Jonah Hill no longer in talks for 'Transformers 2'

Transformers 2 negotiations between Jonah Hill and DreamWorks have broken down, and the Superbad star is no longer expected play a sidekick to Shia LaBeouf in the upcoming sequel from director Michael Bay.

Word is that he will appear in a cameo role in Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum 2 for director Shawn Levy.

Jonas Brothers to star in a 3-D concert film of their own

If it worked for Miley Cyrus, it might as well work for the Jonas Brothers. Disney announced today that the teen recording group will get their own digital 3-D concert movie in early 2009. The film will follow the same formula that helped the 3-D Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour earn $65.3 million at the domestic box office earlier this year. Bruce Hendricks, the director of the Hannah Montana concert flick, will helm the Jonas Brothers' feature, which promises both live performance footage and behind-the-scenes documentary material chronicling the lives of the three Jonas Brothers.

'Speed Racer' faces roadblocks at the box office

Insiders are questioning whether Speed Racer — a PG-rated take on the cult '60s cartoon from the Wachowski Brothers — will face a few roadblocks at the box office. They point to early tracking numbers that predict an opening in the mid-$30 million range for Racer — which cost $120 million to make and is sandwiched between Iron Man and the Narnia sequel Prince Caspian on the summer release slate. Warner Bros.' president of domestic distribution, Dan Fellman, won't comment on box office projections, but he disputes that the film, which graced a recent EW cover, is suffering from low awareness: "Family tracking is great, and we got a bump from 17- to 35-year olds, probably fans of the TV show." Still, those folks likely discovered Racer during its irony-laden mid-'90s renaissance on MTV. The Wachowski version, on the other hand, plays directly to kids with videogame-like F/X, simple dialogue, and lots of scenes with a pet monkey. No caped avengers or flying bullets here — just high-octane family fun. "The Wachowskis have made a lot of R-rated movies," says producer Joel Silver. "They wanted to finally make a film for everybody." The question now is whether everybody will show up. (Additional reporting by Carrie Bell)

Jonah Hill in early talks for 'Transformers 2'

Jonah Hill is in early negotiations to costar opposite Shia LaBeouf in Transformers 2 for DreamWorks and Paramount. Hill (Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will provide the comic relief as a sidekick to Shia's Sam Witwicky. (A source tells EW.com that he'll play Sam's college roommate, but DreamWorks won't confirm.) The sequel is set to begin shooting this summer.

Hugh Laurie 'stars' in Writers Give Back event

Turns out, Hollywood's writers' strike had at least one upside: It inspired a few writers to be a little more selfless. The organization Writers Give Back, founded during the strike by producer Brian Pines, is now seeking to help people in need and writers in need, often at the same time. Based in Los Angeles, WGB is staging table readings of unproduced screenplays — asking stars to donate their time to play the roles — and then finding creative ways to turn the events into fund-raisers. First out of the gate: House star Hugh Laurie, Ugly Betty star Chris Gorham, and others will perform a table read of Pines' own screenplay, the romantic comedy Now in Paperback, at the Actors Gang Theater in Culver City on Monday, May 5. The event is by invitation to industry insiders only, and guests are asked to bring at least one book as the price of admission. All books will be donated to the children's literacy organization, First Book. And here's the best part: If the screenplay is sold, the writer will donate a percentage of the sale to First Book, too. "We already give 10 percent to our agent, 15 percent to our manager and 5 percent to our lawyers," Pines says. "Why shouldn't we give a percentage to the world at large?"

Wachowski Brothers getting underway on 'Ninja Assassin'

With their Speed Racer movie ready to release on May 9, the Wachowski Brothers have already turned their sights to their next project, Ninja Assassin, starring Korean star Rain. The English-language ninja film, set to begin production today in Berlin, will be produced by the brothers and directed by Wachowski protege James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). "The ninja scenes in Speed Racer gave us the idea to do Ninja Assassin," producer Joel Silver said at the Speed Racer premiere. "I've wanted the brothers to do a full-on martial arts film for a while now, but nothing ever came up. Then we were watching the first dailies of the fight scenes in Speed Racer and they looked at Rain in a whole new way. He's unbelievable as a fighter."

Silver would spill few details on the plot of the film, but we could glean that Ninja Assassin is a revenge-type story and Rain plays opposite Naomie Harris, best known as Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. "She plays the girl, the beautiful girl who also kicks some butt," Silver said.

Rain, also at the Speed premiere, was equally mum on the details. "They keep telling me that it is very secret and not to say anything about it. I play a ninja and I'm going to fight a lot is all I can tell."  (With reporting by Carrie Bell)

Ewan McGregor in negotiations for 'Angels and Demons'

Casting of Sony Pictures' Da Vinci Code prequel Angels and Demons is shaping up quickly (see yesterday's post about Ayelet Zurer). Ewan McGregor is in negotiations to take on the role of Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, the Pope's closest aide, who helps Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) with his investigation. McGregor, who will be seen in Fox's Deception, opening Friday, is currently filming I Love You Philip Morris opposite Jim Carrey. Angels and Demons is being directed by Ron Howard from a script by Akiva Goldsman. Brian Grazer and John Calley are producing. Filming is set to begin in Europe in June, with a May 2009 release date.

