David Duchovny to Play Crime Novelist in Murder Memoir

Former "X-Files" star David Duchovny will portray acclaimed hard-boiled crime novelist James Ellroy in the upcoming adaptation of Ellroy's memoir "My Dark Places." "Dark Places" details Ellroy's quest to resolve the unsolved murder of his mother in 1958. The book began as a story that first appeared as an article in GQ magazine.

Adapted by Jan Oxenberg, the film will be directed by Robert Greenwald ("Steal This Movie"), who produces, with Francis Ford Coppola sharing executive producer credits.

"Places" is financed through the five-picture partnership between Coppola's production company, American Zoetrope, and Myriad Pictures.

Shooting is scheduled to start in June in Los Angeles. United Artists will distribute in North America as part of its output deal with American Zoetrope.

Greenwald, who met Ellroy through the writer's agent, optioned the rights to the manuscript when he heard the story even before Ellroy began writing it. Screenwriter Oxenberg also worked closely with Ellroy and Greenwald on the script.

Ellroy is perhaps best known for the novel "L.A. Confidential," which was adapted into the Oscar-winning film by Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland. He has penned a string of film noir-tinged novels that also include "White Jazz," "Black Dahlia," "American Tabloid, " "The Big Nowhere" and "Brown's Requiem."

"I was 46 when I reinvestigated my mother's murder," Ellroy told DV, "and it's odd to see someone who doesn't resemble me physically in the least playing me. But I met David (Duchovny) for the first time ... on Saturday, and he impressed me as a sharp and alert guy. I've no doubt he can pull it off."

Ellroy added that there was a reference to his book "The Black Dahlia" in the film "Kalifornia," in which Duchovny starred, and he considered that "a good omen."

Greenwald said: "This is as close to an autobiography as James is going to write, and I felt a moral as well as a professional obligation because of his incredible talent to have him as deeply involved as possible throughout the making of the film. He's been extremely helpful and came up with wonderful suggestions, and he has been part of the casting process as well."

Ellroy's top choice to portray his mother is former "China Beach" star Dana Delany because, he said, "She's a fine actress and she bears the closest physical resemblance."

Duchovny next will be seen in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming "Full Frontal." The former star of Fox's "The X-Files" will return in the show's final episode as the series ends its long run in May.

Mandy Moore 'How to Deal With Clare Kilner To Direct.

Clare Kilner has come aboard to direct Mandy Moore in New Line Cinema's teen romance "How to Deal."

The British director, who made her debut with 1999's "Janice Beard: 45 Words Per Minute," turns her attention to a project based on a pair of young-adult novels by Sarah Dessen. "Deal" stars Moore as a teenager who, surrounded by examples of love gone wrong, decides that love doesn't exist -- until she is proved wrong.

"Clare has a really wonderful visual style and a quirky insight, which is exactly what this movie needs," said New Line production exec Stephanie Striegel, who is overseeing the project with director of development Michelle Weiss.

"Deal" is being produced by Radar Pictures principals Scott Kroopf and Erica Huggins along with Chris Van Allsburg and Bill Teitler. Good Machine International is handling foreign rights. The script was penned by Neena Beber.

Kilner is repped by the Gersh Agency and London-based agent Tracy Hyde at Casarotto & Co

"Razors' A "Dirty Dozen" In Outer Space For Universal

Universal Pictures is living up to its name, inking a low-six- against high-six-figure deal to pick up Robert Franke's intergalactic thriller "Razors."

Universal-based "Mummy" director Stephen Sommers and producing partner Bob Ducsay will produce.

Project is described as a "Dirty Dozen" in outer space. Set 600 years in the future, it follows man's expansion from curious flotsam to malicious empire builder.

"We've always had two schools of thought about alien life," Franke told Variety: "Either they cute like 'E.T.' and benign, or they're vicious predators who'll mow us down. And so I started thinking, 'What if we were the worst thing in space? What if we overran several galaxies with our greed and love of weaponry?"'

