Ben Affleck a triple threat in "Line of Sight" (Reuters)

By Joshua L. Weinstein Joshua L. Weinstein – Tue Aug 23, 4:20 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Ben Affleck is attached to produce, star in and direct "Line of Sight," a thriller now in development at Warner Bros., TheWrap has confirmed.

The project will have to wait at least a little while. Production on Warners' "Argo," which Affleck is directing and starring in, began on Monday.

"Line of Sight" has some heavy interest: Joel Silver and Andrew Rona are on board to produce. But the movie hasn't been greenlit yet.

In February, TheWrap reported that writer F. Scott Frazier sold "Line of Sight," which he wrote as a spec script, to Warner's.

Since then, Peter O'Brien has worked on the script.

The movie is about squad of commandos who transport cargo while trying to stop an anti-government uprising.

Affleck is increasingly in demand as a director, and Warners loves him.

He directed and starred in the studio's 2010 thriller "The Town," which had a budget estimated at $37 million and grossed $154 million worldwide. "Argo" is also a Warner Bros. movie.

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Letterman back at work after website death threat (AP)

NEW YORK – Even a fatwa is grist for comedy when you're David Letterman.

Back from two weeks' vacation and making his first TV appearance since a threat against his life was posted on a jihadist website, the "Late Show" host played it all for laughs during Monday's monologue.

Letterman began by thanking his studio audience for being there.

"Tonight," he said, "you people are more, to me, honestly, than an audience — you're more like a human shield."

Then he apologized for having been tardy coming out onstage.

"Backstage, I was talking to the guy from CBS," he explained. "We were going through the CBS life insurance policy to see if I was covered for jihad."

Until Letterman delivered his jokes, his situation seemed no laughing matter.

Last week, a frequent contributor to a jihadist website posted the threat against Letterman. He urged Muslim followers to "cut the tongue" of the late-night host because of a joke and gesture the comic had made about al-Qaida leaders on a show that aired in June.

"A guy, a radical extremist threatened to cut my tongue out," Letterman marveled during Monday's monologue. Then, referring to his disastrous turn hosting the Oscars in 1995, he added: "I wish I had a nickel for every time a guy has threatened (that). I think the first time was during the Academy Awards."

"And so now," he continued, "State Department authorities are looking into this." But they could save themselves some trouble, he suggested: "Everybody knows it's (Jay) Leno."

Along with his monologue, Letterman mined the situation for his Top Ten List: "Top Ten Thoughts That Went Through My Mind After Hearing about the Threat."

Among them:

• "Why is the staff in such a good mood?"

• "How can someone be so angry at a time when Kim Kardashian is so happy?"

• "Some people get Emmy nominations; some people get death threats."

One joke that may have helped spark the fatwa was one of several lampooning al-Qaida in Letterman's June 8 monologue. This was just days after the death of al-Qaida leader Ilyas Kashmiri, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan. Though Kashmiri was rumored to be a long-shot choice to succeed Osama bin Laden, he wouldn't have worked out even had he lived, Letterman cracked, pointing to Kashmiri's "rocky start" as a front-runner: "He botched up the story of Paul Revere."

The real butt of that joke: Sarah Palin, potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, who in early June on her "One Nation" bus tour had claimed that Paul Revere's famous ride was intended to warn British soldiers as well as his fellow colonists.

The website contributor, who identified himself as Umar al-Basrawi, railed in his post that Letterman had referred to both bin Laden and Kashmiri and said that Letterman, in discussing Kashmiri's death, had "put his hand on his neck and demonstrated the way of slaughter."

"Is there not among you a Sayyid Nosair al-Mairi ... to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever?" Al-Basrawi wrote, referring to El Sayyid Nosair, who was convicted of the 1990 killing of Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane. Letterman is not Jewish.

Al-Basrawi, considered likely to be an alias, has made some 1,200 postings to the Muslim website, according to Adam Raisman, an analyst for the Site Monitoring Service. The private firm, part of the Site Intelligence Group, provides information to government and commercial clients on what jihadists are saying on the Internet and in traditional media. Raisman said the online forum is often used by al-Qaida.

