Channing Tatum Is Maybe Your U.N.C.L.E.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum is under consideration for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Steven Soderbergh’s adaptation of the sixties spy show. The role was vacated by George Clooney, apparently because a surgery was physically preventing him from doing the stunt work required. By the way, Soderbergh is currently directing Tatum in the male stripper bonanaza Magic Mike, so hopefully Channing will get bring a few G-strings over U.N.C.L.E., too. Grade: B+ [Deadline]

Like Crazy’s Felicity Jones is moving up into the big leagues: Warren Beatty has selected her as the female lead in his untitled Howard Hughes movie. Beatty himself stars as Hughes; Jones will play his love interest, who is at first romantically attached to his young driver/pal. Deadline also reports that Beatty’s wife Annette Bening is up for a role, which must be awkward around the house. “Seriously, Warren? You can’t just tell me if I got the part?”, etc. Grade: A- [Deadline]

David Gordon Green will write and direct an adaptation of Evan Mandery’s novel Q for Sony Pictures. The book revolves around a guy who is visited by his future self and is convinced not to marry the love of his life; then he regrets that decision and spends the rest of his life trying to undo it. Spoiler alert: titular love of the protagonist’s life is the guy who makes all of James Bond’s sweet inventions. Grade: B [Deadline]

Due to personal reasons, Last Man Standing creator Jack Burditt is leaving the show, and will be replaced by Kevin Abbott (Reba) as showrunner. Kevin Abbott’s first order of business: having Tim Allen teach him how to grunt. Grade: C [Deadline]

David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, is developing a big screen Dr. Who franchise for the BBC. The show, about a “super-intelligent alien in human form, who battles a variety of cosmic bad guys aided by plucky human companions,” originally ran from 1963 to 1989, and has been back and running in its second incarnation since 2005. Nerds, rejoice. Grade: A [Showblitz]

Anne Fletcher is on board to direct The Fight Before Christmas, a family comedy, for Shawn Levy’s production firm. Fletcher previously directed The Proposal; more importantly, she did the mindblowing kid/robot dance duo choreography on Levy’s Real Steel. Seriously? Forget directing — with those kind of qualifications, this woman should be running for president. Grade: A [Variety]

Filed Under: Channing Tatum, Grading the Trades, Steven Soderbergh

Amos Barshad has written for New York Magazine, Spin, GQ, XXL, and the Arkansas Times. He is a staff writer for Grantland.

Archive @ AmosBarshad