This one's for the ladies! Essential Pictures is in the process of developing a potential franchise out of author Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. The books, which Variety describes as "fantasy," tell the story of an 18th century Scottish Highlander and his modern-day time-traveling wife. [Not to be confused with the 2008 movie Outlander, about a space cop who lands on a planet of vikings. - Zach] And while the premise of the books is certainly fantasy-based, you generally find these books in the Romance section. And, okay, I know this because I've read them all. Don't judge me. They're an addicting, well-written series that sees historical events with a modern eye, and blends some pretty intricate stories all with an engaging romance unfolding in the background. If the film or films are anywhere near as captivating, y'all better watch out. I once had a dental hygienist obsessed with me simply because she thought I looked like one of the characters.

There has long been talk of producing a big-screen adaptation of Torso, Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko's graphic novel based on the serial murder case that plagued Eliot Ness's post-Untouchables career. Originally a limited series from Image Comics in the late '90s, the book is called Torso because that's all America's first serial killer left of his victims. (Although the first thing I thought of was that Simpsons episode where Todd Flanders proudly exclaims, "I'm a torso!" Is that wrong? Probably, yes.) Image co-founder Todd McFarlane talked to IGN about producing a film almost three years ago, and director David Fincher was attached shortly thereafter. Then last month, Matt Damon was pretty much confirmed for the lead, so it seemed like the project was picking up steam.

In many ways, Cleopatra was a woman ahead of her time. Through political machinations, she sought to secure her place in history, and if she could have seen into the future, she would have seen that her fame lived on, even if her empire did not. She would have also seen that she'll be getting the high-tech treatment as Steven Soderbergh plots to bring her story to the big screen. According to Variety, the director is planning to tell the story of Egypt's final pharaoah as a rock musical -- and it will be in 3-D. If she'd known this would some day be her fate, Cleo may have opted for a life of obscurity. [I think we're eight years beyond that. Have you seen Cleopatra 2525? - Zach]

Thinking outside the box is not a new concept in Hollywood. I mean, this is the town that said, "I know! Talking, dancing Chihuahuas!" and then actually made a bunch of money. So, it may come as little surprise that they're doing the same thing with The Trial of the Chicago 7, an upcoming DreamWorks project about the 1968 riots at the Democratic convention and the events that followed. And by "same thing" I don't mean talking, dancing Chihuahuas. Praise be. Written by Aaron Sorkin, the political drama has had a few directors who've come in for talks about attaching themselves to the film, including Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, and Ben Stiller. No, you totally read that right. Stiller is the latest in a line of helmers that have been in discussions to work on the film, even though this project is decidedly different in tone from the rest of the director's oeuvre. Not that a guy can't change direction or want to work on something a little bit different, but it seems an interesting choice.

If Steve Carell is one of those actors who is desirous of playing many different kinds of roles and never pigeon-holing himself into a certain character archetype, he's not doing a very good job of it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor has just been attached to Brigadier Gerard, a period comedy about a French solider during the Napoleonic wars who is deluded about his level of bravery and prowess on the battlefield. Based on a series of short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, the script was written by Kind of the Hill writers Altshuler and David Krinsky. The character Carell is set to play, Etienne Gerard, is described as "a soldier who considers himself a gallant swordsman but whose actual skills often pale in comparison to his own conception of them." Sound familiar at all?

In the last couple of months, we here at the Moviefile have brought you quite a few reports from Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards casting couch. And I have to say, out of all those reports -- from Brad Pitt to Eli Roth to Ryan the Temp -- I don't think I ever did have an LP-scratch-moment of casting surprise until today. [Not even Mike Myers? - Zach] The film, which began its principal photography yesterday on location in Germany has a cast as varied as the director's lexicon of profanity.

As much as my Jersey upbringing makes me love dirty politics, I'm still sick of the U.S. Presidential race. It's the one reality program more drawn out than Flavor of Love. "Be over already, for God's sake!" I scream at the TV. I'm hoping tonight's debate suddenly becomes an episode of Dancing With the Stars. Seeing the two candidates put aside their differences to dance an ass-kicking version of the lambada (it's the FORBIDDEN DANCE, y'know) would do so much to heal America's wounds. Especially if they dance with each other. But I digress. In honor of tonight's sure-to-be-boring rehash of promises neither side will keep, here are some political movies you can enjoy.

A multitude of new video clips, trailers, set photos and posters have leaked out over the weekend for various upcoming films, and this is your one stop to find it all.

Downey & Law, Crimefighters: First up, JustJared published photos on Friday of Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes from Guy Ritchie's upcoming action film. He added photos on Sunday of Jude Law as Watson. They both look as dashing as you might imagine, all scruffy and in their period garb.

I'm not going to lie. For a very long time, I pronounced the word "biopic" wrong. I think I knew that I didn't quite have it right because I avoided saying it. When I did say it, it rhymed with "myopic." Luckily, I learned to say it correctly about the same time the genre started winning people Oscars. I'm proud to say (correctly!) that Forest Whitaker is about to put in his bid for a hopeful nomination in the now classic Oscar Bait: Musician Biopic Edition. He's signed on to star in and direct What a Wonderful World, a Louis Armstrong biopic, for Legende, the French production house behind La Vie en Rose.

There were a lot of fans of 2007's Frank Miller graphic-novel-cum-movie, 300. Most of them were guys who were fans of the graphic novel, many showed up to check out the unique look of Watchmen director Zack Snyder's vision, and some of us were dragged along against our will, but stayed for the beefcake. The number of fans was so great, in fact, that the movie ended up being the biggest opening weekend in March on record, and the biggest opening for an R rated movie, ever. Numbers like that are all it usually takes for a studio to clamber for a sequel, and news came out today that Frank Miller and Zack Snyder are happily both on board.