By: Henry J. Fromage –

Bryan Singer (X-Men) apparently has been interested in a big screen Battlestar Galactica flick for awhile, which would intrigue me more if it hadn’t already been done to perfection for TV.  This will not be a continuation of Ronald Moore’s Sci-Fi series, but apparently gets his blessing, which certainly helps.  John Orloff (Anonymous, Legend of the Guardians) is writing the script, which is more of a question mark.

Also, how could they possibly replace Edward James Olmos?

Well, it looks like Matt Damon is going to throw Ben Affleck a bone after last week, letting him tell him what to do and everything just like a real movie director.  The material for this movie reunion should be familiar to Damon, as he’ll play a young, on the rise Whitey Bulger, the recently apprehended inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s mob boss in The Departed.  Also swimming in familiar waters is screenwriter Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and I don’t think we need to elaborate further on the Affleck/Boston crime drama link.  On a very different note, Affleck’s also being sought to write and direct an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.

Which, I would guess, won’t be set in Beantown.

For a man that’s thinking about retiring, Steven Soderbergh sure keeps piling on a diverse workload of movies.  The existence of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., based on the Cold War TV show that teamed up an American and Russian spy to fight even greater threats, isn’t news, but George Clooney dropped out due to the stunts required (which his Syriana-damaged back can’t handle) and will be replaced by Bradley Cooper.

Who probably wasn’t at the top of the Brad List, but what can you do?

In new casting news that intrigues me more, Brad Pitt’s been added to Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, although it’s unclear which role he’ll have.  It’s likely that either he or Michael Fassbender will be playing a plantation owner, giving 2012 (along with Django Unchained) a rather strange ‘respected actors playing slave masters’ vibe.

Remember Antz vs. A Bug’s Life?  It’s just like that.