Danny Trejo Chased By ‘Predators,’ Diablo Cody Enters Playboy Mansion?

– In news slightly less surprising than the casting of Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton’s next film, Danny Trejo revealed to Punch Drunk Critics at the Horrorfind convention in Baltimore over the weekend that, following the now-wrapped shooting of “Machete,” he’ll be re-teaming with BFF Robert Rodriguez again and taking a role in “Predators,” the continuation of Fox’s alien horror franchise, which Rodriguez is producing, and Nimrod Antal (“Vacancy”) is directing. His exact quotes are, “we’ll be doing ‘Predators’ next,” which isn’t exact confirmation, but we can verify that filmmakers have been discussing a role for him. Guess they decided. Shooting begins in October in Hawaii and then afterwards at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Texas, so we should start to hear about the rest of the cast any day now. But “Predators” could also be a good case study in why, “producers are interested in XYZ actor,” is a bad story to report because at least 10 high profile names have been already discussed, but none could participate for one reason or another.

– Shooting only started last Thursday, but the first pictures from the set of Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys” have leaked, and show stars Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell as a mismatched pair of cops, and their rivals (the Andys, as fans of “Hot Fuzz” might call them…) Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. As we reported last week, the quartet are joined by Samuel L Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan and Ray Stevenson.

– Hugh Hefner has a Twitter account. Yes, 83-year-old Hugh Hefner. And alongside the revelation that he screened Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” at the Playboy Mansion last night, he dropped the tidbit last week that he met Diablo Cody last week to “talk about the Brian Grazer Playboy film.” The long in development biopic of Hefner, set to be directed by colossal hack Brett Ratner, previously had John Hoffman (alien dog movie “Good Boy!”) writing, although Hefner’s news is yet to be confirmed officially.

– Former stuntman Ric Roman Waugh, the writer/director of “Felon,” which despite starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, and being released in 2008, managed to get a theatrical release, has, with writing partner Michael Alan Lerner, sold the spec script “Rubicon,” which is said to be “a contemporary revenge thriller set in a Mexican border town,” to Relativity Media. Waugh will direct and Charles Roven (“The Dark Knight”) will produce.