Hollywood deals update: Paramount goes casino; Fox revisits 'Family History'

Here's what's currently going on inside the Hollywood studio world:

• Paramount is developing a project about online casinos in Costa Rica, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to produce and maybe star in. Brian Koppelman and David Levien ("Ocean's Thirteen") came up with the pitch. Look for DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island." (Variety)

• Fox is working on a project entitled "Family History," written by Marc Haimes from a draft by Michael Punke. Haimes told the Hollywood Reporter the film centers on a family embarking on a treasure hunt through time. Haimes also wrote "Elevator Men."

• Paramount also bought "Honey Pot," a pitch from Elizabeth Meriwether. Described as an action comedy, the film centers on two women caught up in the world of international espionage. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Stuart Beattie, whose credits include "Australia" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," is developing a flick based on John Marsden's novel "Tomorrow, When the War Began." The series follows a gang of Australian teens battling the invasion of their homeland. (THR)

Will Stephen Sommers direct ‘Tarzan’?

Stephen Sommers is in talks to direct a new big-screen version of “Tarzan” for Warner Bros., according to Variety.

Sommers will write the script with Stuart Beattie, whose credits include “Collateral” and Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming “Australia.” Beattie also co-wrote Paramount’s upcoming action flick “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra,” which Sommers also directed.

Apparently, Warner Bros. has been developing a new “Tarzan” flick since 2003. What exactly this new film will focus on is unknown at this point. By the way, Tarzan first appeared in 1912’s “Tarzan of the Apes,” a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Over the past decades, Tarzan made numerous appearances on television and the big screen, which is why I don’t think we necessarily need another one of his adventures. Maybe it’s just me, but I couldn't get all too excited about this announcement.

Sommers also directed “The Mummy,” “The Mummy Returns” and “Van Helsing.”