Daily news dose: 'Dark Knight' breaks $1 billion; 'Battlestar Galactica' movie coming

Here's your dose of film news for Feb. 21, 2009:

• Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" has done it! The film broke the $1 billion mark last week, becoming the fourth movie to do so. "Knight" has scored almost $533 million domestically and $567 million on its international circuit.

• Universal and Glen A. Larson are in talks to develop a big-screen version of "Battlestar Galactica." According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film would not be connected to the television series and relaunch the story. However, characters such as Adama, Starbuck, and Baltar would be a part of it.

• Fox has acquired the big-screen rights to Benjamin Mee's memoir "We Bought a Zoo," The story follows the author on his quest to buy an old zoo with 200 animals in the English countryside. According to the Hollywood Reporter, no writer is currently attached to the project.

• James Franco will star in "Howl," a drama about the obscenity trial over Allen Ginsberg's poem. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman wrote the script and will direct the project. Variety reports filming will start in New York City in March.