When Quentin Tarantino was just a video store clerk filled with filmmaking dreams, he and his pals shared a shorthand for the against-all-odds mission movie they would someday make: “This will be our ‘Inglorious Bastards!’ ” Tarantino and his friends would say.

Other aspiring filmmakers might have cited “The Dirty Dozen” or “The Magnificent Seven” for reference, but Tarantino — who always has been drawn to and has an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure B movies — preferred director Enzo Castellari’s 1978 Italian World War II film “Inglorious Bastards,” a sometimes campy drama about renegade soldiers shooting and blowing up Nazis in World War II France.

Tarantino’s new film — starring Brad Pitt, a mix of American and European character actors and some fish-out-of-water casting picks such as comedian Mike Myers and torture-porn director Eli Roth — borrows hardly anything from its Italian predecessor, and even the title of Tarantino’s Cannes Film Festival competition movie is a bit different: “Inglourious Basterds.”

But there is still a difficult mission in the film that opens Aug. 21; it is still World War II, and there are still guns and bombs.

Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine heads a group of eight Jewish soldiers (two of whom are German-born) spreading terror among the enemy in Nazi-occupied France. Their tactics, given the filmmaker’s soft spot for sadism, aren’t exactly subtle. Read more. Thanks Gabriella.

Starting with “Ocean’s Eleven,” Brad Pitt and Steven Soderbergh made a trilogy of films about a group of savvy risk-takers who use their unconventional thinking to strike it rich. Pitt and Soderbergh’s next collaboration will also see them focusing on a group of risk-taking, outside-the-box thinkers — except the action in “Moneyball” is entirely legal.

“We have the dramatic building blocks, so the question is how real can we make the world?” the director asked while promoting his feature about a high-class escort, “The Girlfriend Experience.” “My clearly stated goal is to set a new standard for realism in that [sports] world.”

Filming begins in about six weeks, and the Oscar-winning director is not shy when it comes to his expectation for the finished product. “I hope it sets a new standard,” Soderbergh said. “Hopefully, anybody who makes a sports movie from now on is going to have to grapple with this.” Read all. Thanks Sandra and Intothegrinder.

The official selection for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival was announced Thursday morning in Paris, and while it will be hard to beat last year’s excitement of a whip-cracking Indiana Jones on the Croisette, Quentin Tarantino’s take-no-prisoners personality may just be big enough to give old Indy a run for his money.

As was widely anticipated — especially given that the director last year declared he would have his film ready in time for this year’s Cannes — Tarantino’s World War II action movie, “Inglourious Basterds,” starring Brad Pitt, is one of 20 films that will vie for the coveted Palme d’Or at the 62nd running of the event.

Cannes’ general manager and artistic director, Thierry Frémaux, said that despite media reports claiming the film was a lock, it wasn’t until the last few days that it secured its spot. Tarantino, the only U.S. director with a film in competition this year, has maintained a strong connection to the festival since his “Pulp Fiction” won the Palme d’Or in 1994. Read more.

Columbia Pictures and director Steven Soderbergh have set Demetri Martin to star alongside Brad Pitt in “Moneyball,” the adaptation of the Michael Lewis book about ballplayer-turned-Oakland Athletics g.m. Billy Beane and his attempt to field a competitive team on a slim payroll.

Also joining the roster is a group of actual baseball players: former Oakland A’s team members David Justice and Scott Hatteberg have signed on to play themselves in the picture, while Daryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra are among those who will be seen on camera being interviewed about their experiences with Beane when he was a phenom drafted by the New York Mets before flaming out and becoming a baseball scout. Shooting begins in June.

Martin will play Paul De Podesta, a Harvard grad who turned down Wall Street jobs to use his statistical skills to change baseball scouting tactics. His system, known as “Earned Run Value,” allowed Beane to evaluate valuable players he could hire at low cost. Read more. Thanks Intothegrinder.

A new clip from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds aired last night during American Idol, but there was an extended clip that didn’t play because it was too hot for TV. This clip has showed up online and I added it to BP Media. Click the links below as I also made some screencaps. Brad looks great, which surprises me (cause of the stache). What do you all think after seeing this clip? Thanks Sandra and Gabriella!

Warner Bros on Monday put its Bollywood counterparts on notice that they would sue for breach of copyright if the hit film ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ was remade here. Advertisements were placed in the Times of India and trade magazines stating that Warner Bros is the joint author and co-owner of the copyright of the period drama, which earned 13 nominations at this year’s Oscars. ‘Recent press reports have indicated that certain parties are in the process of producing a film in Hindi based upon the aforementioned film,’ New Delhi-based law firm Lall and Sethi Advocates said in the public notice. A lawsuit will be slapped on anyone producing a film ‘either in English or Hindi or other language, having a similar script, screenplay or story line or character sketches or interplay of characters or sequence of events,’ it said. Read more. Thanks Sandra.

Added some more on set pics of Brad in Dublin filming for The Devil’s Own. Click the link.

The star’s WWII action film, the intentionally misspelled Inglourious Bastards, has been invited to this year’s May 13-24 Cannes Film Festival, and the film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, has not only accepted the call, Variety reports, he’s agreed to allow the picture into competition. The trade paper further reports that Tarantino has promised the Weinstein Company and Universal that his Dirty Dozen-style adventure about Jewish-American commandos battling Nazis will be ready in May. The movie is scheduled to open to the public (08/21/09). Read more.

Added some pics of the upcoming Vanity Fair photoshoot focusing on Inglourious Basterds. Click the link.

Added screencaps of last night’s Entertainment Tonight showing the exclusive upcoming Vanity Fair Inglourious Basterds cast photoshoot. A big thanks to Kristy. Click the link.

BP Media: As promised, I’ve added the video of Entertainment Tonight (03/31) featuring Brad and the rest of the cast for Vanity Fair. If you’re able to provide scans, please contact me. Your help is so appreciated