And Pugsy Siegel blows yet another casting call.

Question marks in the headline mean only one thing: EjacuSpeculation time! According to Nikki Fink’s dubious gossip rag, Josh Brolin is in negotiations to join Sean Penn and Baby Goose in Ruben Fleischer’s “Gangster Squad.” What, was “Mafia Crime” already taken?

“Warner Bros has begun negotiating with Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin to star in Gangster Squad, the Will Beall-scripted crime drama that will be directed by Zombieland helmer Ruben Fleischer. Production will begin in the fall. The linchpin of the film is Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen, which is the role that Penn is in talks to play. Gosling and Brolin are in talks to play two cops assigned to bring him down when the gangster’s penchant for violence leaves the blood of innocents on the street.” [Deadline]

This is still in the early stages, and I hope they’re able to make this happen since it sounds really cool, but I’m worried that the prospect of a hardscrabble Brolin teaming-up with an naively optimistic Gosling to take down Penn’s over-the-top Jewish kingpin is just too good to be true.

CHIEF: Yer a loose cannon, McPunchington! You can’t just beat a suspect in custody!

BROLIN: Seems like I just did, Chief. *takes swig from flask, smiles haggardly*

CHIEF: That’s it, yer off the case, Detective! Send in the kid.

BROLIN: Detective Snugfeather? He doesn’t even carry a gun! He says they’re too loud.

[interrogation room door flies open]

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Terrence Malick is famous for directing artsy movies where you may not have any idea what they’re about, but you know damn sure that the camera is going to slowly pan across atmospheric shots that look super pretty.  His next film, Tree of Life (trailer), opening May 27th, stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in “an impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 50s.”

Except, when Terrence Malick makes an impressionistic film called Tree of Life, you know it’s not just about the protagonist family, it’s also an attempt to create a grand, comprehensive meditation on existence itself, from the Big Bang on through sexting.  I assume that’s how the dinosaurs fit in, but generally speaking, if velociraptors are involved, I tend not to sweat the details.  I hope that it’s part of a larger montage that starts with creation, slowly makes its way through primordial sea, the spark of life, fish, reptiles, then the dawn of the dinosaurs, beginning with an egg, from which hatches a full-grown Dicknose James Franco who rampages through Paris rapping about stegosauruses.  It’s a metaphor, you see. Everything is connected.

(Semi-related)

[Picture via the Tree of Life-affiliated tumblr site TwoWaysThroughLife, hat tip: GordonandtheWhale]

"Would you f*ck me? I'd f*ck me."

If you thought Robert Smith from The Cure was ugly, you’re probably puking in your mouth from the sight of Sean Penn’s impression of him in This Must Be the Place. He looks like he smells terrible. The Paolo Sorrentino film, co-starring Frances McDormand, Harry Dean Stanton, Judd Hirsch and Bono’s daughter, Eve Hewson (nice boobs!), is set to play Cannes next month. ThePlaylist just dug up a new clip of outtakes which you can watch below.

Here’s the ridiculous premise: Penn plays an aging rock star obsessed with tracking down the Nazi war criminal who tortured his father.  Uhh… okay.  So, like, The Debt, but with less pelvic exams?  I mean, I know Sean Penn’s father got tortured by the Nazis and all, but if I took one look at my 45-year-old son wearing eyeliner, lipstick, white face paint, and a Helena Bonham Carter wig, my first thought would probably be, “You know? Maybe fascism wasn’t so bad.”

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The last we heard from Peter and Bobby Farrelly, they were very excited to begin production on their new version of The Three Stooges, as they were completing their recent “meh”-fort, Hall Pass. Bobby was raving to the Boston Herald that Sean Penn was still interested in playing Larry and Benicio Del Toro was still down to play the lead Stooge, Moe. And despite media reports of Jim Carrey’s involvement, Curly was still open.

Fast forward to today and things are looking a wee bit different. According to Variety, the Farrellys apparently plan to go younger with their Stooges and the role of Moe is now being linked to Jackass star Johnny Knoxville. So much for the desires of Hollywood’s A-list, eh fellas? Nyuck nyuck nyuck.

*slaps Starbucks barista across the face, pokes hipster on Mac Book in the eyes*

The Farrelly brothers have been looking to cast the part of Moe in order to zero in on Larry Fine and Curly Howard. While Fox had no comment, sources close to the project saythe Farrellys are waiting for Knoxville to officially accept, as negotiations have not formally begun.

The plan is to divide the PG-rated film into three, 27-minute segments driven by physical comedy, which Knoxville is known for.

I guess he is known for that, sure. But the Three Stooges weren’t really known for attaching lobsters to their genitalia or launching each other into the air in a Port-o-Potty slingshot. Then again, there might be 5 people in Hollywood who have actually watched an episode of the Three Stooges and they’re probably too old to even matter anymore. Their grandkids are calling the shots now, so look forward to Knoxville and his co-stars, Kenan Thompson and Dane Cook, in 2012.

From Apple:

From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life is the impressionistic [of course -Ed] story of a Midwestern family in the 1950′s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years (Sean Penn) as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).

Impressionism, as Terrence Malick understands it: Film tracking shots of characters from behind as they walk towards bright sunlight.  Reverse angle.  Close up of them brooding.  Repeat.

Additional trivia: According to IMDB, the alternate title of Malick’s The New World in the Philippines is “Apocalypto 2.”  Now that’s funny.