War Games: Ed Helms will star as an obsessive Civil War reenactor who, along with two other reenactors and an African-American professor protesting the reenactments, gets transported back in time to the actual Civil War. Then, they have to find their way back to the present without changing history, splitting America in two, or inventing rock and roll at a high-school dance. Steve Carell will produce. [Variety]
What’s the Deal With All the Yelling?: Jerry Seinfeld is returning to NBC as the producer and creator of The Marriage Ref, a non-fiction comedy show in which famous people give advice to real people undergoing marital problems. Yes, this sounds sort of stupid, but Ben Silverman thinks it has potential: “He flew in to sit down with us, and he and Ellen pitched the show. We were laughing the whole time as they went through the concept,” says Silverman. Yikes! [Variety]
A Mapplethorpe Picture: Eliza Dushku has secured the necessary life rights and will be producing a Robert Mapplethorpe biopic titled The Perfect Moment; documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner (DIG!) will make her feature directorial debut on the project. When asked if production on the film would interfere with shooting the second season of Dollhouse, Dushku just kind of chuckled awkwardly. [Variety]
’Duh’ Alert: Peter Baynham is writing the Arthur remake for Warner Bros., with (obviously) Russell Brand set to take on the charmingly alcoholic character created by Dudley Moore. One of the film’s producer’s, Larry Brezner, was a producer on the original, which is great because we’re really hoping they stay true to Moore’s pioneering slurring techniques. [Variety]
We’ll Always Have the DVDs: Remakes of two awesome, completely unrelated movies are maybe coming down the pike: The Kennedy/Marshall Co. and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way are in negotiations for a new take on The NeverEnding Story, while Neal H. Moritz is in talks for a new Total Recall at Columbia. Moritz is understandably excited about updating Recall with modern effects, although we’re not sure anything could ever look more realistic than this. [HR, HR]
