Zookeeper: Matt Damon is in early talks to play the leading role in Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo, Fox’s adaptation of Benjamin Mee’s memoir (which Vulture told you about first). Damon would play Mee, who used his life savings to buy a dilapidated zoo “replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction,” and who also must care for his wife who is dying from cancer. Unclear whether Damon’s well-coiffed mane will survive should he take the part. [HR]
360 Degrees: Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God) has made a deal to direct 360, a drama written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) about “sexual morals within and between social classes.” This is just screaming for Helen Mirren. [Deadline]
Hancock’s Wreck: AMC is nearing a deal to acquire The Wreck, a drama from The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock. The series is set in the “world of Southern college football,” focusing on the head coach of a once-legendary team that is coming off of a losing season. The school gives the coach “one last chance to turn the team into winners or he’s fired.” Meanwhile, Friday Night Lights whimpers to its close :( [HR]
Kid Stuff: David Bowers (Astro Boy, Flushed Away) will direct Diary of Wimpy Kid 2: Roderick Rules, his first live-action film and a sequel to the surprise hit Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Diary 2, also based on Jeff Kinney’s young-adult series, focuses on “put-upon kid” Greg Heffley, who must deal with the “punishments inflicted“ by his older brother Roderick. Sounds like real fun stuff! [HR]
Catfight: Syfy has cast eighties pop-star rivals Debbie Gibson and Tiffany in an original movie called Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. Gibson will play just another “fanatical animal-rights activist who frees illegally imported exotic snakes from pet stores” and Tiffany will play “an overzealous park ranger who uses dangerous methods to save endangered alligators.” The pair “brawl at a party, then take matters outside into the swamp.” Yes, this is somehow, inexplicably, amazingly real. [HR]
Teaming Up: Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu will hit the road together this fall, playing shows in the eastern part of North America in the beginning of October. Deerhoof will play a series of Xiu-less shows on their own before the joint outing. [Pitchfork]
