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Near the end of last week, Defamer spread the rumor that Picturehouse, once the indie arm of New Line Cinema and currently dangling from the edge of the hulking entity known as Warner Bros., has its days numbered. Now that New Line is history and Warners, like many studios, has faced increasing cutbacks, it may give short shrift to the shingles responsible for handling artier fare. Along with Picturehouse, this also includes Warner Independent Pictures, whose recent release slate includes David Gordon Green's magnificent Snow Angels.

Defamer suggested that Picturehouse president Bob Berney might wind up at WIP or head up a new, currently anonymous company. On Friday, Variety's Anne Thompson put it in more coherent terms: It appears quite likely that WIP and Picturehouse will merge together as a single company, with current WIP president Polly Cohen working alongside Berney. Whatever happens, let's just hope that the final result still leaves room for the sharp selection of independent and foreign titles that Picturehouse has handled since its birth three years ago. Defamer points out that Marion Cotillard's unexpected Oscar win for La Vie en Rose matters less than the flop of Run, Fatboy, Run, while the John Simpson-directed horror film Amusement might get dumped on DVD. It was just last year, however, that the company helped edgy fare like The Orphanage and Rocket Science get the sort of release most studios would never try. Let's hope that bravery lives on, somewhere.

Welcome back to another installment of Insert Caption -- recently hailed as the number one most addictive online game by the staff at Cinematical and Moviefone. Last week, we asked you to cuddle up next to James McAvoy and Keira Knightley (which one do you think hogs the bed?) and give us your best captions for a photo from Atonement. There was a DVD and two pretty awesome beach cruisers at stake for one lucky winner. Congrats to Shane M. for blaming the whole thing on a little girl with a big mouth (I guess it's better than blaming it on a little guy with big muscles).

1. "I think we should blame it on Briony. What could she possibly do to get back at us?" -- Shane M.

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And speaking of little guys and big muscles, this week we're taking a look at a photo from the very funny Run, Fat Boy, Run (which hits theaters on March 28), starring the always-reliable Simon Pegg as a guy who takes on some serious training in order to win back the girl he let get away. And if that doesn't look exactly like me when I'm at the gym -- wow, it's like staring into a wimpy mirror. Maybe I should shut up now. Anyway, winners of our three favorite captions will run, not walk, away with one Run, Fat Boy, Run poster, one sports bottle, one sweat band, one pair of running shorts and one Nike jacket. C'mon, it's officially Spring -- time to climb out of that cave and get into shape! Sound off below fitness freaks.

Read the official rules for this contest

He's battled creepy aliens. He's fought The Mist. Now that his second foray into the world of Stephen King is over, Thomas Jane is getting some less freaky action. According to Variety, he's signed on to star in John McTiernan's new flick for Arclight Films called Run. This won't be a Die Hard sort of film contained in small spaces. At least, not completely in small spaces. Instead, it sounds like Die Hard meets The Fast and the Furious.

Jane seems to be replacing Karl Urban, who originally signed on to the project back in 2007, and is not mentioned at all in this latest bit of news. To be shot on location in Argentina, the action flick will focus on "an American Interpol agent happening upon a conspiracy during a thrills-and-spills high-speed pursuit across the country." Now, you might remember that this cross-country car chase (at speeds over 120mph) is the one that has a 51-minute chase scene, so it sounds like the flick will get maybe a bit of an intro and something to wrap it up, with the chase plunked down in the middle. This is the guy who brought us John McClane, so I can't be totally pessimistic, but McTiernan better be on his game if he wants this to work.

Exorbitantly long chase scenes need good cars, and the cast are going to get some sweet rides. According to Arclight head Gary Hamilton: "This is an unrelenting action-thriller in true McTiernan style, creating acrobatic mayhem in exotic locales. BMW has come onboard to provide the cars, and Roush Performance is designing a Super Mustang for the film, setting up what will be a spectacular vehicle stunt-action chase movie." So, the question becomes who will win: the BMW guys or the Mustang guys?

