Lucasfilm and Disney have begun development on a stand alone STAR WARS movie written by Gary Whitta. By stand alone meaning the story is not a part of a pre-equal or sequel, it's a new story. Gary Whitta's writing credits include THE BOOK OF ELI starring Denzel Washington.  Whitta told Starwars.com, "From the moment I first saw the original movie as a wide-eyed kid, Star Wars has been the single most profound inspiration to my imagination and to my career as a writer. It is deeply special to me,so to be given the opportunity to contribute to its ongoing legacy, especially in collaboration with a film-maker as talented as Gareth, is literally a dream come true. I'm still pinching myself." 

Writer-producer Rob Weiss (ENTOURAGE) has been tapped to take over development of Fox 2000‘s HELLS ANGELS.  Weiss told Deadline.com, “We’re approaching this as a genesis story of the motorcycle club culture. I’ve wanted to do something in the biker space for a long time.”

Writer/director of the micro-budget hit BLUE RUIN Jeremy Saulnier has picked up  financing for his next film from Broad Green Pictures which will produce his crime-thriller GREEN ROOM with Filmscience. (Source)

Lion's Gate has picked up the rights to the horror novel The Merciless and tapped PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (TV) writer Marlene King to adapt. Kind told Deadline.com, “I intend to be merciless with the script and hope our audience will need to sleep with their lights on after seeing the movie.”

Neal Moritz and Sony have enlisted Boondocks EP Rodney Barnes to rewrite buddy action-comedy ANY MEANS NECESSARY, about two estranged brothers who team up to go undercover. (Source)