Avatar 2 & 3, a John Belushi Biopic, On the Road News and Much More.

UPCOMING PROJECTS.

James Cameron talked to MTV and told them he’s considering shooting AVATAR 2 and AVATAR 3 back-to-back. Check it out here, courtesy of Deadline.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” screenwriter Steven Conrad and “The Hangover” director-producer Todd Phillips are developing a JOHN BELUSHI BIOPIC based on the late comedian’s life. Warner Bros. recently acquired the rights from Belushi’s estate, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Bummer. Bad news concerning the JERRY GARCIA BIOPIC. According to Jerry Garcia’s camp, the planned biopic of the Grateful Dead front man, adapted from the Robert Greenfield book “Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia” and to be directed by Amir Bar-Lev – the documentary filmmaker behind “The Pat Tillman Story” and “My Kid Could Paint That” – will not be allowed to use any of Garcia’s music. Garcia’s estate released a statement: “We want to make clear that neither Grateful Dead Productions nor the Jerry Garcia Family LLC are in any way working with — or are in any other way affiliated with — the supposed upcoming Amir Bar-Lev-directed biopic about Jerry Garcia. We will not be licensing any recordings from Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia’s music library for this production, nor will we provide the producer/director with access to any Garcia family members,” reports The New York Times.

TAYLOR SWIFT is rumored to be starring in a potential sequel to the hit ensemble comedy “Valentine’s Day.” The romantic comedy would star Swift as an NYU freshman looking for love, and possibly reunite her with her alleged ex-boyfriend and “Valentine’s Day” co-star Taylor Lautner, according to E!

CASTING NEWS.

Old Spice Guy ISAIAH MUSTAFA has been cast in a lead role in Tyler Perry’s upcoming entry in the “Madea” franchise, “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mustafa will bow out of Perry’s other film, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf,” in exchange for a bigger role in “Madea.”

What a cast! Although its taken nearly 30 years for Francis Ford Coppola to turn Jack Keruoac’s Beat Generation novel “On the Road’ into a movie, the project is finally well underway and looks worth the wait. Directed by Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”), the film’s cast of Kristen Dunst, Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley and “Tron: Legacy” star Garrett Hedlund will now be joined by AMY ADAMS and VIGGO MORTENSEN.
Adams will play Jane, the emotionally damaged junkie mother of two children and the wife of Old Bull Lee. Mortensen is going to play Lee, according to Deadline.

David O. Russell’s (“I Heart Huckabees,” “Flirting with Disaster”) next movie is looking sharp now that SCARLETT JOHANSSON has committed to star alongside its producer and leading man, Vince Vaughn, in “Old St. Louis” – a road movie about a divorced traveling toy salesman who reconnects with his teen daughter after years on the road. Johansson would play Vaughn’s secretary/love interest who accompanies him on the trip, according to New York Magazine.

In one of the odder casting decisions of late, WILL FERRELL (“The Other Guys”) has committed to star in his next project, the Spanish-language comedy “Casa de mi padre.” The project will be produced by Ferrell and frequent director Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions, and the project – entirely in Spanish – begins shooting in September in California, according to Risky Business Blog.

“Inception” star CILLIAN MURPHY is set to join Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried in filmmaker Andrew Niccol’s (“Gattaca”) sci-fi drama, “I’m.moral.” The story is set in the near future where an aging gene has been turned off and time is the currency people use to pay for things, meaning the rich can live forever. Will (Timberlake) is suddenly gifted a fortune but then becomes the target of a murder investigation. He kidnaps an heiress (Amanda Seyfried) while on the lam, and Murphy will play an officer from an organization called Timekeepers that is tracking him down, according to Heat Vision.

R.I.P.

PATRICIA NEAL, 84, died Sunday of lung cancer at her home in Edgartown, Mass. The actress won an Oscar for playing Paul Newman’s grief-stricken housewife in 1963’s “Hud,” and was nominated for another Oscar for 1968’s “The Subject was Roses.” Neal also appeared in other classic films, including: “The Fountainhead” (1949), “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951), and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961). She was married to legendary author Roald Dahl from 1953-1983.

NEW TRAILERS.

I personally can’t wait for this. The trailer for MTV’s JACKASS 3D has hit the Internet, and it looks hilarious. All the boys are back – Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, etc. – and better than ever. Check it out here:

The trailer for the Christina Aguilera-starring music pic BURLESQUE has hit the Internet. Cher also stars as a burlesque clubowner who mentors the small town girl with big singing pipes. No word yet on whether this will be as bad as “Crossroads” or “Glitter.”

COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK.

Watch Joseph Gordon Levitt’s directorial debut – the short film “Morgan and Destiny’s Eleventeenth Date” – that premiered at SXSW earlier this year. Gordon Levitt stars in the film, alongside his “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra” pal Channing Tatum.

“Scott Pilgrim” co-stars Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman randomly stopped by Atlanta’s local Fox News TV affiliate to do the news. Hilarity ensues.

MTV News asked the stars of “Eat, Pray, Love” if they knew what the mantra of MTV’s breakout reality hit “Jersey Shore” – GTL, or “Gym, Tanning, Laundry” – meant. Javier Bardem’s response is pretty hilarious.

Until next week!