In his upcoming film Mud, Matthew McConaughey plays the title character, a fugitive who is hiding on an uninhabited island on the Mississippi River. To prepare for the role, McConaughey tells Page Six that he camped out on a desolate Arkansas island.

“The only neighbors were a few snakes and two donkeys,” he told the paper. “It was pretty cool.”

Sounds good, but is this really any different from an average day for McConaughey? Like, wake up in the dirt, grill whatever fish you can catch and don’t shower just seem like things that are scheduled every day in his iCal.

In fact, the Swiss Family McConaughey liked his little shipwrecked adventure so much he had to be rescued.

“I think he stayed two or three nights,” Mud director Jeff Nichols told Page Six. ”We had to go get him.”

The film also stars Reese Witherspoon as the love interest of McConaughey’s fugitive character. As they say, life imitates art.

Scarface’s star Al Pacino and director Brian De Palma are reteaming to bring the story of the late Penn State coach Joe Paterno to the big screen. David McKenna (American History X) will pen Happy Valley, the tentative title of the film, which is based on Paterno’s biography written by Joe Posnanski. The story will hinge on Paterno’s fall from grace during the 2012 underage sex scandal that plagued the last days of the football coach’s career. The project marks Pacino and De Palma’s first collaboration since Carlito’s Way. [Deadline]

2012 was arguably Matthew McConaughey’s biggest year since making his big break in 1996’s A Time to Kill, and now the actor is following up on his Magic Mike success.

Mud is a new dramatic thriller from director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter). McConaughey plays the title character, a con on the run for murder whose troubles rope in two young kids. On Wednesday, Yahoo! Movies unveiled the film’s first official trailer and you need to watch it right now!

Stars like Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper have one more stop to make before walking Oscar’s red carpet, and that’s the Screen Actors Guild Awards. In addition to having some of the biggest names in both film and television gather to be awarded by their peers, the SAG Awards go all out to secure their much-earned “very big deal” status. This year’s telecast, broadcast live from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, is no exception. Check it:

• 15,872 square feet of red carpet will be laid out at the arrivals area for talent.
• three-row six-foot high bleachers will be set up to accommodate 300 (screaming) fans.
• 600 feet of silver aluminum pipe connecting two monumental 16-foot high gates will be installed on the main stage, to create an impressive sunburst design.
• The physical awards – The Actor statuettes – were recently cast in bronze and will be given to winners in both the film and television categories.
• Each statuette weighs 12 pounds and stands 16 inches tall.
• Guests will be served from a menu that includes salmon, beef tenderloin and much more.

The 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will broadcast live on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 8pm EST, simultaneously on TNT and TBS.

We can rest easy now: Sofia Coppola’s new film, The Bling Ring, has finally found a distributor. Production company A24 will distribute the film, which follows a group of teenage thieves who rip off celebrity homes. Bling is currently set for a June 2013 release. [Deadline]

Michael Fassbender is going from professional sex addict to time-traveling assassin for Assassin’s Creed, the film adaptation of the hit video game – which on Wednesday finally locked down a writer. Playwright Michael Lesslie will pen the adaptation, which centers on an average joe (Fassbender) who is kidnapped by government operatives and exposed to an experiment that unlocks his past lives spent as an assassin. Yep, that’s happening. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Didn’t get a chance to see Beasts of the Southern Wild during its original theatrical run? No worries, Fox Searchlight is re-releasing the Oscar-nominated film on January 18 in select theaters. Beasts, which came out early last summer, is nominated for Best Picture, Director and Actress. [Deadline]

Will you check out Beasts of the Southern Wild this weekend? Let Celebuzz know by posting in the comments section.