Lord of the Rings actor Orlando Bloom has just joined the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean, the latest Disney big screen project based on a popular theme park ride. Shedding the grace of his elvish archer character from Peter Jackson's epic trilogy about Middle-Earth, Bloom will play Will Turner, a shipwreck survivor and friend to hero Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as they swashbuckle their way to pirate glory and encounter the dreaded nemesis Captain Blackheart (Geoffrey Rush). Director Gore Verbinski (Mouse Hunt (1997), The Mexican (2001)) will be behind the lens with Jerry Bruckheimer producing. The script, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (Shrek (2001)), follows the story of a pirate who is trying to reverse the effects of an ancient curse. Shooting will commence in October for an expected release in 2003.

According to the trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter, country music star LeAnn Rimes is getting ready for her first feature starring role in a film entited The Girl who struck out Babe Ruth, based on the true story of the only female minor-league pitcher to strike out both Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth during an exhibition game in 1931. The Yankees, who went on to win the game, had stopped over in Chattanooga on their way to spring training and played a game against the local team, called the Lookouts. During a fateful moment in the game, however, 17-year old pitcher Jackie Mitchell managed to strike out the two baseball legends back to back. Shortly after the game, Mitchell's contract was cancelled and women were barred from playing in Major League Baseball. This won't be the first time Rimes has been on screen - she had a small role as herself in the dreadful bar romance Coyote Ugly (1999) and has made numerous guest appearances on television shows.

Variety reports that with the unprecedented success that IFC Films' My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) is currently having as an independent feature pulling in more profits than other big studio films at the box office, writer/star Nia Vardalos has just been signed by Disney to make her next feature for Spyglass Entertainment. The project, currently titled Connie and Carla Do L.A., is said to be a female buddy story that has some of the same themes as the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959). As she did for Wedding, Vardalos has again written the script and is set to co-star in the film, which has yet to find a director. Tom Hanks' Playtone company will be producing the film, which Spyglass hopes to put into production early next year.

Veteran British comedian John Cleese has joined the cast of McG's upcoming estrogen-charged action sequel Charlie's Angels 2 (2003) in an unexpected move for an even more unexpected part. According to reports, Cleese will play the father of Alex (Lucy Liu) after the actress, who is a big fan, apparently asked for him to be a part of the film. The role was originally written for a woman to play Alex's mother, but when the actress went to producers with her unusual request, they made it happen and the screenplay is now currently undergoing some obvious changes to the part to suit the actor. Filming has been going on since the beginning of the month, and Cleese is expected to join the production for about a week. Demi Moore has already joined the cast as a former Angel gone bad, and regulars from the first film, including Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc, and Sam Rockwell will also be on hand for the sequel. They join other new cast members Bernie Mac as the new Bosley and Robert Patrick as a former Navy SEAL who becomes an ally to the Angels. Charlie's Angels 2 will wrap up production later this year for an expected summer 2003 release.

After production on the sequel to Tomb Raider wraps up shooting in Greece, director Jan de Bont, lead actress Angelina Jolie, and the rest of the cast and crew will head to the rugged countryside of Wales for further shooting on the video game-themed action flick. When the producers of the film were unable to secure locations around the Great Wall of China from government officials, they decided to have the British countryside, namely the areas of Wales including Snowdonia and other parts of Gwynedd, stand in for China with the famous walled landmark to be added in post-production via special effects. The film, tentatively entitled The Cradle of Life, finds the adventurer Lara Croft (Jolie) in China, where she has to save the world from a madman named Chen Lo. The Cradle of Life also co-stars Gerard Butler, Djimon Housou, and Chris Barrie, who all star under the direction of de Bont (Twister (1996), Speed (1994)).

Dean Parisot, the director of the sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest, is close to signing a deal to make the Bruce Willis action project Me Again his next film. Willis' production company Cheyenne Enterprises would develop the movie, alongside Intermedia Films. Me Again is the story of a man who wakes up next to a dead body not knowing who he is, but eventually learning that he is battling against another man, and one of them is good while the other is evil. The problem is figuring out which side he's on. The original script, having a British slant, is being rewritten for American audiences with a target date for going into production in early 2003. Parisot's last gig behind the camera was the television pilot Monk, which starred Tony Shalhoub.

