Deadline’s Mike Fleming was one of the first this morning to the news that after many years of failed attempts, Broadway adaptation rights for Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window have finally been secured. The lucky winning bidders are director Jay Russell and producer Charlie Lyons, whose previous film collaborations include Ladder 49 and The Water Horse.

In recent years, there have been various pick-ups on the 1954 classic. Shia Labeouf fronted 2007′s Disturbia, which was later challenged in court by the estate controlling the rights to Rear Window (the plaintiffs lost). Meanwhile, in 2009, Jason Sudeikis and January Jones did a questionable SNL riff featuring a very flatulent Grace Kelly.

Casting is going to be key. The 1998 ABC-TV movie remake for example very cleverly chose Christopher Reeve to play the James Stewart character, opposite Darryl Hanah as his concerned girlfriend.

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Even though today’s entertainment news cycle has just begun, the pick-up by CNN, People and other outlets of comments made by Pat Sajak during a January 24 interview with Miami Herald reporter Dan Le Batard on ESPN 2 is going to be hard to beat.

Sajak recalled how during the early days of Wheel of Fortune, he and letter-turner Vanna White would repair to Burbank Mexican restaurant Los Arcos during then-longer taping breaks and drink a few too many margaritas. He playfully admitted to being drunk on the air. So far, only a few outlets are going to headline-town:

“Wheel of Intoxication with Pat Sajak”
[Charlotte, North Carolina's K104.7 FM]

“Pat Sajak: Drinking and Driving Behind the Wheel of Fortune”
[BusinessInsider.com, since changed]

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Morgan Freeman will be honored with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award at this year’s Golden Globe ceremony. The DeMille Award is given to “talented individuals who have made an incredible impact on the world of entertainment.” Robert De Niro won the award last year. Past winners include Al Pacino, Sidney Poitier, James Stewart and Anthony Hopkins.

Winners are chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Ass. board of directors, composed of foreign journalists who cover Hollywood. Freeman has been nominated for five Oscars, picking up the win for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for his role in Million Dollar Baby.

This past Thanksgiving, Philadelphia Inquirer movie critic Steven Rea launched a whimsical blog at Tumblr. Titled “Rides a Bike,” it honors those halcyon days when movie stars rode around Hollywood backlots on bicycles.

Many of the photos depict timeless pairings, such as Audrey Hepburn with her dog Mr. Famous or Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth riding tandem. There’s also the somewhat incongruous two-wheeled taming of men of action like Sean Connery and Steve McQueen.

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