While doing some publicity for his current release Contagion, actor Matt Damon sat down to have a few words with The Shortlist, and they managed to get a couple quotes out of him that could spell good news for fans of Damon’s previous work. The next movie in the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Legacy, will be the first one made without Damon or his lead character Jason Bourne, instead Jeremy Renner will star as a completely new character existing in the same universe. When asked if this means he’s done playing Jason Bourne forever, Damon responded, “I was always fine with them doing another Bourne movie as long as it didn’t preclude me and Paul [Greengrass] from doing another Bourne. From what I understand, it doesn’t at all, so that’s fine. I really want to do another one with Paul and I’m sure it’ll happen someday, but for now they’re doing this.” That’s kind of surprising to me, as I thought them moving the franchise on to Jeremy Renner specifically meant that Damon was done with the property. Maybe next we can get a big Renner vs. Damon movie where Matt returns to the character. I could see that making a ton of money. That wasn’t the only moment in the interview where Damon waxed nostalgic, however. Back when he was just 28-years-old, Damon co-wrote the script for Good Will Hunting with his unofficial life partner Ben Affleck. The script won them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, yet [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

After leaving the Bourne franchise behind, Paul Greengrass made Green Zone (which might as well have been called The Bourne Historical Rewrite) and has been attempting to get his Martin Luther King, Jr film Memphis off the ground with Scott Rudin. As it turns out, Rudin may have something different in mind. According to Deadline Mogadishu, Greengrass has been offered the directing job for the Somali pirate movie based on Richard Phillips’s memoir “A Captain’s Duty.” The book chronicles his experience as the skipper of the Maersk Alabama, which was taken by Somali pirates. Phillips was held hostage before being rescued by Navy SEALs. Tom Hanks has signed on to star. This project has been percolating at the script phase for a year and a half, and there’s an honest question about whether the subject matter is all that compelling. At the very least, it’ll be culturally fascinating to see a boom in Navy SEAL movies coming out all around the same time, and Christmas Entertainment also has a Somali pirate movie called Dawn on the Gulf of Aden in development. Otherwise, the main question is how much shakier Greengrass’s camera would be on the open ocean.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly thing about movie stuff. Tonight’s edition features mini-ninjas, talk about naked pictures of Blake Lively, Sly Stallone set to music, an explanation of who Jane Lynch is, a joke about Michael Bay, an even less funny joke about Blake Lively and a profile of Richard Ayoade. That and more, we assure you. Above you will see something I never thought we’d lead with in a Movie News After Dark entry: someone’s grave stone. But there it is, the resting place of actor Leslie Nielsen. Modest, simple and complete with one last fart joke for the road. Nielsen may not have lasted forever, but his penchant for the fart joke will forever stay in our hearts.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s all business tonight. Movie news, fascinating articles, at least 12-minutes of grown men screaming. All business, baby. Vulture has an interesting piece on how Jeremy Renner landed the Bourne franchise, essentially boiling it down to the Hurt Locker star winning Matt Damon’s sloppy seconds. All-in-all, the guy will probably make an excellent action star. He’s one hell of a last-ditch effort for director Tony Gilroy.

Well, Jeremy Renner is almost Jason Bourne in that he’s been offered the role as Matt Damon’s replacement. He’s also almost Jason Bourne because he’ll be playing a new character in the same Bourne-verse. Of course, Jason Bourne isn’t even Jason Bourne so it all evens out. According to Deadline Barrelsvile, the two-time Academy Award nominee who defused bombs in The Hurt Locker has been offered the starring role of a Bourne spin-off directed by Tony Gilroy. Now, it’s a matter of him accepting it or turning it down. This, of course, couldn’t make more sense if it had a gun to our foreheads. Renner is set up as an action star that brings acting talent and an intensity cocaine addicts only wish they had to the table. But there’s still a chance he might pass on the role. Why? For one, a packed work schedule. Both The Bourne Legacy and Avengers are slated for 2012, so they’ll have to make it work. Renner also has Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol coming out later this year as well as Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters filming right now for a 2012 release. For two, it’s a question as to whether Renner would be able to/want to take over as the point man for both the Mission: Impossible and Bourne franchises. That’s a lot of spy work for one man. His star is rising, of course, and while he’d be brilliant in this, the choice also almost seems myopic – as if there [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