New Line Cinema has recently acquired the rights to A History of Violence, a graphic novel from Paradox Press. Written by John Wagner, Violence is the first book in a series that was followed up by Road to Perdition, the graphic novel that was made into an early Oscar contender starring Tom Hanks and directed by Sam Mendes. Although both books are from the same series, the stories actually have nothing to do with one another. A History of Violence is about a man who suddenly thrust into the limelight after a vigilante killing at his diner. As his story gains national attention, the skeletons from his shady past are brought out in the open. JC Spink and Chris Bender (Cats & Dogs (2000)) will be producing the film, with no director or stars attached as of yet.

The Michael Caine thriller The Statement, a film to be directed by Norman Jewison (The Hurricane (1999), Moonstruck (1987)) has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution in the United States. Based on a novel by Brian Moore, the story was adapted for the screen by writer Ronald Harwood. The Statement is a dark story about a man who is living a sheltered life under the protection of the church, who is discovered to have once worked for the Nazis. The man becomes the subject of death threats and more when a new investigation about him is taken on. Jewison is reportedly thrilled to be working with Michael Caine, as he has been pursuing possible films with the actor for the past 25 years. The film will be produced by Robert Lantos, of Serendipity Point Films.

Dreamworks will handle the North American distribution of Signpost Films' The House of Sand and Fog, starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, while Miramax has picked up the UK rights. Production on the film begins on October 4th, under the direction of first time writer and helmer Vadim Perelman, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. Joining the crew are Academy Award-winners Roger Deakins, cinematographer on A Beautiful Mind (2001) and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), as well as composer James Horner (Windtalkers (2002), Titanic (1997)). The House of Sand and Fog tells the story of an Iranian immigrant who sinks the last remaining money he has into an old house and has his family's lives thrown into turmoil when the owner, a former alcoholic, arrives on the scene desperately wanting her old property back.

A fire broke out the past week on the set of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, doing upwards of $350,000 in damage to props and sets at Soundstage 2. No one was injured in the blaze, which reportedly was under control within 45 minutes of starting the alarm. The concern about the fire was the burning of foam on the set, which is used to create a variety of different props and has the potential to give off a cyanide gas when burned. Nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution until the smoke had been cleared. No other buildings at Disney were affected by the blaze, which studio executives do not expect to push back production on the Pirate film based loosely on the popular theme park ride. Pirates of the Caribbean is shooting for a release date of summer 2003, and stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Geoffrey Rush.

The ever busy Jim Carrey, who is currently shooting the film Bruce Almighty with Jennifer Aniston, is looking to star for Paramount and Nickelodeon Films in their upcoming children's fantasy project, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. The popular series of books is about a group of orphaned children who move about from different foster homes and encounter a slew of strange people along the way. One of the more sinister people they come across is the mysterious Count Olaf (the role Carrey would play), who has a secret plan to try and claim the children's inheritance money. Paramount wants very much to make a franchise out of the project, and is looking to start with a seasoned director/producer team - namely Scott Rudin and Barry Sonnenfeld (the director responsible for both the Addams Family and Men in Black films). If Carrey comes on board, the project will add to his already heavy plate which includes Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from writer Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich (1999)) and is tentatively attached to a long in development biopic of Howard Hughes that is currently under the care of potential director Chris Nolan (Insomnia (2002), Memento (2000)).

Director Ron Howard, who recently bowed out of the Disney mega-project The Alamo due to creative differences with the studio (but who will still produce the film along with partner Brian Grazer), may get a chance to direct his dream genre film - a western - after all. Howard has become attached to the film The Last Ride, which is gaining momentum at Sony. The story, which takes place in 1886, is about a father who returns home to try and connect again with his estranged daughter, who wants nothing to do with him. However, when her child and husband are killed, she enlists the help of her father to hunt down the bad guys. Howard is also considering taking the reins on another film entitled The Serpent and the Eagle, about the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in Central America, and also a potential Russell Crowe vehicle called Cinderella Man. Now open to discuss what went wrong with The Alamo project, Howard admits that it didn't come down to an issue of money, but rather a different vision of where he wanted the film to go. Disney wanted a milder, 'PG' version of the infamous Texas battle but Howard insisted on depicting a gritty, 'R' rated film that would show the brutality of the battle. John Lee Hancock (The Rookie (2002)) is now set to direct that film, which will be going into production in the early part of January 2003.

