Well the weekend is upon us and Father Geek is here yet again with another fine column from Elston Gunn. This WEEKLY RECAP should spark your interest on several up and coming Hollywood projects. So throw away that newspaper, turnoff CNN and retreat from more election non-news into this week's WEEKLY RECAP...

TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

CASTING
* Samuel L. Jackson is in talks to direct Universal's TRUCK 44 for writer/director Peter Berg. It's about a group of New York firefighters who try to execute a complicated heist in an office building, but things go awry when they accidentally set off a fire in the building that they must extinguish.
* Johnny Knoxville (MTV's "Jackass") is in negotiations to star opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in Columbia Pictures' LIFE WITHOUT DICK about a woman who falls for the hit man hired to kill her beau. Bix Skahill (CHAIN OF FOOLS) will direct from his own script. Harry Connick Jr. joins the pic as the hit man. Shooting begins next month.
* Terrence Howard (BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE, THE BEST MAN) is in talks to star in MGM's HART'S WAR opposite Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell. Gregory Hoblit will direct the film based on the novel by John Katzenbach about a prisoner of war who is falsely accused of murder. Production begins in January in Prague.
* Ryan Alosio (upcoming REPLI-KATE) joins Judy Greer (WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?) in the indie pic WITHOUT CHARLIE for writer/director Adam Rifkin.
* Alexandra Paul will star opposite Eric Roberts in ROUGH SKY, an indie thriller to be directed by John Cassar. Shooting begins next week in Toronto.
* Joshua Jackson will star in the comedy LONE STAR STATE OF MIND for director Dave Semel ("Dawson's Creek") and Screen Gems.
* Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Clea DuVall and Amy Irving will star in 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING for writer/director Jill Sprecher (CLOCKWATCHERS) and Single Cell Pictues. The film tells five interwoven stories dealing with karma. Michael Stipe and Sandy Stern are producing.
* Rupert Everett and Judi Dench will star in the Miramax feature adaptation of Oscar Wilde's comedy THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Oliver Parker (AN IDEAL HUSBAND) will direct from his own screenplay.
* Guy Pearce (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) is in final talks to star in THE TIME MACHINE, the new adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic novel for DreamWorks/Warner Bros. Simon Wells (THE PRINCE OF EGYPT) will direct from a script pennedy by John Logan (ANY GIVEN SUNDAY). Production begins in February.
* Omar Gooding and Taraji Henson will join John Singleton's BABY BOY. Rap artist Snoop Dogg is in talks to take a role as well. The Columbia Pictures drama will start shooting next month. R&B artist Tyrese will play the title role.
* Laura Linney (YOU CAN COUNT ON ME) is in final talks to star opposite Richard Gere in THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES for director Mark Pellington (ARLINGTON ROAD) and Screen Gems. Production is scheduled to begin in January.
* Brittany Murphy will join Michael Douglas in DON'T SAY A WORD for New Regency/20th Century Fox and director Gary Fleder. It tells the story of a psychiatrist who must treat a violent mental patient in order to free his kidnapped daughter.
* Nathalie Baye will play Patsy Stone in ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, the French film version of the hit British TV series. Josiane Balasko will play Edina Monsoon while Marie Gillain will be her daughter Saffron. Shooting begins at the end of the month.
* Matthew Lillard (SCREAM, WING COMMANDER) is in talks to play Shaggy in SCOOBY-DOO for Warner Bros. and director Raja Gosnell (BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE). Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar are in talks to play Fred and Daphne.
* Amanda Peet (WHIPPED) is in final talks to join Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd in the thriller HIGH CRIMES, based on the novel by Joseph Finder, for director Carl Franklin (ONE FALSE MOVE) and 20th Century Fox/New Regency Prods. It's about a female defense attorney who must defend her husband who is accused and arrested for a crime he claims he didn't commit.
* Brad Pitt is in talks to star in New Line Cinema's SEARED, inspired by the chef Anthony Bourdain's KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL. David Fincher is developing the film about the rise of a celebrity chef with producer Art Linson.
* Mel Gibson may star in THE LOST PATROL written and to-be-directed by Randall Wallace. It tells the story of the first battle between U.S. and Viet Cong troops, based on the book WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE...AND YOUNG by Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway.
* Gary Sinise joins Philip Baker Hall, Mason Gamble and Dylan Baker in A GENTLEMAN'S GAME for director J. Mills Goodloe, who wrote the script with Tom Coyne. It's about a group of folks whose lives are changed during a summer stay at an exclusive country club.
* Kathryn Erbe will play the female lead in DRAGONFLY opposite Kevin Costner. Tom Shadyac directs the pic about a widower who thinks he's receiving messages from his wife through dying patients.
* Samantha Morton (SWEET & LOWDOWN) will star in MORVERN CALLAR, based on Alan Warner's novel, for Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay about a supermarket worker, who covers up her boyfriend's suicide, sells his unpublished novel, and uses the money to clubhop on an island in the Mediterranean. Production began in February.
* Jude Law is in early talks to join Tom Hanks and Tom Sizemore in ROAD TO PERDITION for DreamWorks and director Sam Mendes. Shooting is scheduled to begin early next year. Based on a Max Allan Collins gangster novel, it's about a hit man and his son who go on a journey of revenge.

DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Rod Lurie (THE CONTENDER) is in final talks with DreamWorks to direct the psychological drama THE CASTLE, written by David Scarpa with a rewrite by Graham Yost. The story follows a general who is sent to military prison, creates an army out of the convicts and threatens to take down the corrupt warden. Production is hoped for a mid-March start with Robert Redford and Mark Wahlberg possibly playing the leads.
* Michael Hoffman is in talks to direct HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS for Paramount about a womanizer who bets his buddies he can stay in a relationship that lasts longer than 10 days. However, the woman he chooses wants to get rid of him soon. This romantic comedy was written by Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan.
* Mike Newell is developing and may possibly direct THE POETESS for Universal Pictures/Working Title Films. Will Davies wrote the script which is loosely based on real-life events while he attended Cambridge University.
* Rob Minkoff (THE LION KING, STUART LITTLE) will direct STUART LITTLE II for Columbia Pictures. The script to the sequel is going through a rewrite by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel.
* Antony Hoffman (RED PLANET) is eyeing to direct a film for The Canton Co. and Absolute Entertainment based on "One Bad Cop," a New York Times Magazine article by Lou Cannon that focuses on the origins of the Rampart scandal, which centered on assassination and corruption involving a disgraced officer and members of the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH).
* Bryan Singer is in early talks to direct a sequel to X-MEN for 20th Century Fox, though a script has not been written. Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen and Anna Paquin have all signed to return for the second pic.
* Anthony and Joe Russo (PIECES) will next make WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD for Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's company Section Eight. It's about a group of blue-collar Cleveland guys who try to rob a pawn shop. Isaiah Washington (ROMEO MUST DIE) is attached to star.
* George Armitage (GROSSE POINTE BLANK) is attached to direct the indie pic TWISTED about a group of young thieves who want to steal the royal jewels of Iran. Richard Regen wrote the script.
* Chuck Russell (THE MASK, ERASER) is in talks to direct Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in THE SCORPION KING, a spinoff of Universal's upcoming THE MUMMY RETURNS.
* Anjelica Huston will develop and direct A TIME TO BE BORN, based on the satirical novel by Dawn Powell, for Revolution Studios as a starring vehicle for Julia Roberts. It follows a woman who married into wealthy by stealing a newspaper baron from his wife during the early part of World War II. She later uses an old friend to cover for an affair she is having, but things turn awry when her friend and the guy fall for each other. Meanwhile, her husband is seeking revenge.
* Donald Petrie is in talks to direct a remake of the 1979 comedy THE IN-LAWS entitled TILL DEATH DO US PART for Warner Bros. The studio is hoping for Michael Douglas and Billy Crystal to star as the odd couple whose kids are getting married.
* Melanie Mayron is replacing director Evan Dunsky, who left due to creative differences, on SLAP HER, SHE'S FRENCH for Bandeira Entertainment. Piper Perabo and Jane McGregor star.
* Andrew Bergman is in final talks to rewrite and direct JUST MARRIED for 20th Century Fox about a young married couple who endure the honeymoon from hell. Sam Harper penned the original story.
* Andy Cadiff will direct the romantic comedy UNTITLED FIRST DAUGHTER PROJECT for Alcon Entertainment about a U.S. first daughter who wants to be a normal 18-year old. This project is different from New Regency's FIRST DAUGHTER to star Jerry O'Connell for director Brian Robbins.
FOR SCRIPT NEWS, VISIT MY SCRIPT REPORT AT HTTP://WWW.SCREENWRITERSUTOPIA.COM

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Dimension Films will distribute the Chinese-language Jackie Chan movie THE ACCIDENTAL SPY. Teddy Chen directed the film about an exercise equipment salesman who is told he is the lost son of a wealthy Korean mogul, but finds out he is part of a worldwide conspiracy.
* New Line Cinema has purchased the feature rights to A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS, the best-selling autobiography by Dave Eggers. Eggers was orphaned at 22 and was left to take care of his 8-year old brother. He co-founded the satirical Might Magazine and was rejected by MTV'S "The Real World."
* Director Micki Dickoff has optioned the life rights to a character featured in the upcoming Off Broadway play THE EXONERATED, an oral history of life of death row. Dickoff's project is based on the life of Kerrey Max Cook, who was acquitted of the rape and murder of young Texas woman, but spent 22 years on death row before her acquittal as a result of prosecutorial misconduct.
* Columbia Pictures is developing a sequel to CHARLIE'S ANGELS and is in talks with Flower Films to produce it, John August to write it, McG to direct it and finding out if the stars will return.

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TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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