In brief: Speed director tackles The Courier
Jan de Bont, whose directing credits include Speed and Twister, is in talks to take the helm of The Courier, perhaps predictably an action film, about a mythical figure who is hired to make a delivery to an elusive underworld character. Production on the Splendid Pictures and Newman/Tooley Films project is due to start in the spring. De Bont produced Steven Spielberg's forthcoming sci-fi thriller Minority Report, which stars Tom Cruise.
Crispin Glover as a rat-loving avenger? After his sinister turn in Charlie's Angels it seems the man's potential for on-screen mayhem knows no limits - New Line has just signed the 37-year-old to star in a remake of the 1971 horror movie, Willard. In it Glover will play a social outcast who overreacts and goes ballistic when one of his pet rats is killed. James Wong and Glen Morgan, the writer/producer team behind Final Destination, will renew their partnership with Morgan taking directorial duties. Glover will soon be seen in Sony's Charlie's Angels sequel.
Ben Stiller is to co-produce Underdogs, about a motley crew of social pariahs who enter a sports tournament in Las Vegas in a bid to save their local gym. DreamWorks has picked up the comedy's scrip, written on spec by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who is also in the frame to direct the piece.
The Northern Ireland secretary, John Reid, is to marry his fiancée, Carine Adler - the Brazilian film-maker - in the "not-too-distant future", it was announced today. Ms Adler's most successful film was 1997's Under the Skin, starring Rita Tushingham, portraying a girl's descent into promiscuity after the death of her mother.
Amelie has nabbed 13 nominations for France's answer to the Oscars, the Cesar Awards. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's acclaimed film is up for best film, director and actress for Audrey Tautou. The 27th awards ceremony takes place on March 2.
Ron Howard widely tipped for an Oscar, has been named ShoWest Director of the Year 2002 by the US cinema owners' association. His latest film, A Beautiful Mind, impressed the panel greatly. "With his magnificent work on 'A Beautiful Mind,' Ron Howard has proven that in addition to being one of the most successful directors working today, he is also one of the most sensitive and talented film-makers of all time," said Robert Sunshine, chairman of ShoWest organiser Sunshine Group Worldwide. "I can't think of anyone more deserving of this honour." Howard will receive the award at a dinner in Las Vegas on March 7.
Denzel Washington, who stars as a street-wise cop in Training Day and is regarded as a possible Oscar contender for that role, hinted he is getting tired of starring in action films. "I don't like running around for two weeks without saying anything," he says on www.tvguide.com. "I don't care for fight scenes and hanging off of stuff. It's just not for me. I'm getting too old for that stuff, it hurts!"
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back. The iron-jawed Austrian performer and his wife Maria Shriver last night attended the Los Angeles premiere of the star's latest vehicle, Collateral Damage. In Arnie's latest incarnation, he plays a fireman who travels to Colombia to avenge the death of his family in a Los Angeles bomb attack. The film was originally scheduled for release last October but was delayed following the attacks on the US of last September.