BBC - Movies -news article - High Noon

		Sex On The Big Screen It's been on and off again quicker than Samantha Jones' underpants, but HBO and New Line have finally greenlit a movie version of iconic TV series Sex And The City. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all set to reprise their roles as bed-hopping New Yorkers, with long-time executive producer Michael Patrick King directing from his own script. (No details have been released regarding the plot.) The film came close to happening a couple of years ago, but Cattrall pulled out because she wanted 'script control' and a salary comparable to what SJP was getting. Well, we knew that she was hard to satisfy, but sources say those issues have now been resolved. Cattrall is getting more money, more input and the promise of her own TV series on HBO. What a woman.

		Men Court Ladies Anthony Minghella has been busy filling out the cast of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - which sounds like it could be the plot of the Sex And The City movie. Actually it's an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's best-selling book series. Dreamgirls star Anika Noni Rose is already on board as agency secretary Grace Makutsi, and she'll be joined by David Oyelowo (The Last King Of Scotland), Idris Elba (28 Weeks Later) and Colin Salmon (Die Another Day). Singer/songwriter Jill Scott will star as Precious Ramotswe, the series' heroine. and proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. Minghella, who co-wrote the screenplay with Richard Curtis, is calling the shots from next week in South Africa.

		Singer Scuppers Superman? Whilst director Bryan Singer is pulling his hair out over WWII drama Valkyrie (see yesterday's news), speculation is rife that he may pull out of making a sequel to Superman Returns. He had been expected to direct Superman: The Man Of Steel after wrapping on the Tom Cruise vehicle, but producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan tell Rotten Tomatoes that The Mayor Of Castro Street - a film about gay politician Harvey Milk - is next on his slate. "The next Superman, that's a ways off," says Meron. But Zadan is quick to add, "Don't worry about it. Trust me." Of course, in Hollywood, the words 'Trust me' usually precede a sharp jolt of pain between the shoulder blades.

		Night Watchman Sees The Light Shooting is finally underway on Keanu Reeves thriller The Night Watchman. He stars as Tom Ludlow, an LAPD cop framed for the murder of a fellow officer while struggling to get over the death of his wife. Forest Whitaker is on board as Ludlow's boss and mentor, and new recruits include our very own Hugh Laurie and Naomie Harris (Miami Vice), plus Chris Evans (the American one, thankfully), John Corbett and Cedric The Entertainer. Spike Lee and Oliver Stone were in talks to direct at various stages, but in the end, David Ayer is wielding the megaphone, after revising a script by crime novelist James Ellroy. It's his second directorial outing after Harsh Times, which he also wrote as a companion piece to Training Day. All that storytelling experience and we can still predict that Forest Whitaker dunnit.