– Nicolas Cage talked to the Canadian Press about turning down the villain’s role in “The Green Hornet,” the part taken earlier this week by Christoph Waltz, suggesting that the character wasn’t well developed enough, and that he “wasn’t interested in just being just straight-up bad guy who was killing people willy-nilly.” Apparently he missed the rich, three-dimensional characters from “Ghost Rider” and “The Wicker Man.” [Superhero Hype]
– Woody Harrelson/Kat Dennings-starring indie superhero movie “Defendor” has been picked up by Sony Pictures in a seven figure deal. Variety says that the film is “so far without a theatrical commitment,” but we imagine this’ll hit the big screen some time next year. [Variety]
– Basketball superstar LeBron James is set to make his acting debut, playing himself in the Imagine Entertainment comedy “Fantasy Basketball Camp,” about five guys from different backgrounds who come to Vegas to attend the LeBron James Adult Basketball Camp, and drag their hero into their life issues. So, basically a feature length adaptation of Mike Tyson’s cameo in “The Hangover,” then. Brian Grazer will produce, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (“City Slickers”) are scripting, and it’s expected to shoot next summer. [Variety]
– Production has begun in London on “4.3.2.1,” a heist thriller for Universal Pictures, starring Emma Roberts (“Hotel For Dogs”), Ophelia Lovibond (“Nowhere Boy”), Tamsin Egerton (“St Trinian’s”) and Shanika Warren-Markland (“Adulthood”) as four girls unknowingly connected by a major diamond robbery. The film is directed by rising British star Noel Clarke, best known in the States for his role on “Doctor Who,” along with Mark Davis, and also stars Rosanna Arquette, Sean Pertwee and Ben Miller. [ScreenDaily]
– The new red-band trailer for “From Paris With Love,” the Luc Besson-produced actioner directed by Pierre Morel (“Taken”) has gone online. Jonathan Rhys-Myers plays a US embassy official in Paris, and John Travolta plays a tangerine with a beard. [Slash Film]
Lebron James is a great all around talent. He clearly has the most athletic ability of anyone in the game, but Kobe Bryant has a desire and killer instinct that Lebron just simply doesnt have. People like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Joe Montana dont come along every day, and Kobe is still the best player in the league.