No matter who ends up directing Cleopatra, it’s going to be a cyclopean undertaking. The budget will be inflated, Angelina Jolie will be inflated, and the director will have to make sense of it all. It’s unclear what it means to “like the idea” of Paul Greengrass directing, since this isn’t middle school, but according to Deadline, Scott Rudin and Sony might soon be slipping a note to Greengrass asking him “check yes or no” in regards to the gig. The film seeks to be a grittier version than the widely known Elizabeth Taylor film from 1963, but the plan is to keep it PG-13 and in 3D. That’s unsurprising considering the budget size (which will be massive), but it’s disappointing. It’s also disappointing to see Angelina Jolie wrapped up in this role. In a way, she’s too perfect for it, and her acting in recent years has been trumped completely by her public persona. Taylor became the highest paid actress by signing on for her Egyptian epic (playing a Greek queen), but Jolie has been on the highest paid list for a long time now, and her welcome is a bit outstayed. Greengrass is unarguably a good fit because he can do tight action, good dramatic storytelling and higher budget projects. Another choice might be Kathryn Bigelow, but she’s got her hands full for the rest of the year. Regardless, this thing will be a big deal (and possibly a big gamble) and something to keep a close eye [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

In some alternate universe out there, there’s a film by Paul Greengrass starring Anthony Mackie as the talented and troubled Jimi Hendrix. Sadly, we don’t live in that universe because Experience Hendrix has officially denied the rights to the man’s music to be used for the project. The explanation given was that they feared the film would hurt sales of the back catalog. Of course, anyone who’s kept up with the aborted attempts and the successful adaptations of Hendrix’s life knows that’s just a press-friendly excuse. The real reason is a fear of how the guitar master will be portrayed when it comes to his drug abuse.

Probably not, seems to be the consensus around bloggywood today. Over at /Film, Russ Fischer outlines the tenuous relationship that has developed between Bourne franchise forefathers Tony Gilroy and Paul Greengrass. In short, Gilroy didn’t like what Greengrass did with his script on The Bourne Ultimatum to the extent that it doesn’t sound like a fourth movie would include them both. And now that news is breaking that Universal is leaning toward Gilroy (who recently delivered Michael Clayton and Duplicity to much success), it’s safe to assume that Paul Greengrass is out for round four. Which means that star Matt Damon would be out, as he’s expressed interest in working on the project only if Greengrass comes back. So there’s where the whole thing stands, caught in quite a kerfuffle. Will Damon return? Will Gilroy restart the series with another actor? If so, then with who? The new title is The Bourne Legacy, so it could very well make sense for a little reboot. All of these questions remain. Either way, as long as Gilroy holds the camera still from time to time, I’ll watch whatever he puts together. [Deadline]

Every so often, a film emerges from the fray to prove its popularity and warrant a sequel. More and more, franchises are planned out in advance, but when one film turns into a franchise, a cash register sound goes off in the ears of the studio. Even though the kid stays in the picture, sometimes the director does not. Maybe the director is done working with the material. Maybe the producers want a more seasoned hand. Maybe a simple schedule conflict keeps him or her out of the chair for the next round up. But the show must go on, so the producers find another director to fill the slot – a director who ostensibly inherits all the strengths and weaknesses of a franchise birthed by someone else. Cinematic sloppy seconds that could have easily turned into sloppy sequels if it weren’t for a steady, talented director guiding the ship. Here’s a list of the ten best.

And he’s willing to shrink down and director a remake of Fantastic Voyage.

There’s a new brand of historical fiction emerging that fictionalizes what we’ve just seen in our 24-hour news cycle. The Green Zone stumbles in the genre’s early baby steps.

Kevin Carr sits his chubbiness down weighs in on Green Zone, Remember Me and She’s Out of My League.

Green Zone takes us back to Iraq shortly after the invasion in 2003. Explosive battles are still being fought throughout the country and the capital city of Baghdad, and Chief Warrant Office Miller (Matt Damon) is leading a team with a singular goal… find the weapons of mass destruction, aka WMD’s, that helped lead to the invasion in the first place.

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we delve deep into the world of why The Oscars should nominate more populist best pictures. And we rob a bank.

Rumors had been swirling since late last week, and this week Variety has confirmed that director Paul Greengrass is leaving the Bourne franchise. So what is Universal going to do now?

What would happen if Jason Bourne went to Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction and had to go rogue in order to do so? You’d get Paul Greengrass’ upcoming actioner Green Zone…

Ben Stiller might be taking over for Steven Spielberg on The Trial of the Chicago 7, which would be a serious turn for him as a director. The only question: will he use Blue Steel, Le Tigre or Magnum on set?

Among cinematic super-spies, Jason Bourne is currently the ‘in’ guy, despite the fact that sneaky Brit agent James Bond continues to truck right along, releasing his 22nd installment next month. But Bourne isn’t backing down.

The last time we checked in with the production of The Trial of the Chicago 7, a film that was once in the hands of Steven Spielberg, it was currently on the back burner over at Dreamworks. Now, it appears to have some new life.

Our friends over at The Bad and Ugly have scored a first look at Matt Damon in another Paul Greengrass movie, which will hopefully have more steady camera work. The film is called Green Zone and it tells the story of a pair of CIA agents on the trail of certain Weapons of Mass Destruction and a foreign correspondent following their mission.