Cutaways, Take 12

Oliver Stone is set to direct a film detailing the real-life stories of two men who were trapped in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, Port Authority police Sgt. John McLoughlin and officer William J. Jimeno. Nicolas Cage will star as McLoughlin.

"I feel someone had to tell the story of the people who were in the Trade Center before and after it collapsed," McLoughlin said in a statement. "It needs to be told how this horrific tragedy brought Americans and the world together to help those in need."

Umm, yeah. Call me crazy, but I have some doubt that the guy who brought us Natural Born Killers is the right fit for the job. Was it between him or Rob Zombie?

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Check out the trailer for Pretty Persuasion. Looks promising. After all, Heathers and Election were good movies, and this appears to be both.

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A farce about two straight guys pretending to be gay and married sounds like, um, a really, really dumb idea for a comedy. Nevertheless, two of the best screenwriters working today, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, are set to write just that. And Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin is attached to the project, to boot. If anyone can squeeze lemonade from a moldy lemon, it would be these three.

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Newsweek's David Ansen recently surveyed the current crop of A-list movie stars to ponder which ones are really making films destined to outlast their current celebrity. It's all madly subjective, of course, but still a fun read. Check it out here.