George Clooney Is a Gentleman

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George Clooney Is a Gentleman

Tue., May. 19, 2009 7:19 AM PDT by Gina Serpe

INFphoto.com

Any excuse to get George Clooney in a suit…

The old-school movie star has signed on to act his dapper best in A Very Private Gentleman, a big-screen adaptation of the Martin Booth best-seller.

According to Variety, Clooney will play the titular assassin who protects his cover by hiding out in an Italian town as he prepares for his final assignment. Try as he may to keep himself to himself, romantic entanglements ensue.

The film shoots in Italy this fall.

Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg has a dream, Carmen Electra has an exhibitionist streak, Colin Firth and Kevin Spacey have a military bromance, Kenneth Branagh has his comic-book baddie and Vincent D'Onofrio has, well, a slew of new costars.

• If ever a project has screamed Oscar, it's this one: Steven Spielberg is set to produce a biopic of slain American civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., after acquiring the life rights of the equal-opportunity fighter. According to Variety, the project will be the first film to be authorized by the King estate and will therefore be able to incorporate his intellectual property, including his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.

• Colin Firth and Kevin Spacey are buddying up in Catalonia, an adaptation of George Orwell's book. The book was based on Orwell and his wife's visit to Barcelona, where the author joined an Anarchist brigade and fought in the Spanish Civil War. Per Variety, the film will center on the relationship between Orwell and his brigade commander. Cameras roll early next year.

• Carmen Electra is going crazy. The erstwhile Baywatch babe is set to strut her stuff once more, joining the ensemble cast at the Crazy Horse Paris stage in Las Vegas for a weeklong guest appearance beginning July 8. Electra will be just the second celebrity to perform with the sexy dance troupe, following in the footsteps of Dita Von Teese.

• Lightning is striking for Thor. British actor Tom Hiddleston is set to star as Loki, the rival trickster god to the titular Marvel hero, according to Variety. Star Trek papa Chris Hemsworth stars as the hammer wielder in the comic-book epic, directed by Kenneth Branagh. The would-be blockbuster is set for a May 20, 2011, release.

• Call it the luck of The Irishman. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Vincent D'Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, Paul Sorvino, Fionnula Flanagan, Laura Ramsey, Steve Schirripa, Linda Cardellini and Bob Gunton join Christopher Walken and Val Kilmer in the real-life crime story about mob boss Danny Greene. Cameras roll next week.