BBC - Movies -news article - High Noon

		A Meaty Proposition Colin Firth and Robert Carlyle will star in gothic horror comedy The Meat Trade. Trainspotting novelist Irvine Welsh has turned his hand to screenwriting with this contemporary Edinburgh-set story inspired by the crimes of 19th-century bodysnatchers Burke and Hare. The notorious duo made a living robbing graves to provide doctors with cadavers for experimentation. When the supply of corpses dried up, they started killing tramps. Antonia Bird will take the helm, reuniting with Carlyle after the similarly gruesome Ravenous and gangster flick Face. High Noon suddenly has a hankering for some fava beans and a nice Chianti...

		Park Life Robin Williams, Liv Tyler and pint-sized thesp Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) are close to signing the dotted line for fantasy tale August Rush. Irish helmer Kirsten Sheridan will direct the adventures of a young boy who loses his parents in New York's Central Park and embarks on a "magical, musical journey" to find them. Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer will provide the music, which plays a key role in the story. Cameras roll in - surprise, surprise - August.

		Murphy Goes Multiple DodgeBall helmer Rawson Marshall Thurber has been hired to direct Eddie Murphy in Norbit. It's a comedy (of course) in which Murphy will play a meek guy pressed into marrying a monstrous woman - also played by Murphy! When he subsequently meets the woman of his dreams, Norbit has to figure out a way to ditch the old ball and chain. The original script was penned by newbies Eddie and Charlie Murphy (no relations, we're guessing), but has since been through a rewrite courtesy of Guess Who scribes Jay Scherick and David Ronn (who are much more experienced in writing rubbish comedies).

		Cleese Gets Crood DreamWorks has unveiled plans for a third collaboration with UK animation house Aardman. John Cleese has just delivered the script for Crood Awakening, an off-kilter tale about the culture clash between cavemen. Though the inspiration for the story lies with the differences between the French and the British, this theme will doubtless be watered down by the Americans before it hits screens in 2007. DreamWorks and Aardman have already teamed for stop-motion pic Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, which is launching in Cannes. That'll be followed by their second co-production called Flushed Away about the lives of London sewer rats. That's success you can smell.

		Spacey Turns Ugly Kevin Spacey is producing an adaptation of Ben Mezrich's book (deep breath) Ugly Americans: The True Story Of The Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided The Asian Markets For Millions. DreamWorks have just bought the rights and are handing over to Spacey's Trigger Street Productions, but there's no word as yet on whether he might appear in the film. The Quiet American scribe Robert Schenkkan has been hired to pen the script following the life of cocky Princeton graduate John Malcolm. He went from rags to riches fiddling stocks in Japan and wound up pursued by government agents and at the top of a Yakuza hit list. So it's a happy ending then.

		For Love Or Money Thirteen thesp Evan Rachel Wood will star in an untitled musical to be directed by Julie Taymor (Frida). Formerly known as All You Need Is Love, this is a romance set in the UK during the swinging 60s and features the music of The Beatles. Can't wait to see what they do with I Am The Walrus... John Malkovich has optioned the upcoming novel Triple Crossing by Los Angeles Times' scribe Sebastian Rotella. It's a thriller following a US border patrol agent who goes undercover inside a Mexican drug family. Having made a living reporting stories from the border, Rotella will also write the screenplay... Hilary Duff has joined the cast of Cheaper By The Dozen 2 for director Adam Shankman. She'll reprise her role as the daughter of Steve Martin's character who pits his rowdy brood in a sporting competition against the perfect children of an annoying neighbour played by Eugene Levy. "The franchise rocks and the sequel's gonna be fun," says Duff. Like, whatever.