The second film on his desk blotter is Rush, a Formula One racing drama written by Peter Morgan. The story follows the near-deadly 1976 season of driver Niki Lauda. The screenplay also details Lauda’s rivalry with driver James Hunt, both on and off the track. It also deals with the 1976 German Grand Prix where Lauda spun out of control and burst into flames, causing him to nearly burn to death and lose his right ear. But that didn’t stop him from pulling himself out of bed to face Hunt in several more races. Which he lost. So, yeah, that’s kind of a bummer ending. Maybe they should tell the tale backwards, Memento style.

And finally, the third film Greengrass is considering is a secret. So we’d better not catch you snooping around in Mom and Dad’s closet. You’ll ruin the surprise. (Vulture)

It’s also possible that Greengrass could go in a different direction with Here There Be Monsters, which centers around a maligned John Paul Jones doing work investigating the disappearances of ships. We’ll, uh, call that “Plan C.”

The decision by Universal to scrap Paul Greengrass’ Martin Luther King Jr biopic, Memphis, had everyone assuming it was purely a scheduling decision. Either that on Paul went off and did something crazy. Turns out…

It was pressure from King’s estate that may have contributed to Universal’s exeunt. They didn’t take issue with Greengrass shaking a camera at the memory of MLK Jr., but they did take issue with him making up facts about his life. Namely the extra-marital affairs that appeared in the script but not in reality.

Andrew Young, a close friend to King, told Deadline that he reached out to Universal and had this to say about the script:

“I thought it was fiction.” As for the depiction of infidelity, Young said: “There is testimony in congressional hearings that a lot of that information was manufactured by the FBI and wasn’t true. The FBI testified to that. I was saying simply, why make up a story when the true story is so great? My only concern here is honoring the message of Martin Luther King’s life, and how you can change the world without killing anybody.”

“But we had the most powerful and understanding wives in history, Coretta, my wife Jean, and Ralph Abernathy’s wife Juanita. These women were more dedicated and enthusiastic in pushing us into these struggles than anybody, and the inference Coretta might have been upset about Martin being gone so much or them having marital troubles, it’s just not true.”

Why did they stop with one extra-marital affair? You need to go completely outlandish nowadays if you want your biopic to be a hit. I mean, look at the renaissance that Abraham Lincoln is enjoying. Maybe if you called this bitch MLK Jr: Secret Werewolf, you’d have yourself a go picture, Greengrass.

Some are speculating that these aren’t the only reasons for the abrupt halting of production, though. Apparently the MLK estate has had serious objections about the content of the film – although it isn’t known if this is because of controversial subject matter, or because there’s another MLK movie in development at Dreamworks which is being made with the full approval of the King estate. Either way, Greengrass and Co. are now looking for new financiers to keep the movie going. Maybe the city of Memphis would want to throw in a few bucks – no such thing as bad publicity, right? (via Deadline)

The biggest stars in the mix are Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal. If Bourne Legacy requires this new agent to do a lot of embarrassing on-screen crying, I’m guessing Maguire will snag the role. However, there are a bunch of somewhat less famous actors in contention, including Taylor Kitsch (the terrible Gambit from X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Garrett Hedlund (Jeff Bridges’ kid from Tron: Legacy) and Kellan Lutz (one of the Twilight-ers). Gilroy is insisting that all the actors screen test, so we’re guessing he’s not a total web-head or Twi-hard.

The Bourne Legacy is tentatively scheduled to open fire on theaters August 2012. (The Playlist)

With filming to begin in June, one can safely pencil this one in as an Oscar nominee come January 2013. In the nearer term, expect rampant anticipation on who will land the possibly star-making or award-winning role of Martin Luther King. I wish we could rule James Franco out for this role, but he’s simply proved me wrong too many times before.

Greengrass has also been closely linked with the super-ultra-mega-tentpole release Cleopatra, but no news has surfaced in months, so it would appear that whichever way that decision goes, Memphis will get priority.

The juggernauts that are Paul Greengrass and Universal Studios should kill many of the other MLK projects that were rumored or in pre-production, namely, the Dreamworks and Lee Daniels-led Selma, which was circling the drain even before this news came about.

The first is a movie based on a recent New York Times Magazine article entitled “The Boy Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest” (timely!) which screenwriter Mark Boal is involved in. It isn’t known whether Boal will actually be writing the movie – this seems somewhat unlikely since he’s got those two movies with Kathryn Bigelow already, but if Assange can have 18 movies about him, why can’t Boal write 3 or 4 in a year?

The second is a movie based on the recent  book Inside Wikileaks, which was written by the Assange’s former second-in-command. It may or may not feature scenes of Julian Assange drunkenly beating his underlings with a wire coat hanger.

And finally, there is some interest in a movie based on Assange’s memoirs, which reportedly Paul Greengrass is interested in directing. I can’t wait to see the shaky footage of Assange updating his OKCupid profile. (via SlashFilm)

That “may” is for real though, so it doesn’t mean this is going to happen for sure. Greengrass is in high demand these days despite last year’s big financial flop Th Green Zone, and has been previously attached to stuff like a 3D movie about Cleopatra starring Angelina Jolie, an aborted Jimi Hendrix biopic, Fantastic Voyage and Treasure Island. It’d be pretty cool to see a version of Fantastic Voyage in which the tiny ship gets hijacked by Islamic terrorists, but Memphis sounds like it would be a good movie too.

