Patricia Clarkson Joins 'Maze Runner'; Dean Parisot May Direct 'Houdini'; Ken Levine To Pen 'Logan's Run' Remake

* Patricia Clarkson, who was recently seen in the eco-thriller The East, has joined on to Wes Ball's adaptation of The Maze Runner. The YA novel by James Dasher takes place in a dystopian future in which a boy named Thomas wakes up in a giant maze known as The Glade, with no memory of his arrival. He joins with other boys to create their own society, while fending off dangerous creatures known as Grievers. Clarkson will play Chancellor Ava Paige, the one responsible for testing the boys to see who is strongest. The Maze Runner is set to open on February 1st 2014. [EW]

* After Gary Ross circled the project for awhile, it appears that Summit Entertainment has finally found a director to helm Houdini, a biopic on the legendary magician and escape artist. Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) is in talks for the job, having just recently completed the Bruce Willis action comedy, Red 2.  The Indiana Jones meets Sherlock Holmes story is based on The Secret Life of Houdini, a book by William Kalush and Larry Sloman that claims Houdini was "a spy for Britain, helped the Secret Service, and was in cahoots with police organizations.”

* It looks like Warner Bros. is starting over from scratch with their Logan's Run remake, which has had a ton of talent pass through it already. Initially set for Carl Erik Rinsch to direct, he dropped out and the duo of Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling stepped in, with the latter to star. But Gosling got tired of waiting around, and the film has been stagnant ever since. Now a bold step has been taken as Ken Levine, creator of the popular Bioshock video game franchise, has come aboard to tackle the script. The 1967 book by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson was adapted into a sci-fi classic in 1976, which centered on a future society in which people must be executed at the age of 30 as population control. Michael York played a "runner" who tries to flee his fate.  It doesn't sound like Refn is still attached at this point, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise.