Straddling the line between big-budget ("Star Wars") and indie ("Garden State") films has been very, very good to Natalie Portman. Now the 23-year-old Oscar-nominated actress has selected her next project, an ambitious fantasy film whose script is already drawing comparisons to 1971's "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." The movie, which boasts the smile-inducing moniker "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," will cast the former Natalie Hershlag as the manager of a magical toy store that comes alive thanks to the spirit of its eccentric owner. As the owner takes ill and attempts to pass the store over to Portman's character, she finds that her depression is robbing the emporium of its majesty. The film will mark the directorial debut of Zach Helm, a buzz-garnering writer/director whose "Stranger Than Fiction" script goes into production this month with Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman among its all-star cast. The multi-tasking Portman adds "Magorium" to a long list of upcoming projects that already includes the Milos Forman character-driven film "Goya's Ghosts," the big-budgeted Wachowski brothers sci-fi movie "V for Vendetta," and the experimental multi-director film "Paris, je t'aime." ...

Actress/songstress Mandy Moore, last seen tossing around Bibles in the critically acclaimed "Saved!," is done shopping for her next project and now she's ready to ... do some shopping. The "A Walk to Remember" star has signed on for "Personal Shopping," an upcoming Paramount romantic comedy that casts her as a hired shopper who finds love while helping a tourist select his new wardrobe. Hoping one size will fit all, Moore signed on to the project despite the fact that it is undergoing heavy rewrites to transform the script, which originally centered on the man's story of being an American who recruits a London woman to help him shop. With Moore's participation, the film will likely be Americanized. Regardless of the changes, British writer Tim Sullivan is still attached to direct. ...

04.21.05

Much to the delight of his fans, Adam Sandler once traded fists with geriatric game-show host Bob Barker. Now the comedian's devotees may be hoping he'll have a similar romp in the sand with the world's most famous lifeguard, since David Hasselhoff has signed on to play the boss of the former Happy Gilmore in a flick called "Click." Also signing on for a rare comedic performance is Kate Beckinsale, who will play the love interest of Sandler's character. The film tells the story of a workaholic architect whose reality is turned on its ear when he stumbles upon a remote control that allows him to fast-forward and rewind to different parts of his life. Hasselhoff and Beckinsale will join forces with the previously cast Christopher Walken and Henry Winkler. ...

Those looking for Hollywood's next big thing may want to take a moment to memorize the name Kristin Chenoweth, as the veteran stage actress has just signed on for yet another role in a high-profile film. Already scheduled for supporting work in the highly anticipated big-screen updates of "Bewitched" and "The Pink Panther," the Tony-nominated Chenoweth has now signed on to play downtrodden soul singer Dusty Springfield in a biopic from Universal, the studio that hit the jackpot last year with Jamie Foxx and "Ray." Written and directed by Jessica Sharzer ("Speak"), the film will focus on the career peaks and heartbreaking failure that the singer faced during the '60s. Modern audiences will most likely remember Springfield as the singer of "Son of a Preacher Man," the moldy oldie dusted off by Quentin Tarantino for a "Pulp Fiction" rebirth. The film is the second musically inclined biopic in development by the producing team of Marc Platt and Nicole Brown, who are also working with Alicia Keys on a film that would have the singer portraying a child prodigy who evoked comparisons to Mozart. ...

04.20.05

The Superman/Batman film collaboration rumors of a few years ago may have never panned out, but that doesn't mean the two emblems of heroism can't help each other every now and again. Warner Bros. has announced that the DC Comics legends will unite on May 18 at 8 p.m. as the studio unveils eight exclusive minutes of "Batman Begins" footage during the season finale of the Superman drama "Smallville." The studio isn't revealing the exact timing of the "Batman" preview, saying only that it will air at some point during the show's 90-minute broadcast. Refusing to take a back seat to the footage from one of summer's most anticipated blockbusters, the "Smallville" finale promises to keep the audience's attention with its own plotline of murder and betrayal on Clark Kent's graduation day. "Superman and Batman have always been inextricably linked to each other, so it seems fitting that a show chronicling the Man of Steel's youth give you the first look at the birth of the Dark Knight," "Smallville" executive producer Al Gough said in a statement. ...

Now that Jack Black's finished monkeying around on "King Kong," he wants to wrestle. The Tenacious D singer/actor has signed on to star in an untitled wrestling project, in which he would play a Mexican priest moonlighting as a masked Lucha Libre wrestler who is also trying to save an orphanage from being closed. The film will be directed by Jared Hess (his first film since "Napoleon Dynamite") and co-written by Hess and Mike White (who also wrote "Orange County" and "School of Rock" and appeared in both). "I can't think of two people I'd rather party with than Mike White and Jared Hess," Black said in a statement. Plus, "I can't wait to get down to Mexico." Production's slated to start this fall. ...

After winning the coveted role of Johnny Storm in this summer's "Fantastic Four," Chris Evans could have used his newfound clout to shout "Flame on!" in the direction of any number of upcoming films. The 24-year-old heartthrob has chosen to reunite with his "Cellular" co-star Jessica Biel in "London," sadistically continuing to taunt those who confuse Biel with his "F4" co-star Jessica Alba. "We just wrapped a film called 'London' about like a month ago," Evans said. "It's a little indie film I'm really proud of. It's about a guy and a girl that are in a very explosive relationship. They love hard and they hate hard, and it kind of follows over the course of their rise and fall. It's great: very wordy and character driven." The film, which also stars Jason Statham and Leelee Sobieski, does not yet have a release date. ...

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