"Razors" follows mankind's terrifying expansion outward to fringe galaxies, and in particular, one where a band of genetically altered, conscienceless superhumans have taken residence. Despite having been banned from -- and forgotten by -- most civilized solar systems, these uberhumans make a dramatic and aggressive comeback that threatens stability everywhere. A penal colony team of Earth's 12 worst criminal scum are dispatched to confront them.

Ducsay said he was drawn to the material because "it's ultimately a redemptive tale ... these aren't nice guys, but some of them do eventually do right."

Franke most recently penned "Two Clocks Running" for Bel-Air and also wrote 1999's "Made Men" for HBO.

Milos Forman to Write, Direct 'Bad News'

Regency Enterprises and 20th Century Fox are in negotiations to co-finance a big-screen adaptation of the Donald Westlake novel "Bad News," with Milos Forman to direct.

Forman also is writing the script for "Bad News" with Doug Wright ("Quills"). Phoenix Pictures will produce along with Michael Hausman, Forman's longtime producing partner. Fox will handle distribution.

The project is based on a comic caper in which a career crook signs on for an underhanded takeover of an Indian casino but soon realizes he's set himself up to be ripped off -- unless he can rip off his partner first.

Forman previously worked with Phoenix chairman-CEO Mike Medavoy on films such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Amadeus," "Hair," "Valmont" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt."

"Open Range" Kevin Costner Is Returning To The Director's Chair

Academy Award winner Kevin Costner is returning to the director's chair for the first time in five years and, thematically, will explore some of the wide open spaces where he has enjoyed his greatest success.

The multihyphenate will direct, produce and star in the Western feature "Open Range" and is finalizing a deal to set it up at the Walt Disney Co.

Co-starring with Costner for the first time will be Robert Duvall. The project begins production in June in Calgary, Alberta.

Written by Craig Storper, "Range" is about the day-to-day travails of four men -- two of whom will be played by Costner and Duvall -- living in the West.

Costner and David Valdes are producing the project through their Tig Prods. Storper also is producing.

"It's a piece about a way of life coming to an end and the violence that accompanied it, which was the hallmark of settling the West," Costner said in an interview. "It is also a poetic piece that deals with a code of friendship and people who were willing to die abiding by that code."

Costner said he has long been drawn to the Western genre as evidenced by such projects of his as "Silverado," "Wyatt Earp" and "Dances With Wolves," which earned him best director and best picture Oscar wins.

"I enjoy the genre, the legacy and the history of it," he said. "And as a form of entertainment, I really respond to it."

Additionally, Costner said he was excited about doing business with Disney for the first time and in particular looks forward to working with Dick Cook, the newly named chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

"I've had a personal relationship with Dick Cook, and now it's evolved to a professional one, which is great," Costner said. Costner is repped by CAA. Duvall is repped by his manager Rob Carliner.

Russell Crowe Looks to Rejoin Ridley Scott on 'Tripoli'

Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe has emerged as the leading candidate to star in the historical drama "Tripoli" for 20th Century Fox. The film would reteam Crowe with director Ridley Scott in another big-budget period epic. The actor won the Academy Award for his role as a Roman general-turned-warrior slave in "Gladiator," last year's Oscar winner for best picture. Scott received an Oscar nomination for his direction of the movie.

Scott committed last month to direct "Tripoli" in what will be his first helming assignment since his production company, Scott Free, signed an overall deal at 20th Century Fox.

"Tripoli" will be written by William Monahan and produced by Mark Gordon with Scott Free, the partnership between Ridley Scott and his brother, Tony. Both Fox and Crowe's agents declined comment.

Crowe has become the go-to actor for period dramas in the wake of his standout box office successes "Gladiator" and "A Beautiful Mind." His next project is as the lead in the 18th-century seafaring adventure "Master and Commander," also for Fox, due to start shooting in June in Baja, California.

