Sure Shots: American Gods; The Hand Job; Catherine Hardwicke goes back to her roots?

* Sure this is a TV bit, but if it has to do with anything Neil Gaiman, it's going to perk my ears up. Back in April we first heard about HBO and Tom Hank's Playtone Productions' plan to adapt Neil Gaiman's fantastic book, American Gods, as a television series. Little was revealed however, except that longtime DP Robert Richardson was spearheading it, and that Gaiman would work on the pilot script. Now we know a little bit more. HBO's plan is to produce six seasons of roughly 12 one hour episodes. That seems a bit excessive for one book, which means that somebody is going to have to flesh out the world a lot more. I can see Gaiman coming in to do the occasional episode focusing on one of the literally hundreds of deities that populate the world of American Gods. Maybe they'll find a way to work Ananasi Boys into the mix?[THR]

* I'm shocked, shocked to report that the Aubrey Plaza(Funny People) starring sex comedy, The Hand Job, has undergone a name change. Wha!? No studio thought they could promote a film with such a provocative title? They never did that to Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri...oh wait. The film, which has Plaza as a introverted girl who makes a list of every sex act she needs to "bone up" on before college, has been appropriately retitled The To-Do List. Maggie Carey(wife of Bill Hader) writes and directs.

* I'm starting to have faith in Catherine Hardwicke again. After losing her way with awful flicks like The Nativity Story(Bibilical or not, it still stunk), Twilight, and Red Riding Hood, she seems to be veering back to what made her such a hot commodity in the first place. That is hard hitting, unflinching films about the things teenagers really do when they get together. The latest film added to her upcoming slate doesn't have a title yet, but she describes it as a really wild true story that takes place in Sweden and Germany. A "raw, gritty" indie film that skews closer to her fantastic debut, Thirteen. Hey, I'm down. She also notes that announcement should come within the next couple of weeks. [Collider]