The Random - Roadkill, Alien remake, Paul, Wichita, Castlevania, Tomb Raider, Al Pacino as Dr Death, Barney's Version, The Breed

- John Stockwell has signed to direct the action comedy Roadkill, written by Nick Ball and John Niven. Bill Perkins is producing and financing the indie via his Lleju Prods."Roadkill" revolves around two amateur private detectives who take on more than they anticipated when they agree to protect a high-end escort being pursued by a female assassin. While on the run, they discover what could be a government conspiracy.

- According to Bloody-Disgusting, Fox is developing a new origin story for the 1979 sci-fi classic, Alien. The site had originally reported that the project was going to be a straight-up remake of the film, but shortly thereafter the story was updated with information that another source indicated the new project was going to be an origin story and not a remake.The site was reporting that Michael Costigan, Tony Scott and his brother Ridley Scott, who directed the 1979 film, are all attached to produce, with Carl Rinsch set to direct.

- Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch are joining the cast of Paul. Starring in the Paul are Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) and Nick Frost. The film will be directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad). The script, which was written by Frost and Pegg, follows two sci-fi lovers who find their "conspiracy dreams" coming to fruition when they visit an escaped alien at Area 51. Seth Rogen will be voicing the alien.

- According to Variety, Tom Cruise will most likely do the 20th Century Fox action comedy Wichita as his next film. He will star with Cameron Diaz in this movie that will be directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line). Fox hopes to release the film in the summer of 2010. Mangold is presently rewriting the screenplay with Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island). The story follows a secret agent (Cruise) who finds himself coming into and out of the life of a single woman.

The long-gestating film adaptation of the Castlevania video game is not happening says Bloody Disgusting. Paul W.S. Anderson and Ian Jeffers were writing the adaptation that originally had Sylvain White attached to direct. While the film had been out to other directors in recent months, the project has now officially been shelved for now.

Producer Dan Lin talked briefly about the upcoming reboot of the Tomb Raider film franchise to About.com "It's a great origin story that we're going to tell. A very character-oriented story. I would say more realistic than the past Lara Croft movies...I would say it's like Terminator - character-driven action. I think for me the Lara Croft games and movies have gone a little too action-oriented. I wanted to have action, but with character" says Lin.
So they are going back to the beginning like "Batman Begins" or "Casino Royale" in order to try and re-establish the brand. Rumour has it Megan Fox was up for the role of Lara Croft.

Al Pacino is in negotiations to star in the Jack Kevorkian biopic "You Don't Know Jack" says The Hollywood Reporter. Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, assisted in more than 150 cases of suicide and had beaten the state court system in Michigan numerous times, but was finally convicted after he willingly sent a videotape of himself euthanizing a terminally ill man to "60 Minutes." He was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 and is serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison in Michigan. The film will trace his rise as he builds his infamous "Mercy Machine," conducts his first assisted suicide, and starts a media frenzy with his epic legal battles defending a patient's right to die. Barry Levinson is set to direct the film.

Dustin Hoffman will star alongside Paul Giamatti in the indie drama Barney's Version reports Variety. Hoffman will play a retired cop and father of the story's title character -- who has led a reckless life highlighted by three marriages, two children and status as a "person of interest" in the mysterious disappearance of his friend.

Arrow in the Head have the news that Jean Claude Van Damme is joining a horror film called The Breed. Van Damme said that "it's set in a village where strange things happen," but he wouldn't say anymore, "you know, let the movie speak for itself!"

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