Shyne (file)
Photo: Def Jam

There have been some odd couples in pop culture lately — Nelly and Tim McGraw, for one — but there's another that might top them all.

Actor/former rapper Mark Wahlberg and incarcerated rapper Shyne are teaming to produce a documentary about their lives and their differences. The yet-untitled project, which is currently in production, will follow Wahlberg — who was tried as an adult and incarcerated when he was 16 — as he talks with Shyne and his fellow inmates. It will also feature interviews with a host of hip-hop A-listers.

The film is scheduled to be released theatrically next summer in conjunction with Shyne's third album. The LP, which is also currently untitled, will include production from Kanye West, Just Blaze and the Alchemist.

Wahlberg is an executive producer of the HBO series "Entourage" and is also acting as executive producer and narrator of a documentary called "Juvies," which examines the U.S. juvenile-justice system.

Shyne is currently serving a 10-year sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility in New York state.

For more on Shyne, check out our exclusive interview conducted inside the walls of Clinton Correctional Facility, "Shyne: Blessed With Curses."

• Shyne
• Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg in "The Italian Job"
Photo: Claudette Barius

Moviegoers hunting for new flicks this week will find a cartoon fish looking for his child, thieves looking for gold and a few people looking to stay alive as "Finding Nemo," "The Italian Job" and "Wrong Turn" hit theaters.

When it came time to shoot "The Italian Job" — a remake of the 1969 heist movie that stars Edward Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Mos Def (see "Director F. Gary Gray Wraps Up 'Italian Job,' Sings Mos Def's Praises") — actress Charlize Theron found certain parts of the preparation process to be a little bit sexist.

"There is always this naiveté that women will take longer to get as good [at something] as the men," she explained recently. "And I remember from day one they gave me much more time in driving school than the guys, and I was like, 'Wait a second, excuse me,' you know?"

Theron proved to be not only as adept, but in some cases, better at performing her own stunts than her male co-stars, all of which amounts to an action-heavy flick where the audience will see the actors' faces in more than just the close-ups. "It was great," Theron added, "[because] it was such a sibling rivalry between us — we were just constantly waiting for one person to do something wussy so we could just go, 'Ahh! See you don't know how to drive that car!' "

The folks in "Wrong Turn" could have used some lessons in steering clear of unpaved roads in the West Virginia wilderness. "Wrong Turn" is a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"-like horror flick starring Eliza Dushku — best known as butt-kicking killer Faith on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" — as part of a group of stranded young people terrorized by mutant cannibal hillbillies.

Most of the characters in "Finding Nemo" are also trying to avoid becoming someone else's dinner — because they're fish. "Nemo" is the latest from Pixar, the CGI animation studio responsible for "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story." It's about a clownfish searching for his son. (Click for photos from "Finding Nemo.")

All three pictures will have to contend with the box-office power of Jim Carrey's "Bruce Almighty," which knocked "The Matrix Reloaded" from the top spot at the box office last week (see " 'Bruce' Proves Neo's Not The Only One Who Can Beat 'The Matrix' ").

• Mos Def
• Mark Wahlberg

Spankin' New Summer Music 2003 Photos

• Ludacris
• Ruben Studdard
• Mya
• Lillix
• Ashanti