Joe Cornish to Direct 'Section 6'; Zhang Yimou Scales 'The Great Wall', and More

* Attack the Block director Joe Cornish has flirted with a number of follow-up projects, including Star Trek 3 and Masters of the Universe, but he's finally made a decision on what he'll tackle next. Cornish will direct Section 6, eyed as a potential franchise with rising star Jack O'Connell in the lead role. The story, penned by Aaron Berg, chronicles the formation of Britain's secret intelligence agency, known as MI6. [TheWrap]

* The Great Wall is being rebuilt, only now it's with House of Flying Daggers director, Zhang Yimou. Yimou is taking over for Ed Zwick on the big budget action film, which had Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Zhang Ziyi, and Henry Cavill starring before production ground to a halt. Max Brooks (World War Z) and Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull developed the story which explores the mystery of the Great Wall of China's construction. British soldiers happen upon the wall and learn of a supernatural threat that must be defended against. Yimou has been making headway here in America, recently signing on to direct an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Parsifal Mosaic.

* Ready for more overwrought Nicholas Sparks adaptations, guys? George Tillman Jr. (Faster) has made the regrettable decision to bring Sparks' novel, The Longest Ride, to the big screen. Craig Bolotin will pen the script which tells two stories that will probably cross paths in a really ridiculous manner. The first story "focuses on an elderly man who lies trapped in a car accident, and, while fighting to remain conscious, sees visions of his deceased wife and their life together. The second centers on a high school senior who meets a young bull rider with a secret." [THR]

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Jack O'Connell to Star in Spy Thriller, 'Section 6'

It's all happening extremely fast for rising star Jack O'Connell. With a string of notable performances in films like This is England, Harry Brown, and the current Berlin Film Festival darling '71, the 23-year-old actor is moving up to the big time. He'll go to war as part of Warner Bros.' 300: Rise of an Empire, and impressed Angelina Jolie enough that she made him the star of her WWII drama, Unbroken. And apparently he also won over Universal, who want to bring O'Connell back for spy thriller, Section 6.

According to The Wrap, O'Connell is set for the "younger lead" role in the film, which tells the true story of Sir George Mansfield Smith-Cumming and the WWI-era formation of spy agency, MI6. Yes, the one that's always in the James Bond movies. This is a major project for the studio, paying a hefty $1.2M for Aaron Berg's script and eying it as a potential franchise starter.

A lot of big names have been circling Section 6 but there's no director attached just yet. Justin Lin and Brett Ratner had been taking a look at it at one point, and Hugh Jackman was said to be interested in the other lead role.

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