The FBI said last week that it was looking into the threat.

While Letterman and his writers were polishing their jokes Monday afternoon, outside on Broadway, a bomb-sniffing dog was led around the periphery of the Ed Sullivan Theater in midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, ticketholders queuing up along the sidewalk seemed relaxed about attending Letterman's first taping since the assassination threat. Some were even unaware that his life had been threatened.

"I'm not worried. They've got metal detectors," said Kendall Phillips, a 25-year-old from Houston, noting a standard provision in the TV world for screening audience members. "Plus, it's like really hard to get tickets."

___

AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.cbs.com

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Letterman back at work after website death threat (AP)

NEW YORK – Even a fatwa is grist for comedy when you're David Letterman.

Back from two weeks' vacation and making his first TV appearance since a threat against his life was posted on a jihadist website, the "Late Show" host played it all for laughs during Monday's monologue.

Letterman began by thanking his studio audience for being there.

"Tonight," he said, "you people are more, to me, honestly, than an audience — you're more like a human shield."

Then he apologized for having been tardy coming out onstage.

"Backstage, I was talking to the guy from CBS," he explained. "We were going through the CBS life insurance policy to see if I was covered for jihad."

Until Letterman delivered his jokes, his situation seemed no laughing matter.

Last week, a frequent contributor to a jihadist website posted the threat against Letterman. He urged Muslim followers to "cut the tongue" of the late-night host because of a joke and gesture the comic had made about al-Qaida leaders on a show that aired in June.

"A guy, a radical extremist threatened to cut my tongue out," Letterman marveled during Monday's monologue. Then, referring to his disastrous turn hosting the Oscars in 1995, he added: "I wish I had a nickel for every time a guy has threatened (that). I think the first time was during the Academy Awards."

"And so now," he continued, "State Department authorities are looking into this." But they could save themselves some trouble, he suggested: "Everybody knows it's (Jay) Leno."

Along with his monologue, Letterman mined the situation for his Top Ten List: "Top Ten Thoughts That Went Through My Mind After Hearing about the Threat."

Among them:

• "Why is the staff in such a good mood?"

• "How can someone be so angry at a time when Kim Kardashian is so happy?"

• "Some people get Emmy nominations; some people get death threats."

One joke that may have helped spark the fatwa was one of several lampooning al-Qaida in Letterman's June 8 monologue. This was just days after the death of al-Qaida leader Ilyas Kashmiri, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan. Though Kashmiri was rumored to be a long-shot choice to succeed Osama bin Laden, he wouldn't have worked out even had he lived, Letterman cracked, pointing to Kashmiri's "rocky start" as a front-runner: "He botched up the story of Paul Revere."

The real butt of that joke: Sarah Palin, potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, who in early June on her "One Nation" bus tour had claimed that Paul Revere's famous ride was intended to warn British soldiers as well as his fellow colonists.

The website contributor, who identified himself as Umar al-Basrawi, railed in his post that Letterman had referred to both bin Laden and Kashmiri and said that Letterman, in discussing Kashmiri's death, had "put his hand on his neck and demonstrated the way of slaughter."

"Is there not among you a Sayyid Nosair al-Mairi ... to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever?" Al-Basrawi wrote, referring to El Sayyid Nosair, who was convicted of the 1990 killing of Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane. Letterman is not Jewish.

Al-Basrawi, considered likely to be an alias, has made some 1,200 postings to the Muslim website, according to Adam Raisman, an analyst for the Site Monitoring Service. The private firm, part of the Site Intelligence Group, provides information to government and commercial clients on what jihadists are saying on the Internet and in traditional media. Raisman said the online forum is often used by al-Qaida.

The FBI said last week that it was looking into the threat.

While Letterman and his writers were polishing their jokes Monday afternoon, outside on Broadway, a bomb-sniffing dog was led around the periphery of the Ed Sullivan Theater in midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, ticketholders queuing up along the sidewalk seemed relaxed about attending Letterman's first taping since the assassination threat. Some were even unaware that his life had been threatened.

