August To Rewrite Shazam!
John August has been hired to write Shazam!, New Line Cinema's adaptation of a DC Comics series featuring Captain Marvel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Peter Segal is attached to direct and also is producing with Michael Ewing.
The comic-book series focuses on Billy Batson, a teenager who becomes the superhero known as Captain Marvel when he utters the magic word "Shazam!" The name is an acronym for six gods and heroes of the ancient world, as well as their attributes: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.
Writers on the long-gestating project include William Goldman and Bryan Goluboff.
Segal approached August because of the writer's track record of combining big spectacle with characterization in such movies as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Big Fish.

Gyllenhaal Up For Captain Marvel?
The New York Daily News reported that Jake Gyllenhaal is in line to play Captain Marvel in New Line Cinema's proposed Shazam! movie, based on the DC Comics series.
The paper's Rush & Molloy column, citing anonymous sources, reported that the movie is New Line's bid for a franchise on the order of Batman and Superman. "They're ready to spend up to $200 million to get it started," one source told the columnists.
The columnists also reported that director Peter Segal and his fellow producers want to nab Gyllenhaal before Spider-Man director Sam Raimi does. With Spider-Man 3, due to open on May 4, star Tobey Maguire has said he may let someone else play the webslinger in subsequent installments.
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/r_m/index.html