A Spell for Chameleon: "The director and writer of "Troy" are ready to cast "A Spell for Chameleon." Warner Bros. has bought rights to the Piers Anthony-penned fantasy novel series "Xanth" to be produced by Wolfgang Petersen and David Benioff, along with Diana Rathbun of Petersen's Radiant Prods. "A Spell for Chameleon" is the first book in the series, which will see its 30th installment published next year..." (more info).

Half Light: "After her recent comeback in "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," Demi Moore will take her first lead role in four years in Craig Rosenberg's romantic thriller "Half Light," produced by Joel B. Michaels. Lakeshore is handling international sales for the pic, which starts shooting Aug. 23 in England, Ireland and Wales. Moore will play Rachel Carlson, a successful mystery novelist whose life falls apart when her 5-year-old son drowns at her country home..." (more info).

Measle and the Wrathmonk: "Warner Bros. and ImageMovers have purchased "Measle and the Wrathmonk," the first of what will be a three-book series by Ian Ogilvy. Pic is eyed as another opportunity to use the "performance capture" animation technique to be used this fall in "The Polar Express". "Measle" concerns a young boy who, after his parents go missing, is sent to live with an eccentric uncle who turns out to be a crazy wizard. Before the kid knows it, he's been shrunk and banished to be a villager in the wrathmonk's toy train set..." (more info).

Palais Royal: "Catherine Deneuve will topline French comic Valerie Lemercier's "Palais Royal," a comedy set in the world of Euro-royalty. Budgeted at e13 million-e14 million ($15.5 million-$16.6 million), pic also will star Lemercier, Lambert Wilson, Mathilde Seigner, Michel Aumont and Roschdy Zem..." (more info).

Rome: "HBO is seeking another executive to help ride herd on the production of its massive series "Rome" after Tony To chose not to sign up. "Rome" may become the most ambitious project HBO has ever undertaken; if it works in its first two seasons, the network plans to film 65 hours' worth of episodes over five years at a total cost of $400 million..." (more info).

The Graduate 2: "Kevin Costner is in talks to play the male equivalent of Mrs. Robinson in the Warner Bros. comedy that advances the storyline of '60s pic "The Graduate." Jennifer Aniston is already set to play the young woman seduced by Costner's character. Shirley MacLaine will play her grandmother, the woman who inspired the character immortalized by Anne Bancroft..." (more info).

Big Bad Wolf: "Casey Silver Prods. is developing an animated retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood." Bought through the company's discretionary fund with Universal, "Big, Bad Wolf" is based on an idea from animation specialists Wild Brain. Casey Silver has hired scribe Mike Glock to pen the project, which will retell the story from the wolf's point of view. Glock is developing the project based on the idea that the wolf was framed. Wild Brain has an option to co-finance the project with Universal..." (more info).

Farenheit 911: "At its 4 p.m. screening In Competition at the Palais, the movie occasioned an enthusiastic standing ovation -- onlookers placed it at 15-20 minutes -- punctuated by cries of "bravo!". "It was the longest standing ovation I've seen in over 25 years," said Harvey Weinstein, whose Miramax Films funded the project over the objections of parent company Walt Disney Co...." (more info).

House of the Flying Daggers: "Sony Pictures Classics has speared a deal to acquire North American rights to Zhang Yimou's epic "House of Flying Daggers," which is screening at Cannes as an Out of Competition pick. The romantic adventure, set in the year 859, stars a host of notable Asian film stars, including "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's" Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kanishiro and Andy Lau. The film centers on a story of love and betrayal in which secret societies vie for the loyalty of the emperor..." (more info).

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes: "Chris Crutcher's best-selling teen novel "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes" has been picked up by the producing triad of Joan Singleton, Tina Ritt and Ralph Singleton. Tina Ritt, daughter of helmer Martin Ritt, will direct the feature, which is being adapted by Joan Singleton."Fat" follows two unattractive kids -- Eric and Sarah -- who team up against the world. When Eric fears that he may lose his friendship with Sarah, he elects to "stay fat for Sarah Byrnes"..." (more info).

The Fighting Quakers: "Paramount Studios has bought Tim Herlihy's pitch "The Fighting Quakers" for a reported $1.5 million. Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Prods. is producing. "Quakers" centers on an up and coming Philadelphia lawyer who, wanting to schmooze potential clients, joins "The Fighting Quakers," a storied National Guard unit that has devolved into a social club for the city's wealthy elite. Complications ensue when the regiment is called to active duty for the first time in 100 years, and sent to Eastern Europe..." (more info).

The Last Face: "Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) and Robin Wright Penn are set to star in The Last Face, a drama about two relief workers in western Africa who have an unrequited love affair. The independent film will begin production in July in Cape Town, with Erin Dignam directing from her own script. Sean Penn will play a supporting role as a journalist..." (more info).

Anchorman: A clip from the Will Ferrell comedy is up at Dreamworks.

Anubis Rising: Five jaded young friends foolishly dabble in the dark arts and unleash Anubis, the Egyptian God of the dead, on an unsuspecting New England island. The trailer for this horror low-budget flick is up at Darkside Films.

Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury: Five new images from 'Chronicles of Riddick' Dark Fury DVD are up at Bloody Disgusting.

Chaos: Pics from the set of the Ryan Phillippe drama are up at HNR.

Death: The Time of Your Life: "We've got a solid script and should get approval from the studio this weekend. I can't tell you which studio yet. Check my website and I'll post the info as soon as I can in the journal section" says Neil Gaiman Marsdust.

DVD News: Specs and art is out for Popular: Season 1, Aladdin: Special Edition, The Girl Next Door, Hellboy & Knight Rider: Season 1.

Kevin Smith's Next: ViewAskew reports that Kevin Smith said he has another small project he wants to direct before The Green Hornet, then he'll do Fletch Won, then Ranger Danger.

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster: A 16 page gallery of shots from the band doco is up at Rope of Silicon.

Ocean's 12: Some sort of tie-in launch with the Jaguar team at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix is underway this weekend, see Racing Live for details.

Phantom of the Opera: A couple of new pics from the musical adaptation are up at Moviegod.

Shrek 2: Four behind the scenes Shrek featurettes are up at FilmFreak.

Troy: Gabriel Yared's abandoned score is now up at the composer's official site.

TV News: An exhaustive article indicating what we'll likely learn this week from the upfront presentations is online at Mediasharx.

Thanks to 'Phil', 'Quinn', 'KarlChilders', 'Flex', 'Mark', 'Marcus', 'Shaun' & 'Patrick'