The dish

Last update: March 21, 2009 - 2:24 PM

the dish

A jury-rigged notion?

With "MacGyver" (originally played by Roseville native Richard Dean Anderson) reentering the consciousness via "Saturday Night Live," New Line figured it's a good time to bring the handyman extraordinaire to the big screen. No casting rumors yet, but one studio representative says, "We think we're a stick of chewing gum, a paper clip and an A-list writer away from a global franchise."

The final reel

Freida Pinto from "Slumdog Millionaire" is in talks to play the next Bond babe. ... You won't fool with Ellen DeGeneres, playing Mother Nature in an untitled film from Walden Media, her first live-action movie since 1999's "EdTV." ... Linda Hamilton (or at least her voice) will return to the fold, providing narration for "Terminator Salvation." ... Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight") is embarking on another young-adult fantasy series, adapting James Patterson's "Maximum Ride." ... Marvel is eyeing Natalie Portman for the female lead in "Thor." ... Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale" and the upcoming "Adventureland") will play the young Allen Ginsburg in "Kill Your Darlings," about "the murder that helped spawn the Beat Generation." ... Salma Hayek will play Adam Sandler's wife in an untitled high school-reunion comedy also starring Maya Rudolph and Chris Rock.

CYNTHIA DICKISON

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