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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We'd been hearing it was going to happen for weeks, and now it's official: The Beautiful Mind star has agreed to replace Angelina Jolie's babydaddy in State of Grace as the reporter who winds up falling for the wife of the politician he's investigating.... Ben Kingsley is scrubbing in as a mental hospital MD opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island.... Las Vegas' Molly Sims has scored roles in both Jim Carrey's Yes Man and Steve Martin's Pink Panther 2.... To help promote Judd Apatow's upcoming rock comedy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, leading man John C. Reilly is going on tour in character.
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I'm not sure he's got the cheekbones for the job, but Variety says Universal Pictures execs spent their holiday weekend attempting to coax Oscar winner Russell Crowe to replace Angelina Jolie's other half in the all-star political thriller State of Play. Brad Pitt claims the studio is to blame, and all they had to do was wait out the writers' strike so a script that he liked could be hammered out. But Universal counters that it has the option of suing, seeing as the heartthrob bailed on a pay-or-play deal. Personally, I think they should just make a documentary of this drama and call it a day. — Ben Katner
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Comcast's Versus network has bought South Sydney Story, a docuseries detailing Russell Crowe's role as owner of an Aussie pro rugby team, says Variety. The series will air Wednesday nights over five weeks in October and November.... CBS has ordered eight episodes of Jingles, a reality competition from (guess who) Mark Burnett, in which contestants conjure up catchy tunes touting real-life products.... NBC has granted a 13-episode order to Robinson Crusoe, a drama series based on the Daniel Defoe novel and to premiere as early as fall 2008.
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Will J.J. Abrams' Star Trek feature take its villainy to the Maximus? With the Enterprise's fledgling crew gradually getting cast — Zachary Quinto (as Spock) and Anton Yelchin (Chekov), to name two — there is a story in the New York Post that Russell Crowe is being courted to play the central baddie.... Per Variety, Fight Club members Brad Pitt and Edward Norton will reunite for an adaptation of State of Play.... Director Roman Polanski has pulled out of the $100-million Pompeii, and preparations on the big-budget epic have been halted due to fear of a looming actors' strike.
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