It's been five years for John McTiernan, but it looks like the Die Hard director has finally decided to jump back in the ring for a few more rounds. We recently told you how the guy had signed on to helm the action-heavy Run (a film that, apparently, sports "100 pages of car chases"), and now the Hollywood Reporter tells us McTiernan won't stop there. Nope, he's just been tapped to helm the Las Vegas action thriller High Stakes for Persistant Pictures and Velvet Octopus. Hmm, should we expect 100 pages of card chases then (zing!)?

Written by Ronnie Christensen, story is set in Vegas and revolves around two friends who find themselves up sh*ts creek without a paddle when they realize that they've become the living collateral of a high-stakes bet. I'm not sure whether they're the ones who made the bet without collateral (making it so their lives are in danger once it's revealed they can't pay up), or if someone is actually using them as collateral. That would be odd. "What are you using for collateral?" "Oh, I have this guy Steve and his friend Chuck. Yeah, if I lose and can't pay, just take them." With Matt Rhodes producing, pic is scheduled to head into production this fall. McTiernan's last two big-screen efforts (Basic, Rollerball) barely made a dent in my memory, but I'm a big fan of some of his other flicks (especially the two Die Hard films, Predator and, yes, even Last Action Hero). He'll have a couple shots to prove he's still got it, or else I have a feeling his next leave of absence might be a tad longer than five years.

At his best he gives us Predator, Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October. At his worst ... Medicine Man, Last Action Hero and Rollerball. Such is the up and down career of action specialist John McTiernan. (Plus he seems to be having some non-Hollywood problems as well.) According to Variety, the director's next film is called Run, which will star Karl Urban as "an Interpol agent who, while pursuing a murder suspect, uncovers a fraud conspiracy." (Action fans know Mr. Urban from The Two Towers, Doom, The Chronicles of Riddick and The Bourne Supremacy.)

Despite his recent track record (ugh, Pathfinder), Urban will anchor the $30 million production. We're told that the screenplay has "100 pages of car chases," but nobody mentions who actually wrote the thing. And wow! 100 pages of car chases! That's almost as exciting as that movie that promises a 51-minute chase scene! Hell, why not just hire Jeff Gordon to race across the highway for 93 minutes? Who needs plot, characterization or conflict when you have ... cars going real fast!? Plus ... did I miss something? Why would a movie called RUN have an hour-long CAR chase? Oh I'm so confused.

Unfortunately for Patrick Dempsey fans, McTiernan's new project is not a remake of this classic thriller.

Not for nothing, but Patrick Dempsey has had one odd career and, funnily enough, his heartthrob status has officially come full circle. He began as a teenage heartthrob in films like Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy. After a somewhat failed attempt at dramatic action in Run and Mobsters, Dempsey found himself lost in a series of random TV gigs -- all of which could be summed up by using the title of a 1997 TV show he starred in called Odd Jobs. However, a new decade brought forth a career revival for Dempsey, which began with a role in Scream 3 and continued with small stints on the shows Will & Grace and The Practice. Now, the ex-teenage heartthrob is thriving in the best role of his career -- Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka Dr. McDreamy) on Grey's Anatomy. Twenty years later, the heartthrob is back.

Now, a slew of new doors are opening for Dempsey -- he's currently starring opposite Hilary Swank in Freedom Writers, as well as alongside Amy Adams and Susan Sarandon in Enchanted. And, Variety tells us the dude has just landed the lead role in Columbia Pictures' Made of Honor, a romantic comedy that will find Dempsey playing a guy who's asked by his dream girl to be her maid of honor. In what sounds a little bit like My Best Friend's Wedding, Dempsey's character feels the only way to win her over is to accept the invitation to join her wedding. Personally, I've always been a big fan of Dempsey (I remember sneaking downstairs as a kid to watch Can't Buy Me Love, afraid my parents would be upset I was watching a flick that contained adult content), and wish him all the best.