Daniel Radcliffe to Star in 'You Shall Know Our Velocity'; First Look at Tom Hanks in 'A Hologram for the King'

Cherished author Dave Eggers is finally starting to see some of his novels brought to the screen, and as expected some pretty big names are attached to them. For years an adaptation of his very first novel, You Shall Know Our Velocity, has been making the rounds, and at one point had Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids) in line to direct. That never went anywhere, but now it's back on with Peter Sollett (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist) behind the camera and Daniel Radcliffe set to star.

The story follows two mismatched friends, Will (Radcliffe) and Hand, who travel around the world ostensibly to give away a large sum of money to those deemed deserving. Plans are for filming to begin next spring from a script by Wells Tower. [THR]

And next up is Tom Tykwer's adaptation of Eggers' book,  A Hologram for the King, which has Tom Hanks in the lead. The first image from the dramedy has arrived featuring Hanks' character appearing lost in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert. He plays a down 'n out salesman who heads there to secure a lucrative IT contract.

The last time Tykwer and Hanks teamed up it was for Cloud Atlas and that didn't turn out so well. Hanks' name should earn it a solid release date, maybe towards the end of the year. [THR]

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Tom Hanks and Tom Tykwer Will Adapt Dave Eggers' 'A Hologram For the King'

Tom Tykwer and Tom Hanks aren't done collaborating on adaptations of acclaimed novels. The last time the two paired up it was alongside the Wachowskis for the ambitious Cloud Atlas. The result was one of last year's biggest box office disappointments, as the material proved a little too "out there" to hook audiences. Now the duo are trading in high concept, new age sci-fi for a much simpler story by adapting Dave Eggers' book, A Hologram for the King.

Deadline reports that Tykwer will write and direct the film with Hanks starring as a struggling American businessman whose personal and professional life is falling apart, so he heads to Saudi Arabia in hopes of turning things around. It sounds like this is still fairly early on as financing needs to be found, so there's no word yet on when production could begin.

Hanks has been slipping back into the "everyman" mold that audiences prefer to see him in, taking on the lead in Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips and Disney's Saving Mr. Banks opposite Emma Thompson.

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Rosemarie DeWitt heads to Gus Van Sant and Matt Damon's 'Promised Land'

Rosemarie DeWitt got her big break a few years ago as the titular character in Rachel Getting Married, although her magnificent performance was drowned out by Anne Hathaway's more showy one. Since then she's kept herself plenty busy, playing the flighty sister in The United States of Tara, along with a number of smaller films. This year promises to be her biggest yet, as she'll star with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn in Neighborhood Watch. My hope is that when people see how good she is in Lynn Shelton's small budget dramedy, Your Sister's Sister(my review here), she'll finally start getting the larger roles I think she's so perfectly suited for.

Maybe Gus Van Sant sees what I see, because he's chosen her to be the lead in Promised Land, the film that once was to be the directorial debut by Matt Damon. Conceived by writer Dave Eggers and John Krasinski, the film centers around two rival executives in a small town, with one having his entire life thrown into question. Damon will star alongside Krasinski, with both also teaming up on the script. The tone has been compared to some of the wholesome, message laden films of Frank Capra.

Filming should kick off in April. DeWitt should be seen next when Your Sister's Sister opens in June, followed up by Neighborhood Watch in July. [Deadline]

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Matt Damon no longer making his directorial debut

What? Has Jason Bourne lost his nerve? Vulture is reporting that Matt Damon will no longer be making his directorial debut, an untitled film he co-wrote with John Krasinski. The two are still expected to star, in a story that has been kept mostly under wraps to the point. What we know is that it springs from the mind of Dave Eggers(Away We Go), and involved a salesman who sees his life turned upside down when he arrives in a small town.

The only other name attached at this point is Frances McDormand, so whoever jumps aboard is going to have a wealth of talent at their disposal. The reason Vulture gives for Damon dropping out involves some sort of script problem, but that doesn't make a lot of sense considering he wrote the thing. Whatever. I'm sure it's bigger than that.

Damon's busy schedule is probably the real culprit. Since this is a Warner Brothers joint, and we know how much they love Ben Affleck, what are the chances he steps in to help out his buddy?

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