'Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog' Takes Willis, While 'Die Hard 5' Takes Its Time

It's pretty rare that a film actually has a better title than the book from which it's adapted, but Stephen Frears' "Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog," adapted from the memoir "Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling," certainly meets that criteria.

Beth Raymer's best-seller is the chronicle of her journey from Vegas cocktail waitress to one of the top sports gambling bookmakers. Rebecca Hall is already set to play Raymer, who also earned an MFA from Columbia University and was awarded a Fulbright.

So the next time a cocktail waitress says she's just doing this to get herself through college, think twice before you dismiss her. She might be doing just that.

According to Vulture, Willis would take the role of Dink Heimowitz, a former bookmaker with an awesome name and a bit of an attitude who mentored Raymer.

But it's not all sunshine, rainbows, and crusty-but-benign bookmakers for Willis, whose "Die Hard 5" has hit a roadblock at 20th Century Fox.

Skip Woods delivered a less-than-satisfying screenplay and they're going back to square one (and really, when you hire the writer of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "The A-Team," shouldn't you just prepare yourself for disappointment?).

Willis is even meeting with directors himself - and you thought your job interviews were intimidating - and is currently favoring Daniel Espinosa. Currently preparing "Safe House" with Denzel Washington, Espinosa is a Swedish director whose previous film, "Easy Money," awesomely translates from the Swedish title "Snabba Cash."