Sure Shots: Sean Penn; Saoirse Ronan; Dawn Olivieri

* The last time Sean Penn stepped behind the camera it was for the Christopher McCandless biopic, Into the Wild. For his next flick, Penn is venturing back for another man vs. nature true story as he'll direct an adaptation of Norman Ollstead's memoir, Crazy for the Storm. An avid surfer and extreme sports fanatic since a young age, Ollstead's book tells how at the age of 11 he survived a plane crash in the San Gabriel Mountains that claimed the life of his father and girlfriend. Sounds pretty damn thrilling to me, and I like Penn's adventurous spirit as a filmmaker. [Variety]

* It was apparent right from the start that Saoirse Ronan was going to be a truly special talent. She floored us all with her riveting performance in Atonement, followed up by equally stirring turns in Hanna and The Lovely Bones. While she's got a couple of potential blockbusters on the way in the vampire flick, Byzantium, and the teen-lit adaptation of The Host, Ronan will venture back to the land of period dramas for her next film. She'll take the title role in Mary, Queen of Scots, which comes from writer Michael Hirst. It's familiar territory for Hirst, who wrote Elizabeth and created the Showtime series, The Tudors.  The story follows Mary, who was named Queen of Scotland at only 6 days old. She would go on to live a life full of  murder and betrayal, ultimately being executed for plotting the assassination of Queen Elizabeth. No director has been found yet, but production is set to begin next year. [Deadline]

* A little good news and bad news for fans of Dawn Olivieri, who plays Don Cheadle's sexy and utterly insane ex-wife on the Showtime series, House of Lies. With the show headed for a second season, and Olivieri expected to have a much bigger role, she's been forced to drop out of Breacher, the cop thriller with Sam Worthington and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Aw shucks. But on a positive note, she's just joined the cast of Plush, the upcoming erotic thriller from Catherine Hardwicke(Thirteen). Emily Browning plays a married woman and rock star who loses her brother to a drug overdose. She finds comfort and new hope in the sexy guitarist(Xavier Samuel) who replaces him, until she begins to discover his dark past, and that she may have let a madman into her midst. Olivieri will play the band manager, with Cam Gigandet also co-starring as Browning's husband. [THR]