Movies Daily by Zach Cannon

Starting out with some political movie news today, Oliver Stone has cast Scott Glenn to play Donald Rumsfeld in his much-publicized George W. Bush biopic, W. Glenn joins an already solid stock of players: James Cromwell as Bush 41; Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush; Thandie Newton as Condoleeza Rice; Toby Jones as Carl “Turdblossom” Rove; Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell, Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush; and Josh Brolin as W himself. Still uncast: Dick Cheney.

According to Jam Showbiz and Nancy Sinatra, Martin Scorsese will helm a Frank Sinatra biopic. It doesn’t seem the deal is official yet, but Sinatra promises “you’ll be reading about it very soon.”

Michael Moore announced that he is going ahead with his Fahrenheit 9/11 sequel. Word from Cannes is that he’s not going through The Weinstein Company, as he did with the first Fahrenheit, but Overture Films and Paramount Vantage will split producing, financing and distribution duties. Moore recently started production and will release the film mid-2009.

Also getting a sequel is the 1991 surfer flick Point Break. Based on a screenplay from the original’s screenwriter, W. Peter Iliff, and directed by Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister), the film will take place in Asia some 20 years after the end of the original.

And whilst The Weinstein Company lost Michael Moore’s business, they’re gaining some from The Jim Henson Co. Fraggle Rock will make it’s big screen debut with a part-puppet, part human cast at the center of a musical directed by Corey Edwards (Hoodwinked).

On the TV front, ABC officially picked up Life On Mars, along with a new reality show from Ashton Kutcher. Those will be its only two new shows in the fall, but it will also be bringing Scrubs to its line-up, which finished its run on NBC last week.

Other fan-favorites and award-winners returning: Reaper on The CW, How I Met Your Mother on CBS, New Adventures of Old Christine on CBS, and The Unit on CBS.

Finally, those of you frustrated with HBO’s high DVD prices and fickle On Demand availability, you can now buy HBO series on iTunes , albeit for $2.99 — a dollar more than network shows. The higher price does bring with it a bargain though; while shows like Rome and The Sopranos run about $50+ on DVD, a 10-13 episode season on iTunes will put you back less than $40.

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