At the beginning of this year, there was news that Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page were setting their sights on Whip It! -- a flick about snarky chicks, toughness, and roller derby action. It sounded like a whole wackload of fun. The rumored March start date came and went without a sound, but now, luckily, things are on track for this summer. Even better: The Hollywood Reporter posts that joining Page and Barrymore on-screen will be Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, and Zoe Bell.

Page is playing Bliss Cavendar, a beauty queen who runs away to join the roller derby league in Austin, Texas. Harden will play her mom, an ex-beauty queen herself who wants her daughter out of the skates and back on the beauty circuit. Meanwhile, Wiig will play Bliss' rolling mentor, Malice in Wonderland, Lewis will be top star Dinah Might, and Bell will be "a medical technician moonlighting as derby star Bloody Holly." With first-time feature director Drew Barrymore taking on a role as Page's teammate, that's one heck of a roller roster.

I wonder if 5'1" Page will have to take on 5'8" Bell? Hell, I'm trying to imagine how she'd do against anyone, being as teeny as she is. We should find out soon enough -- the film heads into production this summer in Texas and Michigan.

Well, this is a bit of a bummer. I've been waiting, it seems like forever, to see when Jack and Diane, Bradley Rust Gray's endlessly gestating "lesbian werewolf" movie that Ellen Page was supposed to star in, would finally go into production. As I wrote waaaaaaay back in September, the film is supposed to be about:

"Jack and Diane, two teenage lesbians, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane's charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack's tough skinned heart. But, when Jack discovers that Diane is leaving the country in a week she tries to push her away. Diane must struggle to keep their love alive while hiding the secret that her newly awakened sexual desire occasionally turns her into a werewolf."

Moviefone has debuted the trailer for He's Just Not That Into You, due in theatres October 24th (watch it above or over on Moviefone in HD). While it's a charming trailer, I cannot help but feel that every man in the world is actually really into one or more of these actresses (especially Scarlett Johansson) so it automatically loses credibility. Plus, it's a movie based on a dating guide. How will that work out? Happily ever after, I suspect.

The star power in this movie is pretty impressive, though! It was indelibly associated in my mind with Drew Barrymore (who I like; she is impossible not to). I had no idea it boasted the likes of Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Affleck, and Justin Long. That speaks well for it, actually, as Connelly especially tends to do the more serious scripts. And I really want to see Affleck make a major comeback, so I hope his mere presence in a romantic comedy doesn't condemn him to Gigli level again. What do you think -- perfect date movie or too reminiscent of real life to be amusing? I think I am in the latter category, myself. The scene with Barrymore at the end of the trailer is like every interaction I have ever had with the opposite sex. Sad, but true.

Even though Jerry O'Connell's latest comedy video isn't as great as the Tom Cruise parody, they might have helped him land a job. The Hollywood Reporter announced that O'Connell has signed to star with Heather Graham in the romantic comedy Baby on Board for Brian Herzlinger. Herzlinger is a relative newcomer and is probably best known as they guy who made a documentary about trying to get a date with Drew Barrymore.

Russell Scalise and Michael Wright's script follows a happily married couple (O'Connell, Graham) whose lives and high-powered careers are thrown into chaos thanks to an unplanned pregnancy. The cast also includes John Corbett (Northern Exposure) and Katie Finneran as a bitter married couple whose bad advice makes things worse for the soon to be parents. Also on board is Ian Ziering (who knew that Steve Sanders was still kicking around Hollywood?) as a gay obstetrician and Lara Flynn Boyle as Graham's demanding boss.

Well, I figured it was only a matter of time before the "Knocked Up/Juno Clones' finally started to trickle into theaters. So as funny as Jerry O'Connell can be, I am a little less sure of Graham's comedic skills. The last time I can remember laughing at Graham was during her brief cameo on Arrested Development back in 2004. Then again, any show that can turn Carl Weathers into a comedy star seems to have the knack for making anybody funny. Baby on Board is set to start shooting next week on location in Chicago, and should make it to theaters sometime later in '08.

A new interview over at FilmSchoolRejects.com throws some light on Whip It, the upcoming film based on the Shauna Cross novel Derby Girl, about a young girl who finds herself through excelling at roller derby. Cross tells the site that Drew Barrymore wants to take on directing the film and is gearing up for a March start. "It wasn't until after I turned in the script that Drew really fell in love with the idea of directing it," Cross says. "And I'm so glad she did because I think she will do a really lovely job. She's got that whole smiley-sweet persona, but she's one smart cookie with a lot of soul and great creative instincts." And exactly who is Barrymore after to play Bliss, the lead in the film? This is what Cross has to say about that: "Rumor is the lead could be played by an actress whose name rhymes with 'Shmellen Shmage.' But what do I know? I'm just the writer."

When asked about how autobiographical the story is, Cross says that "Like my lead character, Bliss, I grew up just outside Austin and was a pretty precocious teen, full of sarcasm and wit and hijinks (as were my friends, most of whom were older.) But I was also really sensitive, hiding that vulnerability with humor. And of course, I play roller derby." Sounds like Ellen Page material to me. As of now, Page has only a couple of projects in the pipeline -- she seems to be holding off on using her newly-minted credibility from Juno to cash in on something high-profile. Would she want to risk doing something Juno-esque this soon? Should she try to immediately start playing twenty-somethings and get away from teen-roles? Luckily, she has an agent so we don't have to answer these questions.

