BBC - Films -news article - High Noon

		King Jack? Riding high on the American success of School Of Rock, Jack Black is now setting his sights on remaking Martin Scorsese's The King Of Comedy. The 1983 movie starred Robert De Niro as an increasingly desperate stand-up comedian who pins all his hopes and dreams on an egocentric talk show host (played by Jerry Lee Lewis). The New York Post reports that Black hopes to play the would-be comedian, with his longtime pal Jim Carrey playing the TV host. The original was a miserable failure upon its release, but has attained cult status in recent times. School Of Rock will be released here in February.

		Redford Keeps Good Company Chamois leather on legs Robert Redford will direct romantic thriller The Company You Keep. The film follows an upper middle class single dad whose past as a militant in the Weather Underground (ask your parents) returns to disrupt his comfortable life. The Sundance Kid calls Neil Gordon's novel "a really contemporary look at the past", and it'll be his first stint behind the camera since the tedious golfing drama The Legend Of Bagger Vance in 2000.

		Pearl Biopic Announced Warner Bros has bought the film rights to the memoirs of Mariane Pearl, wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl. Her book, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life And Death Of My Husband Danny Pearl, chronicles her husband's last days as the South East Asia bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal. Despite his wife being in the final stages of pregnancy, Pearl arranged to meet a group of Pakistani militants with links to Al Qaeda. The meeting proved to be fatal as he was kidnapped and later murdered. Mariane Pearl says she overcame initial reservations about selling the film rights after being convinced that the movie could prove a lasting legacy to her husband. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's Plan B company are to produce the movie, doubtless leading to speculation that Pitt himself could play the ill-fated journalist.

		Carnahan Enters Void Narc director Joe Carnahan has signed up to shoot Void, a crime drama about a woman cop who finds fate conspiring against her whilst escorting a dangerous criminal. Void is based on the first script Carnahan wrote when he was 18 ("a train wreck" is how he describes the script, 15 years on). The new version will be penned by Mexican scribe Guillermo Arriaga, who previously wrote Amores Perros. Carnahan is currently working on Mission: Impossible 3, which is scheduled to be released in summer 2004.

		Together At Last! In what we can only describe as a meeting of talents, Christian Slater and Estella Warren will star in the thriller Pursued. Michael Clarke Duncan will also star in the pic, and should be firing his agent any... second... now. Christian Slater was last (not) seen in John Woo's WWII actioner Windtalkers, while Warren's last screen experience involved being outacted by an animatronic marsupial in Kangaroo Jack.

		Downey Jr "Intimidated" By Gambon Robert Downey Jr admits he almost passed on the upcoming big screen version of The Singing Detective, because he was overawed by British actor Michael Gambon's performance in the original TV series. He tells BBCi FILMS: "The British version was fantastic. In fact, it made me a little nervous about trying to do anything as good as it, because I knew it would quickly be compared and, you know, Michael Gambon was awesome. But director Keith Gordon said: "Watch it once and then stop watching it or you're going to freak out."" Downey Jr has to play a psoriasis victim in the drama, which was, of course, first penned by Dennis Potter. High Noon loved the original, but will drag itself along to disparagingly compare and contrast when the film opens here on 14th November.

		Geisha Going Nowhere Despite the presence of Chicago director Rob Marshall, the high-profile Memoirs Of A Geisha still can't get off the ground. The adapatation of the bestselling Arthur Gold novel was initially set to be directed by Steven Spielberg, but when he passed after alleged reservations about the script (by Akiva Goldsman), the project stalled. Since then Boys Don't Cry director Kimberley Peirce and Being John Malkovich's Spike Jonze have both unsuccessfully flirted with Geisha. The problem now lies with Miramax, who have Rob Marshall contracted to make his next movie with them. And he wants his next film to be Geisha... which they don't own the rights to. Now, unless lots of boring business deals get struck between various corpulent Hollywood suits, the project will remain stuck in limbo.

		Hathaway Wreaks Havoc! The Princess Diaries star Anne Hathaway will appear alongside Bijou Phillips in Traffic writer Stephen Gaghan's next project, Havoc. The movie will also star sex, lies and videotape's Laura San Giacomo (Blast From The Past, Part 253), and revolves around a couple of squeaky teens who come face to face with urban Latino gang culture. After creating Havoc Hathaway will retreat back to the safety of The Princess Diaries 2. Her next movie is another piece of wish-fulfilment fluff, Ella Enchanted.