"Australian director Stephan Elliott ("The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") has sold an original comedy pitch to Disney Pictures. Elliott, with writing partner Sheirdan Jobbins, will pen the comedy, which he would direct. It is tentatively titled "In the Name of the Dog," and it centers on a family pet who inherits $500 million..." (full details)

"Sarah Jessica Parker will topline the suspense thriller "Vacancy" for Screen Gems with production planned for the fall. Script, written by Mark L. Smith, is about a couple who check into a motel and, unaware there's a hidden camera, become the subjects of a snuff film. Parker will play the wife, who is still reeling from the death of her infant son..." (full details)

"Evan Rachel Wood has been cast opposite Michael Douglas in the bittersweet father-daughter comedy "The King of California". Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla Films also are producing as well as financing. Indie pic is set to begin lensing Tuesday in Los Angeles. The feature directorial debut of Michael Cahill, the Faulkner Prize-winning author of "A Nixon Man", story revolves around a teenage girl and her eccentric father, who is obsessed with finding buried treasure in the San Fernando Valley..." (full details)