You say you want a Hawkeye movie? Well, Jeremy Renner wants one even more! One of modern cinema’s finest actresses joins the cast of Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight. Hollywood’s betting you can’t get enough of Sleeping Beauty. Terminator Genisys may be getting soft. And the first trailer for Will Smith and Margot Robbie’s Focus lands. All this and a Nerdoween treat for in the final Movie Morsels of the first full week of October!

Hawkeye

If online interest is any indication, it appears that at least as many people want to see a Hawkeye solo film as a Thor sequel. So star Jeremy Renner was more than happy to discuss Marvel’s battling bowman in a Reddit AMA chat intended to promote his latest film, this weekend’s Kill the Messenger. Turns out Renner REALLY wants the Hawk to fly solo. Here’s what he had to say: “In the last Avengers: Age of Ultron, we got to dive into him some more. Very excited about the outcome of it, and where it can go in the future. But all I can do is want. And that’s all I can do. It all comes down to the content, and really how the puppeteers at Marvel can manifest a story that’s worthy of a solo movie. Not sure what that is, or how that is, but I’m confident they can do whatever they want, if they want to do it. And I’d be game.” [CinemaBlend]

The Hateful Eight

The next film from Quentin Tarantino just got its first official cast member. Acclaimed three-first-named actress Jennifer Jason Leigh will star in QT’s must anticipated follow-up to Django, The Hateful Eight. Leigh will play Daisy Domergue, “a woman wanted for murder who begins the film in the clutches of a bounty hunter.” Here’s a synopsis of the film, which begins shooting in December for a holiday 2015 release…

“Set in Wyoming during a tough winter after the Civil War, The Hateful Eight begins in a stagecoach carrying a sheriff, two bounty hunters and the prisoner to be played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. (For the record, the bounty hunters will likely be played by Jackson and Madsen, and the sheriff by Goggins.) Those four, along with the coach driver, hole up in a haberdashery to wait out a blizzard. There, with three other characters on hand, tensions quickly rise until things get well out of hand. None of the characters are heroes — there’s a reason this one is called The Hateful Eight.”

[SlashFilm]

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty

In the wake of this summer’s hit Disney film Maleficent, there’s another Sleeping Beauty project in development. India Eisley (pictured above in Underworld: The Awakening) will play Briar Rose in director Pearry Teo’s The Curse of Sleeping Beauty. A tie-in comic is also planned by Razor artist Everett Hartsoe. According to Teo, “When working on creating this specific vision of Sleeping Beauty, it’s always been my intention to try something that’s never been seen before,” says Teo. “We’re drawing on varied things like Silent Hill, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Cell and Insidious for inspiration, but we are creating something that will be very unique, both visually and in terms of storytelling.” [Hollywood Reporter]

Focus

Yesterday we showed you the first images from the upcoming Will Smith/Margot Robbie Robbie caper film Focus, and today we’ve got the Focus trailer via Apple Trailers. Click and enjoy! Here a synopsis for the film, out on February 27th:

“Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie). As he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high-stakes racecar circuit. In the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop… and the consummate con man off his game.”

[Deadline]

Terminator Genisys

If you’re a fan of James Cameron’s original Terminator films, and believe every movie about that wacky Cyberdyne corporation should have an R rating, well, you may be SOL when it comes to Terminator Genisys. The fifth Terminator movies arrives on July 1st, and has not yet been given an official rating. But a quote from Jai Courtney, the latest actor to play Kyle Reese, may indicate the direction in which Warner Brothers wants to take the film: “I would love to see it be rated R, but I don’t think it will. I think in this day and age, it’s much more likely to be PG-13. There were no f-bombs. But there’ll be a healthy amount of movie violence.” Uh oh. [CinemaBlend]

Which Witch

And in Halloween-related news today… Funnyman Billy Crystal has signed on to star in, write, and produce The Henson Company’s animated feature Which Witch, directed by Brian Henson. Crystal’s been pretty selective about lending his distinct vocals to such projects, and with Monsters Inc. and Monsters University to his credit, his track record is pretty damn good. Which Witch is based on Eva Ibbotson’s 1979 children’s novel, about a wizard who holds a contest to select one of seven witches to marry. Says Crystal, “When Brian Henson called me about it, I didn’t know the book. But it’s a fantastic story, and I brought in a wonderful writer, Michael Feldman, and we’ve written a terrific and inventive script. I’ll play a character as well, which will be great fun because he actually has two eyes.” Now wouldn’t it be adorable if Carol Kane — pictured above with Crystal as the wife of his Princess Bride magician Miracle Max — voiced the winning witch? [Variety]

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Images: Disney/Marvel, The Weinstein Company, Screen Gems, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox