A few days ago it was confirmed that Steven Spielberg was putting The Trial of The Chicago 7 on the back burner to work on Tintin full-time. But despite earlier reports that Paul Greengrass had been chosen to take over, it looks like Chicago 7 is still without a director. According to CHUD, they contacted Greengrass and he confirmed that while he thinks it's a 'wonderful project,' and he had considered it; the timing just wasn't right -- and something tells me that a certain spy flick might have taken priority.

The trial of the so-called 'Chicago 7' (eight, if you want to be a stickler for details) was one of the defining moments of the 60's counterculture movement. During the '68 Democratic convention eight people (including the infamous Abbie Hoffman and Black Panther, Bobby Seale) were arrested for inciting a riot and conspiracy. The trial was recently made famous in the documentary, Chicago 10, and according to earlier reports, Sorkin's script is loosely based on Brett Morgen's animated doc.

Erik brought us some casting news earlier in the year, but it seems like nothing is written in stone when it comes to this movie. Spielberg has packed his slate for the coming year, but if I had to choose from his upcoming projects, I would have loved to see him tackle this story (not to mention getting his hands on an Aaron Sorkin script).

Sound off below on who you would like to see take the reigns for The Chicago 7, that is if it ever gets made...

There are two reasons I find this (as yet unconfirmed) story interesting. One is that I'll soon be writing my review of Brett Morgen's new documentary Chicago 10, which comes out next week. The other is that I've been thinking about the 2009 Oscars (I like to jump ahead), which I presumed would include a number of nominations for Steven Spielberg's next film. For a few months now, we've believed that film would be, like Morgen's, about the trial of the "Chicago 7" and would be fittingly titled The Trial of the Chicago 7. First we heard the director was interested in the script, written by Charlie Wilson's War scribe Aaron Sorkin. Then we got that crazy news that Sacha Baron Cohen would play Abbie Hoffman. Finally we heard more people, specifically Colin Hanks, Jeff Daniels and Philip Seymour Hoffman, were joining the cast. However, now we have word from Collider that Spielberg "has decided to move on and will not be making the movie."

Note: It has since come out that the film has been delayed, not completely dumped.

While Steven Spielberg's name gets tossed around with regards to several different projects (most recently Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), it appears the director is moving full steam ahead on The Trial of the Chicago 7. CHUD tells us that, according to their inside scoopers, both Colin Hanks and Jeff Daniels are now being considered for roles. If brought on, Daniels would play "Dave Dellinger, one of the oldest defendants in the case." Hanks "would be Rennie Davis, an SDS activist who was interested in political change rather than wholesale social change." Another interesting tidbit is that Sacha Baron Cohen (who we thought had accepted the role of Abbie Hoffman) has not officially joined this cast yet. CHUD doesn't know why the actor is not on board (they speculate that it might have to do with scheduling or money issues), but they do know that his is not a done deal.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be based on the very real trial of seven defendants who were charged with conspiracy and inciting to riot during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Lots of names have been floating around this project as of late; not long ago Vanity Fair interviewed Spielberg and noticed several headshots on his desk of actors they're considering for Chicago 7. Among them were Phillip Seymour Hoffman (for William Kunstler, the attorney who defended the 7), as well as Will Smith, Taye Diggs, Adam Arkin and Kevin Spacey. Aaron Sorkin wrote the script, which may or may not be somewhat based on the recent documentary, Chicago 10, and most expect this to be Spielberg's next film after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.