again, if you've seen the movie, you'll agree with her about the gratuitous shot of Craig coming out of the sea.

Even though his days of playing the super-suave agent 007 in the Bond movies are over, Pierce Brosnan doesn't seem to want to put playing a spy behind him just yet. According to a recent article in the Hollywood Reporter, Brosnan is getting back into the spy game by signing up for the comedy Spy vs. Stu for New Line. Brosnan will also produce the film through his Irish Dream production company with New Line's Richard Brenner and Jeff Katz.

The film, scripted by Keith Mitchell and Allie Dvorin, concerns Stu, a commitment-phobe who brings his girlfriend to an island paradise in order to gain the courage to finally propose to her. Unfortunately for Stu, a handsome, debonair spy, fresh from saving the world (Brosnan), is also on the island and takes a liking to Stu's girlfriend. After that, Stu is forced to compete with the spy for the love of his girlfriend. Maybe its just me or does this plot kinda sound like the movie Mrs. Doubtfire -- a film in which Brosnan also starred as a super-suave guy (named Stu, btw) trying to take another man's woman?