First there was a rumor -- ironically, spawned on Facebook -- that Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield had joined the cast of the Aaron Sorkin-penned, David Fincher-directed "The Social Network." They were to play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Internet entrepreneur Sean Parker and FB co-founder Eduardo Saverin, respectively.

Then, MTV's Eric Ditzian spoke with Eisenberg at the "Zombieland" junket and got a pretty clear non-denial denial from the young actor.

See how he casts his eyes around? It's sort of like he's trying to hide something, isn't it? Well apparently, he was! Read more...

George Clooney has quite the busy year ahead of him. He stars in Up in the Air" and "Men Who Stare At Goats," two TIFF darlings which both hit theaters in a matter of weeks. Then there's the upcoming Wes Anderson stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" -- another Toronto fave -- which the actor lends his voice to. Clooney also produced the just-released, Steven Soderbergh-directed "The Informant!," starring Matt Damon.

The star's 2010 is also shaping up, with a lead and a producer's credit for the action/thriller adaptation of Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman." We can add one more to the list now. News emerged over the weekend Clooney is getting back together with his old "Ocean's co-star Damon, and they're bringing Emmy-winning "West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin along for the ride. Read more...

Who will ultimately step into the flip-flops of billionaire Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg for "The Social Network," the David Fincher-directed, Aaron Sorkin-scripted biopic about the company's founding? There've been a number of names floating around the Web – most prominently "Adventureland" star Jesse Eisenberg – but as late as July, when I spoke with "Network" producer Kevin Spacey, no actor had so much as read for the role (or so the Oscar-winner assured me).

On Wednesday, while Eisenberg was promoting his action-comedy "Zombieland," I asked the 25-year-old actor if there was any truth to the rumors.

"They are rumors," he replied. "That is true." Read more...

-- Ian McKellen told attendees at an all-night "Lord of the Rings" screening that an actor has been selected to play Bilbo in "The Hobbit." There are no further details than that, though McKellen also mentioned that he'll be getting the script "within the next week." This falls very deeply into the rumor territory for now, though I have little doubt that a script exists or that there's a Bilbo short list. Especially since "Hobbit" director Guillermo del Toro told us as much in an interview. (TheOneRing.net)

-- The word is the "Fight Club" and "Zodiac" director David Fincher is all set to direct the Aaron Sorkin-penned "The Social Network," also known as "the Facebook movie" in some circles. As you might expect, the story follows the rise of the beast that we call Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Sorkin and Fincher make for odd bedfellows; I'll definitely see this one. (End of Show, via /Film) Read more...

It's a political drama match made in heaven. According to Variety, Aaron Sorkin and George Clooney are hooking up at Warner Bros. for "The Challenge" which will be penned by Sorkin, and produced by Clooney's Smoke House shingle. In fact, he may pull a hat trick and not only star in the film, but direct it too.

Based on Jonathan Mahler's book, the film will recount the true story of Navy lawyer Charles Swift and Georgetown University law professor Neal Katyal, and their efforts to ensure that Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's driver, received a fair trial. Hamdan was captured in 2001 in Afghanistan while transporting two missiles, and was held at Guantanamo Bay for five years. He was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 5 1/2 years, but was cleared of the terrorism conspiracy charges. Read more...

As the fireworks figuratively and literally went off at the conclusion of Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver last night, a few observers were reminded of another powerful political speech some 13 years earlier — that of President Andrew Shepherd.

Shepherd of course ran in a hotly contested re-election campaign against Senator Bob Rumson when the whole Sydney Ellen Wade controversy was raging. Confused? Don't be. The rousing speech by Shepherd came not on a convention dais but a Hollywood soundstage. The film was "The American President" and the words were delivered passionately by Michael Douglas (and written by acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin).
Read more...