-Demian Bichir, who played Fidel Castro in “Che,” is set to star as Mexican independence leader Miguel Hidalgo in “Hidalgo-Moliere.” Also starring in the Antonio Serrano (“Sex, Shame And Tears”) pic is Ana de la Reguera, i.e. the impossibly hot nun from “Nacho Libre.” Bichir has also lined up “Lady Scarface” from Ernest Dickerson (“Surviving The Game”), where he’ll play a gang leader who gets romantically involved with a Columbian woman who becomes leader of a South Florida gang. Susanna Grant (“Erin Brockovich”) and Tony Puryear (“Eraser”).
-More “Superman” non-news: “Ninja Assassin” director James McTeigue reiterated his interest in directing a Superman feature, while also noting that the WB are openly disinterested in another installment that would make drastic alterations to the character. McTeigue suggests that WB want to play it safe with the franchise and probably will never stray too far from the core idea (outside, uhhh, giving Superman a child with his girlfriend Lois). In the shadows, the Wachowskis were seen telepathically communicating, “Wise answers, slave.”
– Celebrated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou is busy deciding which of two novels he should adapt for his next film. It’s between “The Love Of The Hawthorn Tree,” which details a mismatched romance during China’s ’66-’76 cultural revolution, and “The 13 Women Of Nanjing,” which tells the story of 13 sex workers servicing the invading Japanese in 1937.
– Over at Cinematical, they’ve made the case against Roger Corman receiving an Oscar, somehow equating an Academy Award with a great artistic achievement, and not the industry-driven pat-on-the-back it really is. And really, what’s wrong with giving Roger Corman, a man who produced 400 films (“Death Race 2000”) and directed 50 (“X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes”), a pat on the back?
–The Observer makes a hastily-thought-out argument for why “Star Trek” should be considered for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. We are against this if only because it gets Tyler Perry closer to the ceremony.
-The U.N. Goodwill Ambassador On Drugs And Crime is in a serious financial situation. Nicolas Cage owes $6.6 million in back taxes and has been forced to sell much of the property he’s accrued over the years, including a couple of castles, because you buy castles when you make movies like “Next.” Now comes word that his $20 million lawsuit against his financial advisor is being matched by a countersuit, where former manager Samuel L. Levin claims Cage wasted his own savings away. Levin claims he told Cage he would have to earn $30 million a year to support his lifestyle, which included lavish parties and costly vacations, while Cage’s attorney Marty Singer complains that it’s a business manager’s job to say no. How you say no to Nicolas Cage saying, “I want to buy a castle in Bavaria” is beyond us (not even joking).
–Anne Thompson claims that the Academy has yet to receive screeners for “The Hurt Locker,” casting doubt on Summit’s planned awards push. David Poland counters, saying the only studios that have sent out screeners so far are Magnolia and Sony Pictures Classics. All of which highlights how pathetic the Oscar voters are for not bothering to see the movies in theaters.