Nightly News: Richard Gere Is in 'Arbitrage'; 'The Beaver' Hibernates 'Til May

Richard Gereis close to nabbing the lead role in 'Arbitrage,' a financial drama about a troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire who makes a serious error, requiring him to turn to an unlikely person for help, getting him into even more trouble. The film is written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki and co-stars Eva Green and Susan Sarandon. Gere replaces Al Pacino, who was up for the role but dropped out. Shooting begins in New York in April.{Deadline}

Summit Entertainment has pushed back its release date for Jodie Foster's Mel Gibson starrer'The Beaver.'The film, which was originally to open last year but was rescheduled for March 28 because of bad press around Gibson's run-in with his ex-girlfriend, will now open in May. The film premieres at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 16 and will open in a limited run on May 6, expanding on May 20. {THR}

James Francois considering doing a 'Three's Company' film and Broadway production -- with the blessings of the"'Three's Company' estate,"Franco toldTV Guide.Let's start taking suggestions on who should play Janet and Chrissy. We can see Jessica Biel or Rachel Bilson for Janet, and Blake Lively or Scarlett Johansson for Chrissy.

After rising to the top of the listto play a key member of the espionage agency SHIELD (agent Maria Hill) in Marvel and Disney's'The Avengers,'Cobie Smulders is in final negotiations to join the cast that already includes Scarlett Johansson (as the Black Widow), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor). The film, written and directed by Joss Whedon, is scheduled for a May 4, 2012, release. {THR}

Michael Moore has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that his 'Fahrenheit 9/11' partners -- Bob and Harvey Weinstein -- used alleged"bogus accounting methods"on the film. Moore is seeking at least $2.7 million for"rerouted"and"unpaid profits."Deadlinereports that Moore has already received $19.8 million for his backend profit participation in the movie.

It's a busy news day forShawn Levy: First Cinematical reported that he hadsigned on to direct the remake of 1966's 'Fantastic Voyage'; now we find out that Levy and his 21 Laps banner has signed on to produce a big-screen animated adaptation of the 'Mr. Men' children's books, also for Fox. Roger Hargreaves wrote 48 'Mr. Men' books, sellling more than 100 million copies worldwide in 28 countries; four animated television series, including 'The Mr. Men Show,' have been made from the book series. {THR}

'The Hobbit'officially has a start-date. The film's production company, 3Foot7 Ltd., has announced that shooting will begin on March 21 at Stone Street Studios in Miramar and on location around New Zealand.

Source