Actor Kurt Russell is set to go back to the studio that made him a star. Disney is gearing up for Miracle, a film based on the true story of the U.S. Hockey Team's miraculous victory over the Soviet Union during the 1980 Olympic Games. Russell will apparently be playing coach Herb Brooks, who was once part of the 1960 U.S. Team, but who was cut before he got to experience that Olympic victory and who would later lead the new team of misfits to a win over a seemingly invincible Russian foe. The Mouse House is hoping that they find similar success with Miracle that they got in the recent baseball biopic The Rookie (2002), which found Dennis Quaid portraying a middle-aged high school coach who got to realize his dreams of pitching in the big leagues. Gavin O'Connor (Tumbleweeds (1999)) is set to direct the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting in Canada in the first part of 2003.

Author Michael Chabon, writer of books including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and Wonder Boys (which was made into a Oscar-contending film starring Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire), has found himself again involved with a Maguire project. Variety has announced that Chabon will pen the screenplay for the next Spider-Man film, The Amazing Spider-Man (2004), for Columbia Pictures. The follow up to this summer's superhero smash film will find Peter Parker (Maguire) continuing to develop his talent as the web-slinging crime fighter, this time going up against baddies Doc Ock and The Lizard. (Ock was a villain originally considered to pair up with The Green Goblin in the first film, but was eventually dropped from the final script.) While fighting the bad guys, Parker will continue his relationship with longtime friend Mary Jane Watson (Kirstin Dunst) and new nemesis Harry Osborn (James Franco). Filming on the sequel is slated to begin sometime this May, with an eye towards a release date of summer 2004. No casting has been made official as of yet on the villains, but actors rumored to be in the running for Doc Ock include Stellan Skarsgård (The Glass House (2001)) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park III (2001)).

The book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions has just been optioned for a film treatment by Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street Productions, according to Variety. The true story is about a group of students at the famous Massachusetts University who learned and perfected the art of card counting and used their skills to take away millions of dollars from the Las Vegas casinos. Spacey's company has been busy lately, going into post-production on their film The United States of Leland (2002) as well as a documentary on post 9-11 America, which was narrated by Spacey himself. In addition to their slew of film projects, Trigger Street Productions has also been involved with theater, coming off a stint on producing the stage play Cobb recently in Los Angeles. As it is still early in the project, there is no word yet on who may potentially direct or be cast in Bringing Down the House.

Nicolas Cage is set to return to the action/sci-fi realm in a film that is somewhat similar to the John Woo action flick Face/Off (1997)), in which he co-starred with John Travolta. The Hollywood Reporter has run a story about Cage signing on for Back Up, a thriller that takes place in the near future where dead people can have their memories recorded onto computer and brought back to life after they've been killed. Cage will play a cop who wakes up 90 days after his own murder with a gap in his memory, who then must figure out who killed him and what happened during the missing time. Back Up is being produced through Castle Rock, and the production company is envisioning the project as a mix between Face/Off and the reverse-time thriller Memento (2000). Cage will next be seen playing twin brothers Donald and Charlie Kaufmann in Spike Jonze's Adaptation (2002), while his directorial debut Sonny (2002) has been making the film festival rounds in preparation for a theatrical release.

The on again, off again, on again but stalled and eventually off again project, Superman, is apparently on again for real this time over at Warner Brothers. Writer/director Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Jersey Girl (2003)) had written a script that fans loved but one that was eventually passed on by the studio, a Superman Lives project that was to star Nicolas Cage as the American icon, who would face the villain Brainiac (rumored to have actors like Jim Carrey and Kevin Spacey circling it). Superman Lives eventually petered out, and Cage went on to bigger and better things. Several years later, Charlie's Angels (2000) director McG was up for and then eventually passed on the project when he ran into scheduling conflicts, and it headed into a new direction as a Batman Vs. Superman fan dream project which Wolfgang Petersen was going to tackle. When Petersen dropped that film in favor of directing the Iliad-themed historical epic Troy with Brad Pitt (causing Pitt to walk away from Aronofsky's head trip sci-fi labor of love The Fountain and in turn cause that project to collapse), the face off between the two superheroes was dead in the water. Since then, the Superman film went back to just being an adventure movie about the Man of Steel himself, undergoing a script re-write by J.J. Abrams (Armageddon (1998), television's Alias) and set to be directed by Brett Ratner (Red Dragon (2002), Rush Hour 2 (2001)).