"I'm not worried. They've got metal detectors," said Kendall Phillips, a 25-year-old from Houston, noting a standard provision in the TV world for screening audience members. "Plus, it's like really hard to get tickets."

___

AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.cbs.com

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David Letterman jokes about militant death threat (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Late-night TV comedian David Letterman on Monday shrugged off a death threat made against him by a Muslim militant, joking on his show that his audience could "shield" him.

Last week, the U.S.-based SITE intelligence monitoring group said a death threat against Letterman was posted on a website used by militants.

The militant who made the threat, and was apparently angered by a joke Letterman made about the death of a leading member of al Qaeda killed in an air strike in Pakistan, called on Muslims in the United States to "cut the tongue" of the comedian and "shut it forever."

While taping an episode of CBS network's "Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday, the comedian addressed the threat during his opening monologue.

"Tonight, you people are more, to me, honestly, more than an audience ... you're more like a human shield," Letterman joked in front of audience members at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York where the show is produced.

"I'm so sorry, I'm a little late coming out. Backstage, I was talking to the guy from CBS. We were going through the CBS life insurance policy to see if I was covered for jihad," Letterman said.

Letterman went on to jokingly suggest the threat really originated from late night rival Jay Leno.

Letterman's comedic take on the death threat will air on the "Late Show" on Monday night.

An FBI spokesman said last week that the agency was looking into the militant threat against Letterman.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Peter Bohan)

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Threat to David Letterman on Muslim forum (AP)

NEW YORK – A frequent contributor to a jihadist website has threatened David Letterman, urging Muslim followers to "cut the tongue" of the late-night host because of a joke the comic made on his CBS show.

The Site Monitoring Service, a private intelligence organization that watches online activity, said Wednesday that the threat was posted a day earlier on the Shumuka al-Islam forum, a popular Internet destination for radical Muslims.

The contributor, who identified himself as Umar al-Basrawi, was reacting to what he said Letterman did after the U.S. military announced on June 5 that a drone strike in Pakistan had killed al-Qaida leader Ilyas Kashmiri.

Al-Basrawi wrote that Letterman had made reference to both Osama bin Laden and Kashmiri and said that Letterman had "put his hand on his neck and demonstrated the way of slaughter."

"Is there not among you a Sayyid Nosair al-Mairi ... to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever?" Al-Basrawi wrote, referring to El Sayyid Nosair, who was convicted of the 1990 killing of Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane. Letterman is not Jewish.

Al-Basrawi, which is likely to be an alias, has made some 1,200 postings to the Muslim website, said Adam Raisman, an analyst for the Site Monitoring Service. The private firm, part of the Site Intelligence Group, provides information to government and commercial clients on what jihadists are saying on the Internet and traditional media. Raisman said the online forum is often used by al-Qaida.

Muslim extremist groups in the past few months have increased calls for people to take violent action against certain targets in the West, he said.

"The concern is that there is someone who will read it, agree with it and say, `I want to be the Sayyid Nosair of 2011 and kill David Letterman,'" Raisman said.

The FBI is also looking into the threat, said Jim Margolin, spokesman for the bureau's New York office. "We take every potential threat seriously," he said.

Neither CBS nor a Letterman spokesman, Tom Keaney, would comment on the threat. CBS would not make available a transcript of Letterman's monologue on the killing of Kashmiri.

Letterman has been the target of criminal threats in the past. A former CBS News producer was jailed for trying to extort $2 million from Letterman in 2009 by threatening to expose the host's sexual dalliances with members of his staff. A former painter at Letterman's ranch in Montana was jailed following a 2005 plot to kidnap the TV funnyman's nanny and son.

A radical Muslim group last year warned the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for depicting the prophet Muhammad in a bear suit on the Comedy Central cartoon. Author Salman Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged he be killed for blasphemy after writing the book "The Satanic Verses."

Filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed on an Amsterdam street in 2004 by a Dutch Muslim angered by his film "Submission," a fictional study of abused Muslim women.

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