Oscar-tipped comedy-drama The Descendants marks a very welcome return from Alexander Payne. It's his first directorial gig since Sideways, almost eight years back, a slight return from one of our favourite filmmakers. So the obvious, if tongue-in-cheek question to ask when Empire caught up with him was would he please make some more films? "Working on it!" Payne joked. "I wish now to swing now from film to film like a monkey to monkey from branch to branch."

The first monkey swing takes him back to his old Midwestern stomping ground and Nebraska. According to Payne, it's likely to get a new name (the film, not the state) and casting news can't be too far off either, with filming due to start in April. Payne plans to shoot in black-and-white and is looking to find a veteran of iconic standing to play the aging alcoholic dad at the centre of the story. The currently-retired Gene Hackman and Robert Forster, so good in The Descendants, are two names to have been mentioned.

Payne plans to crack straight on after that - heading back to California for his first comic-book adaptation, Wilson. As Empire reported a whiles back, Paynes's production company, Ad Hominen, has been working to bring Dan 'Ghost World' Clowes' comic book to the big screen. Payne confirmed that it's still beeping across his radar: "[Daniel] has adapted his own graphic novel for me and we're going to set it in Oakland, California."  

Wilson is a middle-aged misanthrope who's left floundering after the death of his father and tries to reconnect with his ex-wife and the teenager daughter he's never known. But who to play him? Post your casting ideas below.