Transformers returns. Again. Movies will be produced, WGA employees will be let go, Allen Ginsberg and Confucius will be resurrected, as will a young John Lennon. And Catherine Hardwicke makes another kiddie movie.

Oh phew. Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen will not be the last you'll see of acorn-faced Shia LaBeouf and his robot pals. Transformers 3: Fall of the Risen (or whatever) has secured a premiere date: July 1st, 2011. Of course by then the world be a sand-blasted junkyard of bones and teeth, a cold diseased sea lapping at scorched shores. But at least we'll have Megan Fox once again changing oil in her denim underpants. [Variety]

Jesse Eisenberg, from The Squid & the Whale and the upcoming Adventureland, will be playing poet Allen Ginsberg in an ensemble movie about a beatnik murder. This is likely the only time that Jesse Eisenberg will be competing with James Franco. [Variety] Meanwhile, Confucius say: "Please let area badass Chow Yun-fat play me in a biopic." Done! [Variety]

Sam Neill is joining the cast of that show Happy Town, about a secretly murderous little burg, playing the owner of a movie-paraphernalia shoppe. Full of dinosaurs!!!! [THR] The CW will have more opportunities to cast their "everyone under 5'7", please" version of America's Next Top Former Modeling Show Reality Star. They're redoing the New York auditions, after a stampede ruined it for everyone. [THR]

Catherine Hardwicke, once lauded for films like Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, sold her soul to direct the Twilight chaste vampire goo fest, and is now adapting another YA klassic. Maxium Ride is about, shit you not, a group of teens who are half-human, half-bird. They are called the Flock. They are pursued by a group of half-human, half-wolf creatures. They are called Erasers. So. [THR]

The Writers' Guild of America is cutting 10% of its 185 employees, citing their $2 million operating deficit. So now WGA employees can join all those in their guild who are unemployed. [Variety] Meanwhile, the Weinsteins are spending money again! Recession over! They just snapped up Nowhere Boy, a movie about a young John Lennon. So good for them. Good for everyone. Except those 18.5 people up there. Sucks. [Variety]

Brad Pitt's Plan B production house will be cobbling together a screen version of John LeCarre's spy novel The Night Manager, Paramount will co-produce. [Variety] Meanwhile J.J. Abrams will produce a film version of an upcoming Wired magazine article about a diamond heist. [Variety]