Toss a bone down the street every morning, and the Hound will come running back with his favorite news stories from the Hollywood trades and beyond. It's a lot easier than paying for subscriptions.

• Guillermo del Toro has been announced as the director of The Hobbit and its sequel which will be overseen by executive producer Peter Jackson. (Comcast) The Hound couldn’t be more pleased with this announcement. Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is one of the best movies to be released over the last few years (plus we’re big fans of his take on the Hellboy comics). We’re glad the Sam Raimi rumors didn’t come to fruition as the disappointment we felt over Spider-Man 3 would have built to epic proportions during production. It now appears that the return to Middle Earth is in very capable and talented hands. 
• Ewan McGregor is in talks to join the cast of The Da Vinci Code movie prequel, Angels and Demons. (Variety) Must make Ewan feel good to know that, no matter how badly the film turns out, it won’t even be in the top three worst prequels he’s ever been in.
• Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to the spec script “Hot for Teacher”, a comedy about a high-schooler desperate to hook up with his particularly-fetching teacher before he graduates. (Variety) J.J. Abrams is producing. Funny, he doesn’t feel tardy.
• Warner Independent Pictures signs the producers of TV’s House, to adapt the best-selling novel Brock Clarke's An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. (Hollywood Reporter) Unhappy about the deal – writers in New England.
• New Dark Knight poster revealed through viral marketing campaign. (ComingSoon) Fan reaction can be best summed up by the word “nerdgasm.”