As far as casting is concerned, it’s all speculation at this point. Some are saying that Greengrass’s choice to play Hendrix, Anthony Mackie, might also make a good MLK, although that seems a bit tenuous. Did you know that Martin Luther King used to say “‘scuse me while I kiss this guy” at some of his speeches as a joke? (IndieWire)

Deadline

It is perhaps for this reason that the name of James Cameron as director hasn’t come up in recent musings. Though he has proven to carry the Midas touch with big-budget fare such as this, Greengrass’ name indicates that the powers that be might be more interested in a grittier, more story-driven (and cheaper) take, rather than one that relies on spectacle and blue people. His resume includes the two lauded Bourne installments, as well as the divisive United 93, and less-lauded Green Zone. The Greengrass rumors alone are enough to get many to declare that the 3-D novelty has worn off, and that even aspiring 3-D blockbusters will require a story as compelling as the effects. The source material for the project, the unfortunately named Cleopatra: The Life by Stacy Schiff, has already garnered a Pulitzer, so those in line for a Yogi Bear 3-D redux had best brace for disappointment.

That said, don’t think that this won’t be a tentpole release for Sony. With the time and effort they’ve put into this project, regardless of the director, they have every intention of making this appointment viewing for just about everyone in the world with functioning eyes. And just because this epic will have “grit,” don’t be surprised to hear a funny Jewish accent from a CGI snake. I think Andy Serkis is available.

^{Tim Burton needs a better dry cleaner.}

Fearing retribution from Coolio Paul Greengrass has dropped out of James Cameron’s remake of Fantastic Voyage. Though Greengrass discloses that he was never actually on the project. He hadn’t signed anything, nor did he intend to. Although he won’t be sending Matt Damon on a trip through some dude’s bloodstream, he may be eyeing another tentpole adventure film.

Greengrass is reportedly interested in giving Treasure Island the Sherlock Holmes-treatment for producer Lionel Wigram. They’re working with the studio now to decide on a screenwriter but I don’t know why. A sexy version of Treasure Island has already been done. In fact I was watching it late last night on Cinemax with the volume off as to not wake Mother. (Deadline)

^{"Get your own elder-porn!"}

Universal is eager to put Jason Bourne back on screens but have had some difficulty churning out another amnesia spy thriller. In the three years since The Bourne Ultimatum was released, they’ve tried to no avail to get a script. Directo Paul Greengrass has cut and run and taken Matt Damon with him. So what does a studio do in this situation?

If you said "reboot in 3D", you’re almost right and there’s a job waiting for you at Sony. In the case of Bourne however, the studio may be biding their time with a prequel according to Matt Damon. "There’ll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one. Just because I think we’re probably another five years away from doing it – we’ve got to get a script. If you have any ideas, call Universal. They’d love for you to get in touch!"

That could be pretty cool actually. We’ll get to see Jason Bourne in his spying and parkouring glory. This two big questions though;  a) how young will they go? And, b) how do we keep Channing Tatum far away from this project? (Empire)

Matt Damon has a knack for delivering a convincing death blow to the face, chest, elbow, or balls, and it looks like he’s maintained his Bourne skills in the new film Green Zone. In the below featurette, Damon and director Paul Greengrass, BFFs forever, give us some details in to the storyline, and discuss what makes a good thriller thrilling. Clearly it’s an abundance of ass-kicking and broken necks, but wouldn’t you know it, direction and pacing has a big part to do with it too. Someone get McG on the phone! I need to sit him down and show him something…

Green Zone Featurette – Watch more Funny Videos

(Check it out in HD on Apple)

We reported earlier this week that Paul Greengrass bailed on the fourth Bourne installment after having a falling out with the cash-strapped Universal. Now it appears that Matt Damon is showing some loyalty, and sticking by his director’s side.

When Screen Junkies caught up with Damon at the Invictus press junket he told us, "I’ll wait for him and when he wants to do one, we’ll do it." When asked specifically is it Greengrass or no Bourne, the actor went on to say, "I’ve always said that, but I think it will happen. Just down the road. We don’t have a script right now."

With Damon holding on tightly to the hand of Greengrass maybe Universal will reach a little deeper into their pockets. Afterall, they need to hold on to the Bourne series like grim death if they plan on eating anything other than Ramen next year.

^{"And is it true they will honk when I squeeze them?"}

Directo Paul Greengrass has decided he won’t aim his shakey, blurry camera at Jason Bourne for a third time. The Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director has had a falling out with cash-strapped Universal, causing him to walk away from the fourth film. Apparently he is upset that the studio brought in a new screenwriter for the project without his consent and the studio is upset by Greengrass’s going way over budget on his current project, Green Zone.

Given Matt Damon’s loyalty to Greengrass, this could be bad news for Universal. Could we have another Matt Damon freakout on our hands? According to the Playlist, some are citing Greengrass’s ghosting as a "typical Paul move" and that he’ll return to the project in short order. Another noted, "That’s so Paul!", but it was difficult to determine if he was being serious or merely refering to Greengrass’s failed Disney sitcom. (The Playlist)

The first trailer for Paul Greengrass’s political thriller Green Zone just hit the web, and boy does it look politically thrilling. The film is set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. Sounds like dramatic conflict abounds! After seeing The Bourne Supremacy there’s no doubt that Greengrass can shoot himself an action scene, and Damon can kick ass in said action scene. It doesn’t appear that Green Zone will disappoint on these two very crucial fronts.

Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Jason Isaacs

Synopsis: A thriller about a pair of CIA agents on the trail of certain Weapons of Mass Destruction and a foreign correspondent following their mission.