"Tripoli" tells the true story of William Eaton, an American who helped the heir to the throne of Tripoli lead an overthrow of a corrupt ruler in the early 1800s. The film could start production as early as this fall.

Crowe's schedule following "Master and Commander" has not been set, but attachments include making his directorial debut on and starring in Intermedia's World War II tale "The Long Green Shore" and starring as boxing legend Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man" with Universal and Miramax co-financing.

Steven Jay Rubin Has Acquired Rights To Deadly Deception

Steven Jay Rubin, exec producer of Showtime's "Bleacher Bums," has acquired rights to "Deadly Deception," Jack Engelhard's thriller set in the world of high-stakes casino crap shooters.

"Deadly Deception," published in 1997, is about a high-stakes gambler motivated by spiritualism who finds himself confronted by evil, leading to a dice shootout to determine life and death. Julian Rothschild, the novel's main character, is a guy who can't lose because he thinks he's received a special blessing from above. The casinos think he's a mechanic -- a cheat.

But he's a genuine hero who gives his winnings to charity. He's a Robin Hood type, or, to mix the metaphor, he's King David at the craps table. He's David and the rest of the world -- represented by the casinos -- is Goliath.

Rubin, who has a first-look deal at Showtime for his Fast Carrier Pictures, believes the lead role of Julian Rothschild can attract major young talent. In addition to executive-producing "Bleacher Bums," which aired Sunday on Showtime, he has been developing patriotic and World War II projects as features, including "American Mythic," "The Himmler Strategem," "Cut Off," "A Silent Night" and remakes of "The Steel Helmet" and "A Walk in the Sun."

About the Author Engelhard, Jack Engelhard's novel Indecent Proposal spawned one of the hottest movies in recent times. Starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore, the Paramount movie, based on Engelhard's novel, broke box office records here and abroad and has to date taken in some $300 million worldwide.

The novel Indecent Proposal has become an international sensation. Published by Pocket Books in the U.S. (audio by Simon & Schuster), the book has been translated into 20 languages and is a bestseller throughout the world. The million-dollar moral dilemma posed by the novel has sparked an international debate on ethics.

Throughout his career, Engelhard has been an avid follower of James Jones, Crane, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Salinger, Andre Schwartz Bart, Camus, Lardner, Dostoevsky, the plays of Ionesco, the films of Truffaut, and, above all, Scrpitures.

Engelhard, though not conventionally religious, admits to being inspired by Scriptures for both style and substance, as evidenced in his writings, wherein he puts his characters to the test; placing the spotlight on men and women to see how they behave and perform under pressure.

His personal experiences, beginning with his escape from the Nazis to earnings a place as a world-class novelist, may explain his search for nobility in a world of chaos. Thus the central character in his latest novel, Deadly Deception, is a genuine hero... a man of high integrity.

Engelhard was born in Toulouse, France and escaped to America with his family during the Nazi Occupation. He spent his formative years in Cincinnati, Ohio. Engelhard is a ranking belt in Israeli martial arts. He served in the Israeli Navy as an American volunteer. He resides in South Jersey with his wife and two children

Leo Kirch's Bankrupt Empire Let The Creditors With The Crumbs

The collapse of Leo Kirch's empire became official Monday as his core business filed for bankruptcy and the 75-year-old television tycoon, a pivotal player in the global media industry for nearly half a century, offered to step down.

After weeks of negotiations, creditor banks and minority shareholders failed to reach agreement on a rescue plan for Kirch Media, the Kirch Group's flagship division that controls a vast film library, sports rights and commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat 1.

The company's insolvency will go down as the biggest in the Germany's post-World War II history. However, creditor banks are nonetheless prepared to inject "massive" capital to keep Kirch Media afloat.

Kirch Media has outstanding debt of 1.4 billion euros ($1.23 billion) to creditor banks and owes a further $440 million to Hollywood studios stemming from output deals, said Wolfgang van Betteray, a Kirch-appointed corporate troubleshooter who has become interim chief executive of the company's new management. Van Betteray will continue the inhouse restructuring begun earlier this year.

