The water surrounding Edge of Darkness was already rather tepid -- I'm going by the comments here on Cinematical, and the dutiful, but unenthusiastic reporting it's attracted. Were it 1996, and Mel Gibson was still everyone's favorite action star, the buzz would be something else.

But now, the rumors might really start flying. Variety reports that Robert DeNiro has abruptly left the production, which has been shooting since August 18th, though this was his first week on set. The only word came from his spokesperson, and it was good and curt. "Sometimes things don't work out; it's called creative differences." The Boston Herald has a little gossipy tidbit about DeNiro shooting a golf scene, which hardly seems big enough to have led to such unworkable tension. Was it the delay caused by excavating the sand pit? (I'm being sarcastic, of course, because I hate not knowing the truth behind a dry label like "creative differences.") We can speculate all day as to why -- is it actually worse than Analyze That, or what?

Shooting will continue, obviously filming around scenes of DeNiro's character as they run around recasting. Frankly, this could work out for the best -- many last minute casting changes do. But this film hardly needs the hint of scandal, not when the beleaguered Gibson is involved.

There's a lot of cinematic power behind Warner Bros. upcoming political thriller Body of Lies: It's directed by Oscar-winner Ridley Scott (Gladiator), it's written by Oscar-winner William Monahan (The Departed), and it stars reliable talents / big-time movie stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Based on the novel by David Ignatius, Body of Lies tells the story of a journalist who is enlisted by the CIA to help track down a suspected terrorist. That's only the sketchiest of plot synopses, but since I haven't read the book, I'd like to enjoy Body of Lies without knowing the whole story.

And we're very pleased to bring you the very first look at the official one-sheet for Body of Lies. (It's behind the jump!) The film hits theaters on October 10 -- and since it's a Ridley Scott film, you just know I'll be there opening night. If it's half as good as Mr. Scott's last "action" film (the stellar Black Hawk Down), then I'll be a happy guy. (Click here for the poster!)

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!

Realistic spy fiction is hard. On screen, it's almost never done. The tendency to romanticize espionage is so ingrained in us through decades of James Bond and Bourne and 24 that a warts-and-all depiction of the way intelligence agencies actually operate might not even make sense to much of the moviegoing public. Occasionally, someone will make a minor, based-on-a-true-story attempt – The Good Shepherd with the CIA, for example, or Breach with the FBI – but those are viewed as history lessons, not spy thrillers.

That makes sense. The CIA doesn't exactly have an open-door policy, so it's hard to say for sure, but by all accounts the work of a real-life agent isn't terribly dramatic, or ripe for genre film treatment. Much of it is a bureaucratic nightmare, and the jobs that we view as exotic and exciting – "secret agent," for example – are usually a tedious slog, consisting of years of building connections and forging allies in the hopes of a payoff in the indefinite future. Yeah: all else equal, I'd rather watch Jason Bourne kick some bad guys in the face while searching for his true identity.

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.

No, Leonardo DiCaprio isn't joining a sequel of that crappy Codename flick. He is, however, looking to star in a Korean thriller remake -- but it won't be in the vein of those many supernatural thriller re-dos. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that right after Warner Brothers picked up the remake rights to The Chaser for mid-six figures, Leo started looking at the lead, presumably because The Departed helmer William Monahan is in talks to direct.

Should he sign on, Leo will play an "ex-cop who goes on the warpath trying to find a missing girl. The girl, who may or may not be alive, is being used by a serial killer to taunt the police." That whole "may or may not" thing, mixed with taunting, is filling my head with visions of kid digits and horror, but hopefully the taunting is just with some carefully-lettered ransoms or "nyah nyah" taunts.

Not surprisingly, the original is a hit in Korea, which sparked the attention of many, including Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee and Doug Davison, who, I quote: "specialize in bringing Asian fare to American audiences." Just as I imagine Michael Clayton gets sick of clean-ups, you gotta wonder how tiring it is to have your whole job revolve around redoing films. They must hate rants about remakes.

Well, it's official. The Writers Guild of America is going on strike tomorrow. Here's hoping the strike ends quickly and that all parties come away happy. And writers? Use this time off to study my choices for the seven best screenplays of the 2000's:

The 40 Year Old Virgin by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell

The blending of improvisation and the written word gives Apatow's two classic comedies -- Knocked Up would be the other -- a feeling of authenticity that is all too rare in today's film world. Apatow takes the strategy of writing for specific performers and their strengths, and it really pays off. Scoff if you want at a sex comedy making the list, but for a movie to be this incredibly funny -- while keeping an oddly touching romance and a spot-on character study afloat -- the screenwriters deserve high praise.

