George Clooney might star in '1952,' a film no one knows much of anything about

When it comes to mysterious projects that have yet to even get the official Hollywood greenlight, sometimes the only way to even remotely quantify them (a losing battle, to be sure) is to consider what we do know and value-judge that. Basically, to totally speculate.

What we know about Disney's "1952" is that we don't know much of anything. Beyond that, however, we do know that "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and "The Incredibles" director Brad Bird is set to helm it (good), that it's been penned by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Jensen (with Lindelof's involvement proving to be bad after what he did to "Prometheus" and Jensen's proving to be decidedly neutral), and that it's been classified as "a 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'-esque story following a man who makes contact with aliens on Earth (okay?). Is there any way that "1952" could tip its scales back to positive? How about maybe adding George Clooney as its lead?

Bing: Brad Bird | George Clooney

Variety reports that Clooney is currently negotiating to star in the film, which would make perfect sense, as Disney reportedly views the film as "a high-profile tentpole." Of course they'd want to put some major star power behind it, and Clooney is nothing if he is not star power with actual talent. As of now, that's all we know - which is still scarce little - but expect Clooney's potential involvement to add even more heat to "1952."