A thorough restructuring of Kirch Media could take up to six months due to the unit's complex structure.

The entire Kirch Group was crushed by a $6 billion debt burden and hemorrhaging costs. It remains unclear how many of Kirch's 10,000 employees will now lose their jobs; some have put the number as high as 3,000 to 4,000.

At a news conference Monday, Van Betteray said he was in contact with the Hollywood studios, adding that he was optimistic existing contracts could be renegotiated and brought down to current market prices.

Van Betteray said Kirch Media would seek to continue purchasing films from Hollywood partners under better conditions. With bankruptcy, company could choose to drop existing contracts or renegotiate them, he pointed out.

Further bankruptcies are expected soon of the group's money-losing KirchPayTV and TaurusHolding, the umbrella company that contains the three main divisions (Kirch Media, KirchPayTV and KirchBeteiligung).

INSOLVENCY FILING STOPPED

An insolvency filing by KirchPayTV was halted at the last minute Monday afternoon after an unnamed shareholder intervened.

A bankruptcy of TaurusHolding or KirchPayTV would be a severe body blow to News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch since it would nullify a hefty $1.4 billion put option the global mogul has on his 22 percent stake in the pay TV division.

With losses of around $2 million a day, given its inability to attract enough subscribers to cover pricey film and sports rights, the pay TV arm has largely contributed to Kirch's collapse.

As part of its restructuring efforts, the new management has severed ties between Kirch Media and KirchPayTV and said any new deals with Hollywood would be for free TV rights only, with KirchPayTV now forced to fend for itself.

In addition to providing short-term capital, creditor banks -- also including BayernLB, DZ Bank and HypoVereinsbank -- are seeking participation from German publishing groups Axel Springer and WAZ. Axel Springer may swap its $675 million claim against Kirch for a stake in the new outfit.

The group's control of Formula One motor racing and its 40 percent stake in Axel Springer are held by the KirchBeteiligung division, which has not filed for insolvency.

RESCUE ATTEMPT DROPPED

A rescue attempt of Kirch Media by creditors and minority shareholders, including Murdoch and Italian Prime Minister/media baron Silvio Berlusconi, was abandoned after weeks of wrangling failed to produce a mutually acceptable agreement.

While creditors and Bavarian state politicians were said to be striving for a "national solution" to keep Kirch Media together, Wolfgang Hartmann, chairman of Commerzbank, said banks would be open to foreign investors who wanted to support the company -- but only "if they are prepared to work together and not against each other."

Speaking at the news conference, Hartmann blasted Berlusconi's Mediaset and News Corp. for blocking each other and keeping a rescue plan from being formulated. He described Mediaset's behavior as totally unprofessional.

Kirch Media confirmed it had transferred its rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cup soccer championships to Switzerland-based KirchSport, saving the rights from possible loss through insolvency.

With the event starting this summer, the move was greenlit by banks and international soccer association FIFA to avoid the complications of reselling the rights and, contrary to some reports, does not provide Leo Kirch or his deputy CEO Dieter Hahn with profits from the World Cup deals.

Subsidiaries most at risk include Kirch Media's money-losing sports broadcaster DSF and broadcast service provider Plazamedia as well as KirchBeteiligung's regional weblets TV Munchen, TV Berlin and TV Hamburg.

ProSiebenSat 1, which is 53 percent owned by Kirch Media, said Sunday it would not be affected by a Kirch Media bankruptcy as it is financed independently from the Kirch Group.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder quickly made use of Kirch's collapse to attack Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber, who is running against Schroeder for the nation's top job in elections later this year.

Schroeder said Stoiber was partially responsible for Kirch's plight, adding that the state-run bank BayernLB helped finance Kirch's money-losing pay TV venture.

BayernLB provided Kirch with nearly $1.75 billion in loans. Stoiber rejected the criticism, but political experts expect the premier to get pummeled by fallout from Kirch's crash.