6 photosEmma Stone

It looks like she’s getting her wish as she’s now in talks with the producers to play Jean, a sassy lady caught in romances between Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling, Variety reports.

Stone has made quite a name for herself moving from supporting roles in films like Superbad and Zombieland to starring roles in Easy A and the much-hyped The Amazing Spider-Man, so why wouldn’t she want in on the biggest drama Hollywood’s got up its sleeve, save for perhaps The Savages?

Dammit! She’s Emma Stone, she’s gonna be in Gangster Squad whether you want her to be or not!

Fleischer stayed over an hour and when I asked him for an interview, he was happy to continue talking about his upcoming movies, this summer’s 30 Minutes or Less and his next film, The Gangster Squad.

Second '30 Minutes Or Less' Red-Band Trailer

Ruben Fleischer: Yeah, 100%. I’m lucky because I’m not a writer but I’ve happened to come across these amazing scripts. I think Zombieland and30 Minutes or Less are what they are because of the scripts that started it. Now with Gangster Squad, it’s seriously one of the best scripts I’ve ever read. So the fact that I’m getting the opportunity to bring it to life is just super exciting.

Q: When you’re not a writer/director, how do you connect with someone else’s material?

RF: I guess it’s just a matter of taste. For me, Zombieland was just an original take on a genre that I wasn’t even that big of a fan of but just the sensibility and the sense of humor about it was so fresh that I guess that’s what I responded to. With Gangster Squad, it’s a genre that I love, like the classic gangster movie. This is just a really amazing version of it. It’s based on the real cops that worked to bring down Mickey Cohen in Los Angeles in 1949. It’s a really cool world, a really dramatic world, iconic movie genre. I just can’t wait to get started on it.

Q: What is location scouting like when you’re looking for a period too?

RF: It’s challenging, especially in modern Los Angeles because they’ve torn down so many of those buildings. But we have the benefit of visual effects so if we have a street that’s pretty good but there’s a McDonalds in the middle of it, we can get rid of the McDonalds. Some of the places like Union Station, City Hall, Olvera Street, they haven’t changed that much from when they were originally built. It’s just the environments maybe around them have changed so we’ll avoid that through visual effects or just creative camera angles.

4 photosJesse Eisenberg Runs From Juggalos In ’30 Minutes Or Less’ Pics

RF: Well, on a personal level I want it to be a successful movie, just because I feel like that’ll help me continue to get to make movies. But I also really am proud of the movie. I think it’s super funny so I want as many people to see it as possible. This summer there’s a lot of comedies, especially R-rated comedies. There’s The Change-Up Friends with Benefits Horrible Bosses Bad Teacher and our movie. I think we’re lucky because ours is the last of the comedies so hopefully it’ll stay around longer. I’m not sure but I just hope Sony promotes it and does a lot to get people into the theaters.

Q: Was the heist genre one you were fond of also?

RF: Yeah, it’s a bank heist movie and there are a lot of references to Point Break and Heat and some of my favorite heist movies in this film. I think it’s definitely an original take on a bank heist just because with the exception of I think Quick Change, there’s not that many comedy bank robbery movies. Quick Change is like the only other comedy bank robbery movie so it’s distinct because of that.

Q: Were references to Poin Break and others in the script or did those come from the actors?

RF: Point Break was definitely in the script. Heat was one just that I think anybody who loves movies just loves Heat, so we got to do our own version of Heat in a funny way.

Q: I love when movies refer to other movies because I’m thinking it even if no one says it. Why do you think a reference can be such a dirty word to people?

RF: I think there’s different versions of it. There’s people who are derivative. I guess that’s bad. Ours is almost postmodern because ours is an action comedy and we have references to Die Hard, Point Break, Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, you name it. They’re all embedded in the movie. It’s not like Hot Fuzz in that we’re so directly referencing those movies but there’s an acknowledgment that we’re the same genre as these other movies.

Q: What prep do you have to do before you start shooting Gangster Squad?

RF: We have 12 weeks of prep. We’re going to be doing all the location scouting, finding all the actors to play all the roles, figuring out the shots, figuring out the costumes, staging how we’re going to do the action sequences. There’s just an immense amount of things to figure out.

Q: What are the action set pieces in that?

RF: It’s basically an action movie in period clothing. There’s car chases, gun fights. It’s like a classic action movie.

Q: What kind of movie would you want to do next?

