Here's your dose of film news for April 28, 2009:
• Pierre Morel, director of "Taken," is set to helm Paramount's upcoming untitled Tokyo thriller, which Frank Baldwin is writing. Accoring to Variety, the plot follows a CIA operative who is ordered to embark on a final mission before his retirement. Baldwin also wrote a remake of "The House of Flying Daggers."
• Universal is gearing up to remake "Drop Dead Fred" with Russell Brand attached to star. Writing the new version is Dennis McNicholas, who co-wrote "Land of the Lost." In the original, Phoebe Cates played a young woman who's reunited with her imaginary friend after returning to her parents' home. (The Hollywood Reporter)
• Don Johnson is the latest to join Nick Swardson, Stephen Dorff and Christina Ricci in Tom Brady's "Born to Be a Star," a comedy Adam Sandler co-wrote and is set to produce with Jack Giarraputo. The plot follows a nerd (Swardson) who discovers his quiet parents were famous porn stars during the 1970s. Johnson plays a porn director. (THR)
• Total Film recently talked to Christian Bale and asked him about a sequel to "The Dark Knight." Bale said, "Will we do a third movie? It's got to be the right story. You can't make something like 'The Dark Knight' and then come out with something disappointing."