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Exclusive: Screenwriter Amy Talkington has made a deal for her first novel with Soho Teen, the young adult imprint of Soho Press. The novel, Liv, Forever, will be published next March, and a film package is quickly being assembled that has Talkington attached to adapt and Offspring Entertainment producing. They will shop it to studios shortly. Talkington has a lot going on as a screenwriter, including scripting the Clay Weiner-directed Valley Girl at MGM, the Alex Timbers-directed Hotfuss at Disney and the Jonathan Levine-directed Under Cover at Lionsgate. The novel aspires to be Ghost for the Twilight generation. Liv Bloom is murdered shortly after arriving at a prestigious New England boarding school. Her spirit remains and with the help of two boys–one of whom she’s fallen for and the other she reluctantly is trusting–she tries to solve her own murder. Offspring’s Adam Shankman...

I hope David O. Russell (The Fighter) eventually starts directing another film rather than continually add to the list of films he might direct. Not tonight: Deadline reports that Fox Searchlight wants to buy for Russell a pitch package for a biopic based on the life of B-movie legend Russ Meyer. Merritt Johnson (Temple Grandin), who served as Russell's assistant during Three Kings, will write the script. The studio is working to acquire the rights to the biography Big Bosoms And Square Jaws: The Biography Of Russ Meyer, King Of The Sex Film to serve as the foundation for the script. Meyer directed a series of popular sexploitation films throughout the 1960s like Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Vixen! that were marked by campy humor and enormous bust sizes. Hit the jump for a list of the other projects Russell has been linked to over the past year. Not counting...

Mark Wahlberg has since 2008 been attached to Cocaine Cowboys, based on the Billy Corben documentary of the same name about late 70s/early 80s Miami drug trafficker Jon Roberts.  Wahlberg reaffirmed his involvement this summer, informing us that writers were working on the script.  Seven months later: Cocaine Cowboys is in the market for a director.  On the heels of the success of The Fighter, Wahlberg understandably turns to frequent collaborator David O. Russell. The Playlist caught up with Russell at the Ace Eddie Awards, where he revealed that Cocaine Cowboys is among the many projects he is considering as his follow-up to The Fighter.  Hit the jump for a recap of Russell's options and more on Cocaine Cowboys. Russell has been linked to: Uncharted - an adaptation of the adventure video game starring -- you guessed it -- Mark Wahlberg The Silver Lining's Playbook - an adaptation of the...

It's a pretty great time to be in when David O. Russell is as talked-about a director as any in Hollywood. That certainly wasn't the case in years past, or when it was, the subject was the director's temperament rather than his work. But since taking The Fighter he's been looking at many new projects -- at times quickly flipping from one to the next -- almost as if he's trying to weave and juke his way to a surprise 'next film' announcement. Now there is word that the long-gestating film Cocaine Cowboys is his latest possible next project. The Playlist [1] spoke to the director briefly at the Ace Eddie Awards over the past weekend, and when asked about what he's making next. Mr. Russell said, I’m working on Drake’s Fortune right now. I’m really digging it, I think the story’s coming together in a really intense cool way,...

Now that The Fighter has become a hit with both audiences and critics alike, it’s safe to say director David O. Russell (who recently received a DGA award nomination) has his choice of projects. Having already jumped on board to write and direct the film adaptation of the popular Uncharted video game series, Russell is also in talks to team up with actor-comedian Vince Vaughn. The duo are attempting to adapt Boom! Studios’ comic book 2 Guns for the big screen. Universal Pictures originally positioned the adaptation as a starring vehicle for Vaughn and his Wedding Crashers co-star Owen Wilson with a script written by TV writer Blake Masters (Brotherhood). Russell will rewrite Masters’ script, and is considering tackling the project before heading into Uncharted territory. The 2 Guns comic was written by Steven Grant with art by Mat Santolouco. Hit the jump for more. Here’s the plot synopsis for...

Even though the news back in August was that he had walked away from the project after protracted negotiations, Sony announced yesterday that David O. Russell had signed on to write and direct Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, an adaptation of the adventure video game about an Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunter. Russell, who has The Fighter coming out later this year, has been flitting on and off a lot of different projects lately. Just a few days ago he walked away from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, essentially dooming the project; he and Vince Vaughn also have vague plans to make the comedy Old St. Louis, and he was also considering the Jim Carrey comedy Under Cover, though odds are now he'll be far too busy to consider that one. Russell hasn't released a film since 2004's I Heart Huckabees, mostly thanks to the disastrous shoot of the still-unfinished political comedy Nailed,...