David O. Russell continues to work, Ralph Fiennes plays evil so well, Virginia Madsen: champion of ski jumpers! Eastbound & Down will pitch again, and crazy Brittany Murphy joins a crazy movie.

The busy David O. Russell has signed on to direct the annoyingly-titled Aaron and Sarah, a sort of When Harry Met Sally... for the high school set. Kids meet as friends and, over four years, fall in love. Cue retro twee pop score, end with dancing. [Variety] The always-busy Ralph Fiennes might play Hades, god of the underworld, in the upcoming Clash of the Titans. Liam Neeson is scheduled to play Zeus. Why they would want to remake an amazing classic is beyond me, but I suppose that's acceptable casting. [Variety]

Botox spokeswoman Virginia Madsen will be producing a documentary called Defying Gravity, about lonely gay kids on Long Island who are really into Wicked. Actually, it's about women ski-jumpers fighting to be able to participate in the 2010 Olympics. So far, women have been banned from competing in the sport, making it the only Olympic event that is exclusive for men. [Variety] Meanwhile her costar in The Haunting Two Towns Over from Hartford, You Know, Where the Kohl's Is, Kyle Gallner, will play the lead in A Nightmare On Elm Street. Elm Street is famously where the International Ski Jumping Association headquarters are located, and the movie tells the story of men frightened of lady ski jumpers. [Variety]

Well fuck me. HBO has renewed Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and Ben Best's Eastbound and Down for a second season. Production is scheduled to start in the fall so I guess we'd get the new episodes sometime about a year from now. It's unclear whether the show, and lead character Kenny Powers, will return to the North Carolina setting of the first season, or if it'll head out on the road. No matter what, this is good news. [Variety] In the land of shitty TV, The Bachelorette will return as a mainstay of ABC's summer programming next month. But that's not all the good news! Each episode of the show will now be two hours long. [Variety]

Out-to-lunch Brittany Murphy has joined the cast of out-to-lunch-sounding action movie The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone's paean to action stars of yesteryear. Mostly like, himself. And Arnie Schwarzenegger. And, heh, Dolph Lundgren. Presumably she'll play a tough, smart, independent woman who has a great career, a nice condo by the marina, and doesn't need a man to rescue her. [THR] Actor who is everywhere Xander Berkeley has been cast in two different new series. He'll play a regular on ABC's Day One, which, judging by the title, is about vitamins, and he'll be a recurring character on Shonda Rhimes' (Grey's Anatomy) new series Inside the Box, which is also a medical drama, this one set in the world of gynecology. [THR]