RF: It’s really open. I want to see how 30 Minutes does. I want to see how Gangster turns out. Because I don’t write, I kind of just have to see what’s out there and what’s available and what script I respond to when I read it. I’m trying to make a career where I’m not just one kind of director, like I’m not just an action-comedy guy. I would love the opportunity to be able to make any sort of movie. Hopefully Gangster Squad will put me more in that direction of not just being thought of as a comedy director.

Q: Is there a genre that’s a tough sell that you’d want to use your clout to do one?

RF: Well, there’s a lot of them now but I love westerns a lot. I’m so excited for Tarantino’s. I loved True Grit. I love Leone so that would be a fun genre to explore.

Q: It seems like a lot of filmmakers want to do a western. Maybe it’s the classic Hollywood dream.

RF: That or gangster movie to me too. I love The Untouchables. I love The Godfather. I love gangster movies so this is a huge opportunity but I think a western just would be really cool.

Q: Is there one article of clothing or period prop you’re looking forward to keeping from the set?

RF: I can’t say until we’ve done it but whether it’s the guns, the hats, the trench coats, there’s going to be so many cool things to choose from. It’ll be exciting to see.

30 Minutes or Less hits theaters August 12.

Monkeys Attack In ’30 Minutes Or Less’ Red-Band

30 Minutes or Less hits theaters August 12, 2012.

He’s in talks to play Mickey Cohen in Ruben Fleischer‘s Tales From The Gangster Squad. Playing a former boxer who got mobbed up and started leaving dead bodies in his wake, Penn will be hunted by police officers played by Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling.

Because when you think of a tough as nails detective you think of Ryan Gosling. He looks like he should be doing commercials for children’s cough medicine, not getting into gun fights with Bugsy Siegel. (Deadline)

The one farthest along is Gangster Squad. Set to be directed by Zombieland‘s Ruben Fleischer. They key role here is the “gangster” of the title, Mickey Cohen, which the studio wants to be played by Sean Penn. Cohen’s a juicy part too, a charismatic gangster who was both a shameless publicity hound (he participated in a LIFE magazine profile) and a violent criminal. Ryan Gosling is also being sought as a cop who tries to bring Cohen to justice.

The other project is called Cicero, which is about the infamous Al Capone’s years as a youngster – material that’s already been covered in part on the HBO series”Boardwalk Empire.” This one is reportedly the object of David Yates‘ interest, who would be looking for a “rebound project” after the last Harry Potter movie is finished. From boy wizards to Al Capone – I guess it’s no less likely than the career path of Zack Snyder. (via Deadline)

With zombies being so hot right now, it’s likely Ruben Fleischer will jump on Zombieland 2 after he finishes up 30 Minutes Or Less. But not if Warner Bros has their druthers. The studio is currently negotiating to have the direct take on the directing duties of the rumored to be hot script that has had trouble locking down a director, Tales From The Gangster Squad.

Gangster Squad you’ll recall is about a team of 1940′s police mercenaries who target and curtail the spread of East Coast organized crime. I like that setup. Fleischer has a tough decision on his hands between this and Zombieland. Mobsters vs. Zombies. You know what? I think I’d really like to see THAT. Get on it, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies guy!! (Deadline)

Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer is having the kind of year all film school graduates dream about and then usually never experience. He’s already onto directing his next project 30 Minutes of Less with Danny McBride as a pizza deliveryman, and now he’s signed on to helm Babe in the Woods.

The Mike White-scripted comedy is about "a female freshman who arrives at Yale and is targeted by the New Jersey mob." See the title, it’s a pun. In this case the "Babe" means "hot college ass," not "pig." The exact reason why the babe is targeted by the New Jersey mob in unknown, but if I had to guess, she probably witnesses the mob hit of a boy she befriends in the beginning of the first act. And if I get that right on the nose, Columbia Pictures owes me an Edible Arrangement. Chocolate-dipped pineapple, please. (Deadline)

The director of Zombieland, Ruben Fleischer, is doing a movie about pizza and Aziz Ansari is in negotiations to star. 30 Minutes or Less follows an aimless delivery man who is forced to rob a bank by two goons who strap a bomb to his chest. Ansari would play the poor sap’s straight-man buddy, on hand to recommend deep breaths and “stepping back and looking at the situation from a different perspective.” So my headline doesn’t make complete sense. Sue me. (Don’t sue me).

Seeing Ansari in a straight-man role would definitely be a change of pace for the actor. Not that he’s a Jim Carrey type, but Ansari has been known to expend physical energy on stage, especially when discussing Coldstone Creamery. Danny McBride is rumored to play the unfortunate pizza pusher, which would set up a nice dynamic. I can already hear McBride putting his unique North Carolina twang on an Indian racial slur. (THR)