Guillermo Del Toro hired as director of 'The Hobbit,' at long last

It's finally official: Guillermo Del Toro, the acclaimed writer/director of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy, has come aboard The Hobbit, a two-film epic he will direct over the next four years. The long-awaited news was announced today by New Line's new head, Toby Emmerich, and MGM's new head, Mary Parent. Del Toro will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and his Wingnut and WETA production teams. (Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh, will executive produce both movies.) Del Toro will direct the two films back-to-back, with the first movie telling the story of J.R.R. Tolkien's original book and the sequel dealing with the 60-year period between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The recently downsized New Line will oversee the development and production of the films, cofinancing them with MGM. Warner Bros. will distribute the film domestically, while MGM will handle the international release.

'Angels & Demons': Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer cast opposite Tom Hanks

Ayelet Zurer has landed the coveted role of Vittoria Vetra in Sony Pictures' upcoming Da Vinci Code prequel Angels & Demons. While the studio won't confirm, sources close to the production tell EW.com that the Israeli actress (who played Eric Bana's wife in Munich and was last seen in Sony's Vantage Point) has been cast opposite Tom Hanks in the Ron Howard-directed film. The actress was chosen over more well-known stars, including Naomi Watts, who had been in talks for the role, according to previous reports.

Zurer's character is the daughter of CERN physicist Leonardo Vetra. Following her father's death, Vittoria pairs with Robert Langdon (Hanks) on a journey to uncover the mystery behind her father's murder and stop a terrorist plot. Sony has yet to cast the roles of Maximilian Kohler (director of CERN) and Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (aide to the Pope). The production was delayed late last year due to the writers strike. It is now set to begin filming in Europe in June, eyeing a May 15, 2009, release date.

Ang Lee and James Schamus turn to 'Taking Woodstock'

Director Ang Lee and his writing/producing partner James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain, Lust, Caution) have chosen their next project. The duo will conquer the true story Taking Woodstock, a comedy based on Elliot Tiber's memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, A Concert, and a Life.

The tale centers around Tiber's unexpected role in making the 1969 Woodstock festival into the iconic happening of its time. Tiber, an interior designer and part-time manager of his family's Catskills motel, had become the local town's issuer of event permits. When he heard that the planned Woodstock concert had been denied a permit in a nearby hamlet, he offered his own. Soon, half a million people were on their way to Tiber's neighbor's farm in upstate New York.

Schamus is currently writing the screenplay. Back in March, Lee told EW that he was looking to make a movie based on some lighter material. Taking Woodstock seems to fit that bill.

Isaiah Washington suits up for 'Patriots'

Isaiah Washington is teaming up with Forrest Whitaker in Weinstein Co.’s drama Patriots, which is based on a true story about a Louisiana high school basketball team. Set to begin filming in New Orleans this week, Patriots marks Washington’s first appearance in a studio movie since he exited Grey’s Anatomy last spring. The actor will play Assistant Coach Simmons of John Ehret High, who helps lead his squad to the state championship a year after Hurricane Katrina displaced the school’s students.

Paramount counting on Shyamalan for Fourth of July 2010

Paramount Pictures has greenlit M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender for a July 4, 2010, release. Shyamalan will begin production on the live-action epic adventure, based on Nickelodeon's animated TV series, this August. “I love martial arts and the Japanese culture,”  Shyamalan tells EW. “This particular piece has an intensely spiritual Buddhist substory that I really dug." Airbender is about a world in which civilization is divided into four feuding nations: Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. The film's reluctant hero, Aang, a.k.a. the Last Airbender, undertakes a perilous journey to bring those nations together.

The studio is counting on the writer/director to bring an action-filled family adventure to the big screen, one that has the epic nature of Lord of the Rings and the action and spectacle of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Airbender marks the first project Shyamalan will direct that is based on someone else's material.

YouTube sensation 'Eric Brody' actually a marketing stunt for 'Quarantine'

Have you met Eric Brody? He's young, single, just moved to Los Angeles, and works logging evidence at a local police station. He also seems to have stumbled upon a mysterious video of a shooting, titled Case 1017. He posted that clip on his YouTube blog last month and generated more than 1 million views. Thing is, Eric's not real — he's a paid actor named Ben Messmer, promoting Screen Gems' upcoming chiller Quarantine, starring Johnathon Schaech and Jay Hernandez. The 1 million page views are courtesy of a well-placed (and paid for) promotion on the front page of YouTube to give the movie — a remake of the popular Spanish horror film REC — and its teaser trailer (which bows April 10) some back story. Now that Eric, who's not in the movie, has some fans, and the teaser trailer has some context, more people will tune in. At least that's the hope. "[Viewers] think if we're willing to spend this much time creating this alternate world, then the movie must be cool enough to invest in," says Screen Gems marketing president Marc Weinstock. He'll find out if this Cloverfield-like stunt worked when Quarantine hits theaters on Oct. 17.