Peter Jackson Helped Free the West Memphis Three, and 5 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Also in this Friday edition of The Broadsheet: Brian De Palma is back... Morgan Spurlock may have found a feature film he wants to do... don't expect another Blade Runner anytime soon... and more ahead.

· UPDATE: The West Memphis Three have been released from prison.

EARLIER: If the strong rumors out of Jonesboro, Ark. are correct, the West Memphis Three may be released from prison later this morning, and when that happens, they will likely give a big "thank you" to Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh -- among many, many others. Deadline reports that the partners-in-Hobbits have been tirelessly offering behind-the-scenes support to Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin, the three men who were convicted of murdering three 8-year-old boys in 1993 and have served 18 years in jail despite mounting evidence that they may not have actually committed the brutal crimes. Of course, the filmmaking pair weren't alone: The 1996 documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills shined a light on the West Memphis Three, bringing it to the attention of the populace, as well as celebrities like Johnny Depp and Eddie Vedder. Paradise Lost directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky will be in Arkansas on Friday to film what could be the final West Memphis Three court hearing as a conclusion to their third film about the men, Paradise Lost: Purgatory. (The film is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival in September.) "It's the West Memphis Three, and so stopping at three films seems right. We have just enough time to include what happens in the ending of the film, and it's the most incredible feeling knowing that your work had an impact," Berlinger said. [Deadline]

· Back in the world of fake news, Morgan Spurlock may be directing a narrative feature sooner than you think. "There's a couple movies that I'm attached to right now," Spurlock told Whitney Matheson from Pop Candy. "It took a long time to find something that I liked. There's a film I'm attached to at Leonardo DiCaprio's company right now that's very Erin Brockovich-ish, which is great. I wanted to find something that was smart, that I thought had a little teeth to it. Wasn't just some kind of fluffy." Spurlock said that after Super Size Me, "amazingly terrible scripts" wound up at his door. "I got sent a Revenge of the Nerds remake. I got, like, a Deuce Bigelow movie." [USA Today/Pop Candy]

· Brian De Palma is back. He's set to direct The Key Man for QED International and Safe House Pictures. Per Deadline, the film is a "throwback" to '70s thrillers like Marathon Man. Is it safe? [Deadline]

· If conspiracy thrillers don't float your boat, how about indie dramedies about arrested development? Lynn Shelton will direct Laggies, which follows a woman who -- spooked by her boyfriend's marriage proposal -- spends a week hanging out with some high school kids under the guise of going on a retreat. Sounds like a job for Anna Faris. Just sayin'. [Variety]

· The Dude would probably never use Facebook, but, hey: Universal has released The Big Lebowski on the social networking site, where users can rent the film for $3 per 48 hours. [Deadline]

· Don't expect to see the new version of Blade Runner that Ridley Scott is planning to direct anytime soon. According to Alcon Entertainment producer Andrew Kosove, the earliest the film can shoot is 2013. Also, Harrison Ford is probably a no-go. "[I]f you're asking me will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford, the answer is no. This is a total reinvention, and in my mind that means doing everything fresh, including casting." [LAT/24 Frames]