It’s a bad day for historical pieces, with THR informing us that Eric Bana‘s left Elvis & Nixon, a dramedy that’s will mark the directorial debut of Cary Elwes. Other than his to-the-point note of “I’m no longer attached,” we don’t know what exactly made the decision go through; I’d guess scheduling is only the root cause, seeing as he’s already attached himself in an executive producer capacity. A shame — especially when you hear Bana does a great impersonation of The King, and I’d kill to see it — but I’m just hoping this can go forward with another top choice in the blue suede shoes.

Danny Huston will still appear in the other titular role, while Kevin Connolly (Entourage) and Luke Wilson were recently wrangled to take on minor parts. Written by Elwes and Hanala & Joey Sagal, Elvis & Nixon revolves around the meeting between Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley on December 21st, 1970, and the clashing of cultures that naturally followed from that. It sounds like a fun time, so let’s send some good vibes that Bana‘s exit won’t the overall result.

But things look far more dire for a similar project, since Malin Akerman told THR that an upcoming biopic, Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story, might be dead in the water. Although shooting would have commenced sometime this spring, it’s said that “some heavy content” has created financing problems, all as Amanda Seyfried‘s Lovelace has stolen whatever thunder the film may have had in the first place.

This wasn’t exactly in the early stages, either. Matt Dillon, Paz de la Huerta, Sasha Grey, Harold Perrineau, and Adam Goldberg had been locked to star for writer-director Matthew Wilder; now, they may be out of a job. This is, obviously, a worse prospect than what faces Elvis & Nixon, so keep an eye out to see what eventually comes of the project.

Are you more disappointed to see Bana leave Elvis & Nixon, or hear that Inferno may not go forward?