If you haven’t heard about the Somali pirates story, then you need to stop looking at those Rihanna pictures and start watching the news.

Samuel L. Jackson is set to star as Andrew Mwangura, the freelance journalist and hostage negotiator, who recently played go-between when Somali pirates took several ships hostage.

Mwangura is also an ex-marine engineer who runs the Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, a nonprofit group that offers humanitarian aid to all seafarers. He earned the trust of both sides and brokered a deal to recover the crew and cargo for $3.4 million.

Jackson is set to work with producer Andras Hamori on the film. The pair previously worked together on the ill-fated, yet somewhat funny film The 51st State and Running Wild – a flick about a massacre in a gated community, still in pre-production.

Meanwhile, Jackson is shooting Iron Man 2 appearing as Nick Fury, but he’ll hopefully have time on set to practice for his role.

It’s amazing how quickly the Southpark guys turn current invents into shows so quickly. In last night’s episode Eric Cartman hears about the pirates in Somalia and decides that is the life he wants to lead. So he convinces Butters and the gang to travel by plane and “49 hours by bus” to Mogadishu.

Needless to say, it’s not quite what he expects when he gets there. But since when has that ever stopped Cartman? Check the clip where he tries to inspire his new crew with a crazy pirate song(NSFW).

Watch the full episode at Southparkstudios.com

U.S. forces killed three pirates Sunday and rescued cargo ship Capt. Richard Phillips, held hostage in a lifeboat since Wednesday, after seeing him in “imminent danger,” a senior defense official told CNN.

The official contradicted earlier reports that the captain jumped into the water off Somalia on Sunday.

Three of the pirates on the lifeboat with Phillips were shot and killed, the official said. A fourth pirate was aboard the nearby USS Bainbridge negotiating Phillips’ fate when the shootings occurred, he said.

Phillips was uninjured and in good condition after his rescue at 7:19 p.m. (12:19 p.m. ET), according to a senior U.S. official.

For more details visit CNN.com.

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