Here is your dose of film news bits for Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009:

• Anthony Mackie ("The Hurt Locker") has signed on to star in George Nolfi's upcoming thriller "The Adjustment Bureau," based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Matt Damon is on board to star as a promising congressman whose career takes a turn when he meets a beautiful ballet dancer, played by Emily Blunt. (Variety)

• German actor Moritz Bleibtreu, who was recently seen in "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex," will play Mephisto in Oskar Roehler's big-screen version of Goethe's "Faust." Of course, the film follows the classic story of a desperate man selling his soul to the devil for knowledge. I clearly remember this one from high school.

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Denzel Washington is no longer part of Tony Scott's action thriller "Unstoppable," which was recently put on hold because of budget concerns.

The actor formally exited the project after waiting around for 20th Century Fox to work out the financial problems. A solution has not been found at this stage.

"Unstoppable" follows an engineer who boards a locomotive with a young conductor and attempts to chase a runaway train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals.

With money being used more sparingly by some studios, Fox decided the film's budget was simply to high. The studio apparently asked Washington to take a smaller salary for the job, but he refused.

At this stage, nobody really knows what will eventually happen with the film. Scott still seems to be attached, but who knows how long it will take to figure things out. Scott's recent flick, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," didn't do that well at the box office.

Source: Variety

Here's your dose of casting updates for June 4, 2009:

• Lisa Kudrow, Alyson Machalka, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Penn Badgley, Cam Gigandet, Malcolm McDowell and Daniel Byrd will join Emma Stone and Amanda Bynes in Will Gluck's comedy "Easy A," a modern reimagining of "The Scarlet Letter." Written by playwright Bert V. Royal, the film centers on a high school student who seeks financial and personal gain by pretending to be the school slut. (Variety)

• Chris Pine, who's currently onscreen in "Star Trek," is in talks to join Denzel Washington in Tony Scott for Fox's upcoming thriller "Unstoppable." The plot follows an engineer who boards a locomotive with a young conductor (Pine) and attempts to chase a runaway train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington is in talks to reteam with Tony Scott for Fox's upcoming thriller "Unstoppable," according to Variety. The plot follows an engineer who boards a locomotive with a young conductor and attempts to chase a runaway train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals. Mark Bomback, whose credits include "Race to Witch Mountain," wrote the script.

"Unstoppable" would mark Washington's fifth collaboration with Scott. The two previously worked together on "Crimson Tide," "Man on Fire," "Deja Vu" and the upcoming "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" remake. Washington was last seen in "The Great Debaters." He'll also star in the upcoming thriller "The Book of Eli," the latest flick from Allen and Albert Hughes.