Delayed releases, directors as writers, memorial films, do-overs, and more this week...oh, and of course, Nicolas Cage news. (I know you can't get enough.)

1. The producers of one of the first 3D war films are currently looking for screenwriters to pen their script, and word is that they are already in talks with several potential writers. In an unconventional bit of news, the film already has a title, 17 Days of Winter. The script will focus on the Battle of Chosin Reservoir which took place during the Korean War and will be created with full cooperation from the South Korean government. The producers, Eric Brevig and Charlotte Huggins were inspired by the battle scenes from the movie Avatar.

2. Indie script, Song of the Knife, will soon go into production this month. Writers James Hyde and Phillip Cruz created a story centered around a government assassin with a terminal illness and all the chaos that his new “nothing to lose” perspective unleashes. Hyde is also producing, and as a cast is being assembled (Keith David, Michael Rooker, Ray J, and Mark Dacascos are set to star.), the pic is still looking to sell distribution rights.

3. Highly successful director Mike Newell is set to write and direct his next project, an as-yet untitled feature about famous KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko. Warner Bros. will finance and distribute. Newell is known for his work on large scale productions, such as the upcoming Prince of Persia and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So his talents are ideal for a project set in the rich visual past and on a wide scope.

4. Director Joe Carnahan (of the upcoming A-Team movie) has written (with Ian Jeffers) and will produce the thriller Grey about plane crash survivors who are hunted by a pack of wolves. (Anyone else reminded of that chapter from The Hobbit, “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire?) Tony Scott's Scott Free shingle will co-produce alongside Carnahan.

5. Martin Scorsese is currently in the pre-production phase of an adaptation of Brian Selznick's novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, but the real buzz surrounding Scorsese at the moment is that he may be remaking his 1976 film Taxi Driver in collaboration with Lars Von Trier. Von Trier recently challenged Jorgen Leth to remake his film The Perfect Human five times over, each time with a different challenge. An official announcement is expected soon, at which time, it will become known whether or not the writer of Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader, will also be involved.

6. One last note, Lionsgate's Season of the Witch, from a script by Bragi Schut, has been given a delayed release a mere five weeks before it was set to open. The period piece/action flick stars Nicolas Cage and revolves around a group of guards assigned to transport an accused witch. No announcement has been made in regards to the delay. Translation? Delayed release = problems behind the scenes. That, or the studio has found a new faith in the film and plans to move it to use as a summer tentpole. Votes on which is the reason? Any knowledge on the situation? Feel free to comment!