About Schmidt by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

One of the saddest comedies ever made, and one of the most truthful and painful portraits of old age. Payne and Taylor specialize in scripts about people on the verge of cracking, depressed souls who tend to find the smallest redemption possible. Payne/Taylor characters never go from Point A to Point B over the course of the screenplay, they go from Point A to Point A.1. The small, gradual changes in their characters are reflective of the way actual humans (as opposed to movie humans) work. Warren Schmidt's personal growth is so minor that it is confined to the last thirty seconds of the film, but when it comes it's an emotional punch in the gut.

After a hunt with the likes of Warner Brothers, Universal and Working Title, Scott Rudin has nabbed the screen rights to I, Claudius, the historical novel by Robert Graves. According to Variety, this deal has been set for a whopping $2 million. See, the BBC had the rights years ago, and had turned the work into a large, 13-part miniseries back in the seventies. When the rights lapsed, Hollywood began salivating. Rudin has come out the big victor, to produce with Alison Owen (they last teamed up for The Other Boleyn Girl).

Nothing else has been set, but word has it that Disney will probably be the studio for the feature, and Leonardo DiCaprio and screenwriter William Monahan will likely sign on. The novel is about Roman Emperor Claudius, written as his secret memoir. It follows the assassination of Julius Caesar, through to Caligula's -- which should make for a good plate of politics and sauciness (although probably not as shocking as Caligula's infamous trip to starring territory). Will they go the British-as-Romans route? Or Americans as Romans? There's lots of ways this could play out, although I'm positive that with the money that's sure to be invested, it will be pretty epic no matter who ends up on the roster. Nevertheless, who would you cast?

Ridley Scott, who will probably avoid romantic comedy after A Good Year, is busy getting back to the kinds of projects he does best. His highly anticipated American Gangster, with Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, will be released this November. Just last week, Jessica brought you news on his next project, which is now called Penetration. (Sadly, it is not an epic porno). That film will star Leonardo DiCaprio, and is a political drama about a former journalist injured in the Iraq war who is hired by the CIA to track down an Al Qaeda leader. White-hot screenwriter William Monahan, who also wrote Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, is adapting the screenplay from David Ignatius' novel -- Body of Lies. And after that Scott will direct an adaptation of Child 44, British television writer Tom Rob Smith's debut novel.

The thriller is set in Stalinist Russia and the story centers on "an officer in the secret police who is framed by a colleague for treason. On the run with his emotionally estranged wife, he stumbles upon a series of child killings and launches his own rogue investigation, even though it means risking his own capture." Rogue investigations? Emotional estrangement? Child killings? Alright, Ridley, you got me! The novel won't be released until 2008, and is said to leave open the possibility of a sequel. I can't imagine Ridley Scott would approve of the picture I chose to represent him for this article, so let me make it up to him by recommending one of his more underrated movies: White Squall. Great flick, and one not a lot of people have seen.

Contrary to what you may have heard, Sam Neill has officially debunked those "internet rumors" that suggest he will once again return to the land of dinosaurs in the upcoming Jurassic Park IV (aka The Dinosaur Sequel We Could Live Without). The actor, who portrayed Dr. Alan Grant in both Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, claims he hasn't "heard from anyone" about the project and says he currently has two back-to-back films (one in Australia and one in China) lined up. Basically, he's done fighting with dinosaurs ... and I don't blame him.

If Neill is out, then who does director Joe Johnston and producer Steven Spielberg have in mind? After all, at least one actor from the original has appeared in both sequels -- so does that mean Jeff Goldblum will somehow be talked into appearing in the fourth installment, making it so he and Neill rotate sequels? Or will we get an entirely new cast? The good news is that Oscar winner William Monahan (The Departed) penned the script, which means chances are pretty good we'll get a decent story. But, will audiences flock to the theater if none of the original stars are in the flick? No word yet on what the film will be about, but early rumors alluded to it revolving around Lex -- granddaughter of billionaire investor John Hammond -- played by Ariana Richards in the original film.