Well, the studio has just released an official statement announcing that the Superman film is indeed going ahead with Ratner at the helm, after which he will direct a third installment of the popular Rush Hour series of films. The studio's latest version of Superman will be a re-imagining of the famous comic book hero that explores his origins and makes some rather glaring departures from the traditional story, something which will no doubt polarize the film's eventual audience. Fans have already been up in arms over early script and treatment breakdowns, which has villain Lex Luthor working for the CIA (and having a pretty big secret about his own origins) and Superman's home planet of Krypton not being destroyed. In an interview with Variety, Ratner remarked that doing a Superman film was something he's always wanted to do. 'It's been a dream since I was a child to do this movie,' Ratner says. 'I was born to make this movie. It's the perfect time to make this movie, as everyone is looking for someone to save the world.'

Tom Hanks has a couple of hot properties on his plate. The actor/director is set to make a CGI-animated version of the popular children's book The Polar Express his next project, which will go into production in February with an eye towards a Christmas 2004 release date. The story is about a young boy who takes a mysterious train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, where he encounters Santa Claus and brings back a bell from a reindeer harness, a bell that only true believers in the magic of the holiday can hear. Hanks would potentially play the train's conductor, but whether that will be only a voice over or a real part depends on the direction the film is going to go - whether it will be entirely CGI or live action with some animated elements. After that, Hanks will join the Coen brothers on their remake of The Ladykillers, based on a 1955 film starring Peter Sellers. That story is about a couple of thieves who rent some rooms from an old lady hoping to use the place as their hideout. Problems begin to go wrong as they try and get rid of her, a task which proves more difficult than any of them thought it would be. The Coens will start on The Ladykillers after they have completed their current film Intolerable Cruelty, which stars George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Ben Stiller's long in development Starsky and Hutch film appears to finally have a co-star. Owen Wilson, who has shared the screen with Stiller before in films like Meet the Parents (2000) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), is set to star as 'Hutch' alongside Stiller's 'Starsky'. The film is based on the popular 70's television show about two swinging detectives who roamed the streets in a cool car with a white stripe, and who often had encounters with their flamboyant streetwise connection Huggy Bear. Stiller has stated previously that he would be looking to cast rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg as the new version of that part. The film will be directed by Todd Phillips (Road Trip (2000)), who also co-wrote the screenplay. The new film will be, as expected with most classic television to film treatments of late, modernized with a stylized action feel and is expected to head into production next spring. Stiller is currently working with fellow actor Jack Black on Barry Levinson's dark comedy Envy (2003) as well as a sequel to the hit comedy Meet the Parents, entitled Meet the Fockers (2003).

Dreamworks is moving ahead on their rumored plans to bring a sequel to the Academy Award-winning historical action flick Gladiator to the big screen. Screenwriter John Logan (The Last Samurai (2003), Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and the original Gladiator (2000)) has been hired to pen the script, which will be a sequel (as opposed to a prequel, which was previously reported to be an option) that takes place about 15 years after the events of the first film. David Franzoni, who wrote the original story and co-wrote the screenplay with Logan, was initially going to write the sequel but looks to be just producing this time around. In addition to his impressive list of successes, Logan has also been involved with several projects that collapsed, including one of the many Howard Hughes biopics that were attempting to gain momentum, as well as a potential film about the life of Abraham Lincoln, which was to be directed by Steven Spielberg and star Tom Hanks. Logan's Star Trek: Nemesis is set to open this fall and finally close out the Next Generation chapter of the Star Trek franchise, and The Last Samurai is headed into production with Tom Cruise set to take the lead role.

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