The Bulletin: Butler Flees 'New York'

Gerald Butler ("300"), cast to be the next Snake Plisskin in an update of John Carpenter's dystopian thriller "Escape From New York" (1981), has fled the project due to creative differences, reports Variety. Jonathan Mostow ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines") will rewrite Ken Nolan's script for New Line Cinema with an option to replace Len Wiseman ("Live Free or Die Hard") as director. Neal Moritz ("The Fast and the Furious") will produce. In the original "Escape From New York," Plissken (Kurt Russell), a notorious fugitive with an outlaw's stylish eye patch, infiltrates Manhattan, an inescapable maximum security prison of the future, to rescue the President of the United States.

Dobkin Up to Speed on 'The Flash'
David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers," "Fred Claus") will direct "The Flash," an adaptation of DC Comics' speedy daredevil, for Warner Bros. Pictures, reports MTV. A creation of Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, "The Flash" has the ability to sprint extremely fast, exploit superhuman reflexes and violate certain laws of physics, i.e. time travel. Dobkin will direct "The Flash" as a peripheral sequel to Warner Bros.' "Justice League of America" (2009), now in development. In February, Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum") was chosen to direct, but the production gridlock of DC Comics properties at Warner Bros. — between a sequel to Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns," the rush to corporatize George Miller's "Justice League of America" and the languid development of "Wonder Woman" — is enough to suggest Levy's version of "The Flash" is not a priority.

Connelly, Bates in 'Day' Update
Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates will star in an update of Robert Wise's 1951 classic "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (May 9, 2008) at 20th Century Fox, reports Variety. Keanu Reeves co-stars as Klaatu, a humanoid extraterrestrial sent to Earth with an ultimatum: Cease fire or risk annihilation. Production begins in November in Vancouver. Scott Derrickson ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") will direct. Ryne Douglas Pearson and David Scarpa wrote the script.

'The Great Debaters' Trailer Available
The trailer for Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" (Dec. 25), with Forest Whitaker, is available to view in Quicktime at Yahoo! Movies.