George Clooney is a 'Pioneer'; Olivia WIlde Goes to 'Meadowland'; January Jones Joins 'The Shuddering'

* Fresh off the $20M debut for The Monuments Men, which everybody over the age of 50 really loved, George Clooney is moving ahead with a new project. He and writing partner Grant Heslov are set to produce an English-language remake of 2013 Norwegian thriller, Pioneer. The original film was directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg and was "set in the early 1980s during Norway’s oil boom and centered on a man who, along with his brother, is laying pipeline in the North Sea, diving deeper than anyone else had before. When a tragic accident strikes, he tries to get to the bottom of it (no pun intended), and realizes he’s in way over his head and that his life is in danger." At this point it doesn't appear Clooney has any plans to direct or star, and Heslov isn't writing the script. [THR]

* Olivia Wilde is branching out by producing and starring in Meadowland, a Chris Rossi-penned thriller about " a mom whose son disappears, a jolt that puts her on an unexpected and dangerous path toward acceptance as she seeks out a relationship with a neglected boy and watches it take an unexpected turn." Promisingly, the film will mark the directorial debut by Frozen River and Kill Your Darlings cinematographer, Reed Morano. [Deadline]

* There have been dark religious undertones in many of George Ratliff's directorial efforts (Joshua, Hell House, Salvation Boulevard), but it sounds like he's sticking to the basics with his new film, The Shuddering. January Jones has come aboard to lead the supernatural thriller about "a woman who returns to the town where she first began to experience strange visions. Determined to get to the bottom of it, she unravels a mystery that goes back farther than she could imagine." [THR]