Emma Watson Joins ‘The Circle’, ‘In the Deep’ Gets a Director While ‘Uncharted’ Loses One, ‘Mr. Robot’ Earns an Early Renewal, Arnold’s Next Role

James Ponsoldt Finally Finds Tom Hanks’ Young Co-Star In ‘The Circle’

Emma Watson has stepped up to replace Alicia VIkander, who had briefly been attached to the project. Based on Dave Eggers’ novel, the thriller follows a young woman who is hired for a big job in an Internet monopoly called the Circle, which links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. (TP)

It Appears That the Much Buzzed About ‘In The Deep’ Has Found a New Director

Jaume Collet-Serra is circling the project, about a surfer attacked by a shark at a lonely sea spot who ends up bleeding and marooned on a buoy in the ocean. Her main problem, besides the blood loss? The hungry creature is still gliding through the water around her, cutting her off from help. Anthony Jaswinski’s script sparked a lot of interest from the studios last autumn, and Sony was quick to snap it up. (EMP)

Just When You Thought You Might Finally Be Soon Getting an ‘Uncharted’ Movie Adaptation, There Is More Bad News

The long-gestating project has gone through a series of directors and potential stars, but progress seemed to be taking hold when Seth Gordon became attached last year. But now, with the regime change at parent studio Sony and “a new creative direction” desired, Gordon too has left the film. Based on the popular video game, the film has always been envisioned in the vein of an Indiana Jones-type adventure flick. (COL)

USA Network Had So Much Confidence In ‘Mr. Robot’, It Renewed the Show For a Second Season Before Last Night’s Premiere

The series, which is created by Sam Esmail, follows a young programmer named Elliot (Rami Malek) who spends his days as a cyber-security engineer and his nights as a vigilante hacker. Christian Slater also stars as a mysterious leader of the cyber-underground community that recruits Elliot. The second season will include a minimum of 10 episodes and will air in 2016. (VAR)

Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Following Up His New ‘Terminator’ Movie With a Vengeance Flick

The former Governator will star in 478, in which he’ll play a man who loses his wife and child in a plane crash due to an error by an air traffic controller. Schwarzenegger goes after the controller in order to seek his revenge, even though his target has been placed in protective custody, since Arnold likely isn’t the only one who wants to see him dead. The script was written by Javier Gullon. (CB)

‘Hunger Games’ Producer To Make Directorial Debut, and She Lands Taraji P. Henson For Her Lead

Robin Bissell's feature film directorial debut will be based on the true story of the relationship between Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis. To be titled The Best of Enemies, the film, set in the 1960s, will detail the battle and eventual friendship between Atwater, a working class, single black mother in Durham, NC, who quit her job as a household domestic to join the civil rights fight, and Ellis, a working class white man also from Durham and member of the Ku Klux Klan. (SAA)

The Next John Green Film Adaptation Is At Paramount and Has Found a Director

Rebecca Thomas will helm Looking For Alaska, which has been adapted by The Fault in Our Stars scribes Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber. The protagonist of the novel is Miles “Pudge” Halter, who leaves his boring life behind, heads off to the Culver Creek Boarding School, and finds adventure and some danger because of his new friend Alaska Young, a gorgeous, funny, sexy and self-destructive catalyst for a life change in a daring new direction. (DH)

Fox Casts Its Leads For Period Procedural ‘Houdini & Doyle’

Network’s 10-episode drama will star Michael Weston and Brit actor Stephen Mangan as Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who respectively debunked and had a fascination with the paranormal. Together, they ally with Scotland Yard to investigate inexplicable crimes that have a supernatural slant. David Shore is an executive producer on the project, which will premiere some time in 2016. (TVL)

A Few Weeks Before ‘Ant-Man’ Opens, Paul Rudd and Kevin Feige Talk About the Film’s Saga

For Marvel’s next act, the final installment in Phase Two, Marvel deliberately is thinking smaller. Rudd, best known for playing likable guys in such off-kilter rom-coms as This Is 40 and I Love You, Man, is stepping into the Ant-Man suit to shrink down to the size of a picnic-pooper. He and Marvel Studios head man Feige discuss the movie, the business of Hollywood and all things Marvel Cinematic Universe related. (THR)

Screenwriters: Why Spec Scripts Fail — No Hooks

Hooks aren’t for fishing. Hooks are for catching. Catching, then holding. In our case, holding the attention of a reader. A hook is that line and or description that compels the reader’s immersion into each scene with rapt attention and heightened anticipation. No Hook? No Catch. No Interest. Period. Full Stop. End of story… for the writer. (SM)