BBC - Films - High Noon - 17th February 2004

		Rings And Kisses The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King is in line to become the second-biggest worldwide grosser after Titanic. So far, Return Of The King has an estimated $975.5m (£514m) in the coffers. While the hobbits hang in at No.8, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are currently reigning supreme at the US box office with 50 First Dates. The romantic comedy scored an estimated $46m (£24m) over four days, which would make it the biggest grossing film to open over the President's Day weekend. Which means nothing to us. In Blighty, meanwhile, Eddie Murphy's The Haunted Mansion was the No.1 film at the box office. And that is scary.

		Kicked Into Touch Only a week into production on Will 'Elf' Ferrell soccer comedy Kicking & Screaming, first-time director Marco Schnabel has had his megaphone confiscated by the suits at Universal. American Pie: The Wedding helmer Jesse Dylan has stepped into the breech, but no explanation was given for the late substitution. The story centres on Ferrell (natch), who reluctantly coaches his son's soccer team and must reconcile with his own father, played by Robert Duvall, whose competitiveness on the football pitch traumatised him as a boy. Hah, hah, hah...

		Cameron In A Lava James 'King of the World' Cameron has scored the rights to Ghosts Of Vesuvius, an upcoming book by Charles Pellegrino about the volcanic eruption that levelled Pompeii in 79AD. He'll be wearing his producer's hat to make a fictionalised account of the ancient disaster, extrapolated from Pellegrino's non-fiction work. A lethal blast several times more powerful than the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima, the eruption of Vesuvius has got nothing on Cameron. But the big-guns helmer has not committed to direct the film, which is set to start shooting at the end of the year. High Noon reckons The Big JC (the other one) will ultimately take the reigns, though, since there's no one in Hollywood daft enough to tussle with that Titanic ego.

		Dogged Out Dogma director Kevin Smith has publicly voiced apprehension about the upcoming release of his latest comedy, Jersey Girl, which features former sweethearts Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. "After Gigli, I was like: "Oh, man. Our job's just got much harder,"" whines Smith. "But it's not Gigli 2: Bennifer Strikes Back!" By way of reassurance he adds, "If you're not satisfied, I'd be willing to stand at the door of theatres and be like: "You don't have to pay."" Jersey Girl is released in UK cinemas on Friday 25th June.

		Wincer Movement The director behind Free Willy, Simon Wincer, is saddling up for the appallingly-titled Clancy Of The Overflow, an Aussie tale inspired by a key character in 1982 pic The Man From Snowy River. Reports that Hugh Jackman is in talks for the lead have been denied... Actor Holt McCallany (Men Of Honor, Three Kings) is to co-star in a movie about Teddy Atlas, trainer of boxing heavyweight Mike Tyson. He also plans to star as Atlas, opposite Willem Dafoe. High Noon assumes Dafoe will not be playing Tyson, because that would be silly. He could never do the voice.