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News Bites: Thursday, March 25th 2004

By Garth Franklin Thursday March 25th 2004 01:35AM

Little Children: ""Election" author Tom Perrotta's new book, "Little Children," has been sold in a package deal that comes with Perrotta writing the script and "In the Bedroom" helmer Todd Field set to direct. The story follows the lives of parents in a perfect family community who avoid the boredom by indulging in Net porn and extramarital affairs..." (more info). The Dogs of Babel: " Focus Features has struck a deal to finance and distribute the screen adaptation of author Carolyn Parkhurst's bestselling debut novel. Published last summer by Little, Brown, the book centers on a linguistics professor whose wife dies after falling from a tree. The man becomes obsessed with teaching their dog to speak in order to learn whether the death was an accident or suicide..." (more info). The Mark: "Nickelodeon Movies and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment are moving forward on sci-fi actioner "The Mark," a long-in-development project, with Smith toplining. Smith will star as an everyman who discovers a strange mark has transferred to his body from the corpse of a Confederate soldier. Although the mark grants him special powers, he also struggles with the impulse to use it for evil purposes..." (more info). The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: "Nickelodeon Movies has signed up Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin and Jeffrey Tambor for voice work in its animated feature which centers on the irrepressible SpongeBob's efforts to retrieve King Neptune's stolen crown..." (more info). Unleashing the Mules: "MGM has applied a half-nelson to "Unleashing the Mules," pinning down a spec script deal for an uplifting drama based on blind grappler Deke Edwards, who became a two-time state wrestling champ in Missouri despite his disability..." (more info). Untitled Goldwyn Project: "Paramount Pictures and John Goldwyn have set an untitled pic that will team the producer with his director brother, Tony Goldwyn. Thriller, about a poor man who appropriates the identity of his wealthy friend so he can taste the good life, will be written by Ilene Chaiken, creator and exec producer of the Showtime series "The L Word."..." (more info).3000 Degrees: "Ed Harris and Woody Harrelson are set to star in the firefighting ensemble movie that Danny Boyle is directing for Warner Bros. Billy Crudup also is in negotiations to join the project. The film is based on an Esquire article detailing a tragic fire that turned a century-old storage building in Worcester, Mass., into a cinderbox that claimed the lives of six firefighters..." (more info). King's Ransom: "Jay Mohr and Kellita Smith are set to star opposite Anthony Anderson in 'Ransom' for New Line Cinema. The comedy is being directed by Jeff Byrd from a Wayne Conley script about a businessman who arranges his own kidnapping in order to avoid losing half his fortune in his divorce..." (more info). Mission: Impossible III: "Frank Darabont has been tapped to write "Mission: Impossible 3" for Cruise/Wagner Prods. and Paramount Pictures, replacing original scribe Robert Towne. Towne had begun writing the third installment of the action franchise but is now focusing on his long-gestating project "Ask the Dust" due to go into production next month in South Africa..." (more info). Oliver Twist: "Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski says his next film will be based on Charles Dickens' classic novel "Oliver Twist." Shooting is scheduled to begin in the Czech Republic by midyear. The book has been adapted for the screen by Ronald Harwood..." (more info).Alexander: Warner Brothers has opened a teaser site for "Alexander" at alexanderthemovie.com. Cinderella Man: Crowe has arrived in Toronto to shoot The Cinderella Man, see Murph's Place for pics. CSI: New York: Joining Gary Sinese will be "Providence" star Melina Kanakaredes, Vanessa Ferlito and Carmine Giovinazzo. Dawn of the Dead: Controversy is brewing over poster art in Europe, see Horror Report for details. DVD News: High-res shots of The Star Wars Trilogy casing is out, as is details on Showgirls: VIP Special Edition, Simpsons: Season 4, The Mask: SE, Copland: SE, The Butterfly Effect, Blazing Saddles: SE & Eurotrip. Edison: More new photos from the set of the Timberlake/Freeman/Spacey drama are up at HNR. Flight of the Phoenix: Details on shooting taking place in Namibia is up at The Age. Frankenstein (TV) : Parker Posey will star in the USA Network drama from Martin Scorsese and Dean Koontz. Hack/Slash: A piece of exclusive artwork from the upcoming comic adaptation is now online. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Potterish.com has uploaded a partial version of the new trailer. Johnny Cash Biopic: Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are tipped to star as Johnny and June Carter Cash in a new biopic according to NME. Kingdom of Heaven: Pics of Kingdom of Heaven extras in full costumes and couple of set pics at CineBro website. Legally Blonde 3: Moviehole indicates the third comedy is prepping now and Luke Wilson's role will be expanded. Smallville (TV): More details on the second Chris Reeve episode are up at Comics Continuum. Stateside: The indie film "Stateside" now has it's official site up with a trailer and photos. The Day After Tomorrow: An exclusive behind-the-scenes clip is up at IFilm. The House of D: The rumours of on-set fighting have been denied, see Contact Music for details. The Notebook: A first look at the one-sheet is now up at Coming Soon. The Ring 2: Bloody Disgusting indicates that Daveigh Chase is not returning for the second film. The Transformers: Stud-muffin Tom DeSanto recently spoke out about how the film is doing, see IESB for details. The Wedding Crashers: The comedy comes to the East Coast in May filming for 5 weeks in DC and Maryland Eastern Shore. Van Helsing: Some interviews and Q&As are up at MySan. Thanks to 'Jeff', 'Brad', 'Bryan', 'Spacemonkey', 'Gustavo', 'David', 'Chris', 'Mark', 'KarlChilders', 'Jakob', 'Pat', 'Ben', 'James', 'Mr.Clarke', 'Robert', 'Jediyuth' & 'Jas'

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