Beaks here...

Though "money issues" are currently being worked out with the House of Rothman, it sounds like Liam Neeson is set to take over for George Peppard as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith in Joe Carnahan's big-screen rendition of THE A-TEAM. Feel free to bitch that Neeson's not American, but know that he's got a particular set of skills... skills that make him a nightmare for whiners like you.

Variety has also confirmed that Bradley Cooper is "in early talks" to co-star as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck. I believe IESB.net had that first, Fleming. Show some class, and give credit where it's due.

Curiously, there's nothing in the Variety story about Common as B.A. Baracus. I doubt this means anything.

Until I get my hands on the Carnahan and Brian Bloom rewrite of Skip Woods's screenplay (and that's gonna happen), I have no opinion on the casting of Neeson and Cooper other than to say that they're both capable actors. Cooper is a more obvious fit if you're comparing the film directly to the television show, but that's folly because I doubt Carnahan is going to make an A-TEAM movie where nobody gets killed. According to the Variety story, the tone will be closer to (the remakes of) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and OCEAN'S 11. In other words, people might die, but it'll be the fun kind of dying.

Production on THE A-TEAM is scheduled to begin in August. The current release date is June 11, 2010.