We missed some stories this past week.  We’re sorry.  But we did not forget them.  We never forget.  We’re like elephants and people who hold grudges.  With that in mind, here are some stories that are a little late but they’re still great.  You can enjoy them all after the jump.

Terrence Malick’s upcoming film, “Tree of Life” was tentatively schedule for December 25^th of this year but Malick probably woke up in a cold sweat at the thought of releasing a film and tarnishing his rep of making sure they take a few decades to make.  It’s taken 30 years to do “Tree of Life” and since everyone likes to keep a streak alive, Malick’s decided you won’t be getting this movie for Christmas.  However, he does have plenty of coal lumps if anyone’s interested.  Hit the jump for when you might see “Tree of Life” in your lifetime.

This past June we learned that Sean Penn was dropping out of “The Three Stooges” and “Cartel” to spend more time with his family.  Today we’ve learned that Josh Brolin will take his place for “Cartel.”  I like Penn a lot, but I’m now far more interested in this since Brolin has been doing great work these past couple of years and at this point I’m more excited about a Brolin performance than a Penn performance.   To learn more about “Cartel” and Brolin’s role, hit the jump

I like Sean Penn, I really do.  He’s an intense and indisputably fantastic actor (we’ll forget the misfires like “I Am Sam” and “All the King’s Men”).  And while it was a bit of a bummer to see him drop out of playing Larry in The Farrelly Brothers’ adaptation of “The Three Stooges”, I think they’ve gone up a step in their replacement casting of Paul Giamatti.  Hit the jump to learn more and find out about the continuing saga of finding a new Curly.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sean Penn is taking a year-long break from acting to focus on his family.  I’m sure his family couldn’t be more thrilled that the intense actor wants to spend more time at home where, if he starts to feel low on energy, can turn on Fox News and fill his Rage Tanks.

In all seriousness, this is presumably nice news for the Penn family, but it’s bad news for the folks behind two of Penn’s upcoming films: the Farrelly Brothers adaptation of the “Three Stooges” and Asger Leth’s crime thriller, “Cartel”.

“Three Stooges” which co-stars Jim Carrey and Benecio Del Toro was scheduled to start shooting this August with a planned release date in 2010.  Now the question becomes whether or not the Farrellys, Carrey, and Del Toro can wait a year for Penn or if Penn would even be interested in doing the project a year from now or if they’ll just move to recast the role ASAP.  I’m betting it’s option “C”.  With such out-there choices as Penn, Carrey, and Del Toro as Larry, Curly, and Moe, respectively, I can’t wait to hear who the Farrellys would get to replace Penn.  May I suggest Clive Owen?  How about Daniel Day Lewis?  Hold on while I pull more names out of this hat I keep by my desk.

“Cartel” has already resolved to move forward and recast the role.  I hope they also re-title the film, “Cartel or How Sean Penn Is a Totally Replaceable Fuck and We Hate Him”.  They may have a little trouble getting that title past the MPAA.

But in sad news for conservatives who hate Penn because he’s all liberal and from Hollywood and stuff, he’s not vanishing from multiplexes any time soon.  He’s already wrapped Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” with Brad Pitt and Doug Liman’s adaptation of Valerie Plame’s political memoir, “Fair Game” with Naomi Watts.

At today’s press junket for Jennifer Lynch’s new movie “Surveillance”, I was able to ask Pell James some questions about another of her upcoming projects, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”. While most directors and movie studios are happy to tell you about an upcoming film, anything involving Terrence Malick is always a mystery, until you see the finished project.

According to Wikipedia, the film stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn and it’s a boy’s journey from the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as a lost soul in the modern world.

Of course, who really knows what it’s about, as there has been talk of dinosaurs in the film. Here’s what special effects guru Mike Fink told Empire a few months back:

“We’re animating dinosaurs, but it’s not Jurassic Park. The attempt is to treat it as if somehow a camera wound up in the middle of these periods when dinosaurs roamed the earth and creatures first started to emerge from the sea onto the land. The first mammals appearing. We’re doing a number of creatures all seriously scientifically based. I think when it’s finished it’ll be something that’s referred to for years.”

While this sounds like it could get pretty crazy, I’m sure Mr. Malick has a plan. Anyhow, while Pell James didn’t reveal too much, if you’re a fan of Mr. Malick’s, I’m sure you’d like to read what she said. It’s after the jump: