Kidman Vs. Chenowith: Battle Of The Dustys
· It's the battle of the dueling Dusty Springfield movies! In one corner, weighing in at...not much...is Nicole Kidman, in a Fox 2000 release written by Michael Cunningham. In the other, weighing in at even less, is Universal's own take, with Kristin Chenoweth attached to star. Will this go the way of the two competing Janis Joplin projects—Pink's vs. Renée Zellweger's—that produced nothing? Or is it going to be a Capote/Infamous scenario, with more Springfield biopic options than we really wanted in the first place? [Variety]
· Official reason given for Toni Collette's departure from Untitled Sam Mendes Romcom By Dave Eggers and His Wife: "Scheduling delays." She'll be replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal. [Variety]
· Collette's pilot for Showtime, meanwhile, is looking like a go, as is Edie Falco's. The beat-maintaining premium network officially ordered a series from British comedian Marc Wootton, and re-ordered Tracey Ullman's (sort of funny, but enough with the hamfisted Andy Rooney stuff?) State of the Union. [Variety]
· Renée Zellweger will produce Living Proof for Lifetime, the story of the doctor who developed the breast cancer drug Herceptin 2. It will star Harry Connick Jr., who apparently is now starring in Lifetime movies. [THR]
· Catherine O'Hara is close to signing on to play the lead in Good Behavior, one of the many pilots Rob Thomas has cooking at various networks. This one is set up at ABC.