Is Sienna Miller the fairest maid in the land The execs behind Universals Nottingham think so According to Variety Miller has been added to the revisionist spin on the classic Robin Hood tale as Maid Marian The Ridley Scott-directed film also stars Russell Crowe as the Sherriff of Nottingham who in this version is a noble lawman working under a corrupt king who finds himself in a love triangle with Robin and Marian But what about all those Merry MenThe film is scheduled to begin shooting later this summer and is set for release on November 6 2009 Adam Bryant
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The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett's epic novel, is coming to television, with production headed up by Ridley and Tony Scott's shingle.The best-seller tells of the birth of Gothic architecture and the building of a cathedral in 12th-century Kingsbridge, England, a fictional town where war and religious struggles are the daily norm. Published in 1989, Pillars has sold nearly 15 million copies worldwide and recently zoomed to the top of the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction list. (Shop Amazon.)The Scotts (with Tandem Communications) this past fall brought to TNT the miniseries The Company, based on Robert Littell's page-turner about the CIA. — J.R. Whalen
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TNT on Monday revealed its ambitious plan to change most of its weekday prime-time schedule to original fare by the year 2010. (Popular movies will still be the cabler's bread-and-butter on Fridays/weekends.) Here's what's on tap.Already greenlit for production:• Raising the Bar, a Steven Bochco drama about a public defender (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), his boss (Gloria Reuben) and an imperious judge (Jane Kaczmarek). Teddy Sears and Melissa Sagemiller also star. • Leverage, in which a former insurance investigator (Timothy Hutton) assembles a team of highly skilled thieves, hackers and grifters.In consideration:• Truth in Advertising, an ad-biz drama starring Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh and Monica Potter.In development (scripted):Generations (from Robert Redford, a drama following three generations of the same family living in a house); an untitled family drama set in 1950s Indiana; a series based on Tess Gerritsen's crime novels; The Genie Chronicles (about... a genie i...
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Paul Verhoeven will direct Pierce Brosnan but sadly not Rene Russo in a sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair remake. Me, I'm boycotting unless Famke Janssen gets the female lead.... Jada Pinkett Smith will make her directorial debut with The Human Contract, a rom-com whose description makes it sound an awful lot like the old Melanie Griffith/Jeff Daniels movie Something Wild.... Juno director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody are reteaming for Jennifer's Body, a horror comedy about a man-eating cheerleader.... Ridley Scott has signed on to helm Stones, a Stonehenge spookfest. — Ben Katner
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Gerard Butler (300) has bowed out of the Escape from New York remake, citing "creative differences".... Also per Variety, Spider-man 4 has tapped James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) to pen the script, which unlike No. 3 will feature two baddies, max. Neither Tobey, Kirsten nor director Sam Raimi have yet to sign on.... Ridley and Tony Scott are producing Tell-Tale, a psychological thriller inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short story, says the Reporter.... Saw IV baddie Tobin Bell is a good-guy sheriff in a big-screen adaptation of the graphic novel Bump.
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