Lee Daniels, the expert director of this year’s likely Oscar-contender Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire , is in advanced negotiations to direct Selma, a piece about the 1965 march in Alabama that marked “the political and emotional peak of the civil rights movement.” Christian Colson of Slumdog Millionaire fame and Pathé U.K. are set to produce.  Hit the jump for more details and my brief thoughts on Precious.

Iron Man 2 and Tropic Thunder writer Justin Theroux is penning a new draft of Space Invaders–not based on the video game. The original spec by Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger is about an astronaut who goes into space to catch his girlfriend in the act of cheating on him with a fellow astronaut. Even better: Will Arnett is attached to star!  Get some of the space madness along with more details about the project after the jump.

Word has come in on good authority that Sam Raimi is starting to cast the villains and supporting cast of Spider-Man 4, and it looks like Rachel McAdams has met with producers to take a hefty role, most likely Felicia “The Black Cat” Hardy. Sources also indicate, but don’t yet confirm, that Black Cat will be the second of two villains, the other likely being Lizard with Dylan Baker reprising the role of Dr. Conners. More on the update after the jump.

This Tuesday, Warner Bros. is releasing the “ultimate cut” of “Watchmen,” a 5-disc box set intended to do the graphic novel justice–something that writer Alan Moore would be (but still isn’t) proud of.  The feature included is an hour longer than the theatrical release, and there are plenty of bonuses to be seen.  Go through it all with me, one disc at a time, after the jump.

Universal Pictures has picked up a spec for the “female ‘Hangover’” as a potential star vehicle for Isla Fisher.  The film, titled “Desperados,” tells the story of a woman who sends an angry email to her new boyfriend after he stops returning her calls only to learn that the reason he turned silent is that he’s in a coma in Mexico.  Now she and a group of friends must race south of the border to intercept the message before he wakes up.  More details after the jump.

2009 has been a tough year for standard-issue romantic comedies.  “The Proposal,” which in any other year would have been a decent entry in a tired genre, really looked simple next to genre-benders “500 Days of Summer” and “Paper Heart.”  The film is decent, for what it is.  People who like the “Sweet Home Alabama”s and “Maid in Manhattan”s of the world will feel right at home with this one.  But those select few should’ve caught the film in theaters; there’s no real reason to buy the DVD.  More after the jump.

When Paramount studios bought the distribution rights to “Paranormal Activity,” it’s hard to say if they knew what they were getting into.  The little indie horror that cost $15,000 to make and only $300,000 to acquire is approaching the $100M mark in domestic sales, actually giving it a run for the single most profitable feature of Paramount history.  So I feel like I can personally visualize the reaction in the boardroom when the brass got together and someone threw out the idea for a sequel: a resounding “DUH!” Of course they’re (maybe) making a sequel! Check the details and why Paramount may have an uphill battle after the jump.

Adam Shankman, who directed the movie musical version of John Waters’ “Hairspray,” is returning to the genre with “Rock of Ages,” a rock-themed 80s love story set to the tunes of Journey, Twisted Sister, Joan Jett, Bon Jovi, and Pat Benatar, among others.  More on the project after the jump.

A new featurette, which is really more of a behind-the-scenes montage, has been released for Rob Marshall’s movie musical “Nine,” based on Frederico Fellini’s “8 1/2.”  The musical follows famed fictional director Guido Contini (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) and the various people–wife, mistress, agent, etc–in his life.  Between this featurette and the film’s trailer, I’d say “Nine” is looking sharp. My favorite movie musical of all time is Marshall’s “Chicago,” which really got it right, so I’m jazzed, if you will, to see him returning to the genre…and we can just overlook “Memoirs of a Geisha.” In addition to Day-Lewis, the cast includes Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, and the incomparable Judi Dench, so there’s something in there for everyone. Watch the featurette after the jump.

Yahoo! Movies just ran a new featurette called “Behind the Scenes: Perfect Partnership” for Disney’s animated “A Christmas Carol.”  The Charles Dickens adaptation/remake is the latest film in Robert Zemeckis’ CG stint, following “The Polar Express” and “Beowulf.”  Those last two unsettled audiences by residing pretty safely in some “uncanny valley” territory, but he seems to be avoiding it this time by going a little less realistic.  Consequently, if you ask me, the aesthetics of this new one seem a little too like a video game.  Check out the featurette, with some stellar footage and select quotes from Robert Zemeckis and star Jim Carey, after the jump.

Does anyone else think it ironic that Working Title won the bidding war on a feature that is, in essence, working on its title? According to Variety, the company threw down a high six figures to beat out Original Film and New Regency, clinching the rights to a star vehicle that will be written by Allan Loeb and starring Ryan Reynolds…in drag. The of-yet-unnamed project will feature Reynolds dressing as a woman to become BFFs with his ex and win her back. More on the project after the jump.

In 2007, two artists who were hot in the California scene committed suicide, one after the other, following fits of paranoia the two suffered, fearing the government and religious organizations were conspiring against them. Theresa Duncan, a video game designer for girls, killed herself in her bedroom. Jeremy Blake, a popular “digital painter,” found her there and ended his life by walking into the ocean a week later. And Nancy Jo Sales wrote an article for “Vanity Fair” about it. Now, two years later, perhaps the worst combination of writers imaginable are teaming up to pen the film. Find out more about the project, and why Gus Van Sant and Bret Easton Ellis spell disaster, after the jump.

Tommy Lee Jones is in talks to co-star and direct the adaptation of Michael Connelly’s novel “The Lincoln Lawyer,” about a Los Angeles lawyer who sets up shop in the back of his Lincoln. McConaughey will play Mickey Haller the hotshot lawyer, and though Jones’s role is unknown as of now, he looks to be playing the Beverly Hills playboy Haller must defend for murder. More on the project after the jump.

Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer of HBO’s hit show “True Blood” can’t seem to get enough of one another.  They sink their teeth into one another, among other things, on their hit TV show.  They’re also engaged to be married…in the real world.  And now they’re set to star in “Open House,” a horror thriller about a house hunter who overstays his welcome.  More details on the project after the jump.

Dreamworks has released the poster for Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones,” based on the novel by Alice Sebold about a girl who watches her family cope with her death from the afterlife once she’s raped and murdered by a serial killer who’s gearing up to strike again. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know that this film is going to be visually stunning. Peter Jackson’s rendition of “the in-between”–a Heaven-like limbo–is rich with color and spectacle, which is enough to get me in the theater at least. Not to mention, I’m interested to see Jackson do something that’s not a gore-fest horror or epic fantasy. Check out the poster after the jump.

If anyone knows how to keep a franchise going, it’s National Lampoon. Just take a look at how many”Van Wilder” movies have been made, even after Ryan Reynolds jumped ship. Well, it looks like one of their classics is on the way back, but this time without their hands at the wheel. In an as-of-yet unnamed “Vacation” sequel, Clark Griswold’s son Rusty is all grown up and has a family of his own–one that he can drag on another trip of slapstick and misadventure. More on the project after the jump.