Sure Shots: Bill Murray; Melissa Leo; Madagascar spin-off

* I think the time has long since passed that we solely look at Bill Murray as a comedic actor. The guy can do pretty much anything he puts his mind to. A glance at his recent filmography(The Limits of Control, Get Low, City of Ember) show that he's got a wide range of talents. Now he's set to get a little presidential, as he'll be playing Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. The film is Hyde Park on Hudson, written by Richard Nelson, adapting his own 2009 radio play. The film will be directed by Roger Michell(Morning Glory), and focus on the weekend when the British monarchy paid him a visit at his New York home.  Shooting will hopefully begin in July, meaning still no Ghostbusters 3, people!!

* Deadline reports that Melissa Leo, Michael Shannon, Michael C. Hall, and James Marsden are set to star in Dead Circus, a film exploring the mysterious 1966 death of rock star Bobby Fuller. Adam Davenport and John Kaye wrote the script, with Davenport directing. Fuller had a top 10 hit with his song, I Fought the Law(And the Law Won), but was found dead in an automobile soon after. Ruled as an accident or possible suicide, others have speculated murder ever since, with some saying the Manson Family might've been involved. The film will focus on this possibility, with Marsden playing Charles Manson(!!!!) and Melissa Leo as one of his followers(!!!). How awesome does that sound?

* As if the trailer for Mr. Popper's Penguins wasn't aggravating enough, more movies featuring those annoying waddling birds are coming. Y'know those scheming penguins from Dreamworks' animated series, Madagascar? Well they're getting a feature spin-off to go along with their various short films and current Nickelodeon TV series. The as yet untitled film will be written by Megamind scribes, Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons. Madagascar 3 will be released in June of next year, so expect this to come out some time after that. I'm pretty sure I'll be busy that day with something.