Sure Shots: Vincent Cassel; Jonathan Liebesman; Joaquin Phoenix

* A couple of weeks ago, Colin Firth was said to be in talks to replace Michael Fassbender in Danny Boyle's heist film, Trance. But with no word on how that went, an offer has been made to somebody else entirely: Vincent Cassel(Black Swan). The film, which Boyle is cramming in before he starts work on the Olympics, follows an auctioneer(James McAvoy) who hires a gang to join him in an art heist. After he suffers a blow to the head and forgets the location of the painting, they hire a hypnotist to get the information. If he signs, Cassel would take on the role of the gang leader. [Twitch]

* Warner Brothers has picked up a pitch from Jonathan Liebesman(Battle: Los Angeles) which has the potential to be a major epic and a big time starring vehicle. The Chris Boal scripted film would center on Julius Caesar, and the time he spent in Spain building up the 10th Legion army before returning to conquer Rome. Liebesman is currently hard at work on Clash of the Titans 2 for Warner Brothers, so it's unknown when this could begin. [Deadline]

* I can't imagine the type of craziness a combination like this can conjure up. Joaquin Phoenix, who has jumped back into the Hollywood scene with both feet lately, has joined Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's untitled satire. No plot details are available just yet, but does it even matter? The last time Jonze and Kaufman paired up they brought us Adaptation, the weirdest film about flowers ever. Kaufman's last film was the glacial mind screw Synecdoche, New York. Joaquin Phoenix is currently shooting The Master for director Paul Thomas Anderson.