[via Slashfilm]

So while I might not be the biggest Jackie O or Jeanne Tripplehorn aficionado, I will say this: they do look an awful lot alike. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Tripplehorn has signed to play the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the HBO Films 'remake' of Grey Gardens. Tripplehorn will be joining Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange in the 'true' story of two of the most eccentric women you could ever meet.

Back in 1975, Albert and David Maysles, Susan Froemke, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer made a documentary about the lives of Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale. They were the aunt and cousin to Onassis and lived a bizarre life in almost total isolation in a ramshackle mansion by the name of Grey Gardens. After trying for years to have the home brought up to code, the two were finally separated when "Big Edie" died in 1977 (Little Edie finally sold the house in 1979 to a former editor for the Washington Post). The documentary inspired an award winning stage musical in 2006 starring Christine Ebersol as Little Edie. The new film from HBO will not be a musical (thankfully, I might add) and instead was based on the original documentary.

The cast also includes Daniel Baldwin as Julius Krug, the former secretary of the interior and true love of Little Edie (Barrymore). Tripplehorn is doing some post-production work for Winged Creatures, an ensemble drama about a group of people who survive a shooting in an L.A. diner (I guess it will be kind of like Crash, but with more gunfire). Grey Gardens is being directed by Michael Sucsy (who also co-wrote the script with Patricia Rozema) and is currently shooting on location in Toronto, Canada. Grey Gardens will hit theaters in 2008.

The last time the Fanning sisters were in the same movie (I Am Sam), they played the same character at different ages. Now they've been cast in a new movie in which they both exist for the same character. Confused? Hold on. According to Variety, Elle and Dakota, who are now 9 and 13 respectively, will star in Nick Cassavetes' adaptation of My Sister's Keeper alongside Cameron Diaz. Based on the novel by Jodi Picoult, it's the story of a young girl who was conceived solely for the purpose of being a genetic match for her older sister, who is suffering from cancer. So, basically, Elle's part is that of a literal tool, existing only for the extension of Dakota's character's life. And I guess the parents don't treat the younger enough like a real, intentional child, because she ends up suing them for divorce -- kinda like little Drew Barrymore does in the largely forgotten gem from my youth, Irreconcilable Differences. Cassavetes' partners from The Notebook, screenwriter Jeremy Leven and producer Mark Johnson, are also on board, and production is set to begin in March.

If there's any competition between the Fannings for who will be the first to score an Oscar, this could be the movie in which to really shine. For the older Dakota, we've got a character dying of a disease, which at least used to be an Academy favorite for recognition (maybe if she was also mentally handicapped, she'd have more of a chance). Then for little "Sweetie Pie" (I'll never stop calling Elle that, even when she's 30), there's the strong court-battle role, which typically serves up meaty performances. And with Diaz in the movie, the sisters are sure to appear even better actresses than they are. As we told you in July, Diaz will play the girls' mother, who was cast first and then required the lowering of the sisters' ages from 13 and 16, as they are in the book (what, we can't believe Diaz had a daughter when she was 19?). Although this will be the first movie Elle and Dakota appear in together as sisters, they did play sisters in the American dub of My Neighbor Totoro -- which only used their voices (you should really watch the subtitled version; it's so much cuter). So, will the Fannings compete too much and end up giving us over the top delivery? Or could they both be good enough to further compete come awards time? Or will we be so over them by the time this movie comes out and not care either way?

It has been a depressing month. First Scott told me that Jennifer Connelly is just not that into me. And today the Hollywood Reporter informs me that Jennifer Aniston feels the same way. In He's Just Not That Into You, Miss Aniston will play a role just bursting with originality -- "a woman in a long-term relationship with a boyfriend who will not commit to marriage." Aniston joins one of the most attractive casts in recent memory. You've got the previously mentioned Jennifer Connelly, Entourage's "E" Kevin Connolly (that's going to get confusing on set), Bradley Cooper (the jerk boyfriend in Wedding Crashers), Justin Long (who should be commended for not ruining Live Free or Die Hard), Ginnifer Goodwin (the youngest wife on Big Love, I've got a huge crush on her), and Drew Barrymore (you know who Drew Barrymore is, right?).

Barrymore is also a co-producer on the film, which will be directed by Ken Kwapis (director of License to Wed - boo! But also several episodes of The Office - yay!). The script was written by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (writers of Barrymore's Never Been Kissed, which I enjoyed more than I expected to). It is based on the wildly popular book by ex-Sex and the City writers Liz Tuccillo and Greg Behrendt (if you never saw Behrendt's daytime talk show, you're a luckier person than I). It's good to see Aniston returning to romantic comedy after...oh wait, that's pretty much all she does. She does it well though. After Rumor Has It almost caused me to walk out (and I was on an airplane!), she hit me with the one-two punch of Friends With Money and The Break-Up. I liked both of those a lot. Into You is set in Baltimore and will consist of "interconnecting story arcs dealing with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior." Interconnecting story arcs set in Baltimore, eh? Any chance we can tie this all in to The Wire somehow? Brilliant as that show is, I always felt it could use a romantic comedy element.

Hollywood loves talking dogs. And I guess a lot of moviegoers love them too, because otherwise Hollywood wouldn't keep making them. Later this summer, we have a super-powered talking dog in Underdog and in two years, we'll be getting a super-sized talking dog movie called South of the Border. I say super-sized because the live-action Disney movie is going to have a lot of talking dogs in it. Drew Barrymore will be voicing the lead dog, a pampered Beverly Hills Chihuahua named Chloe, who ends up lost in Mexico while on vacation with her owner (Piper Perabo). As you'd expect, the little dog meets a bunch of new friends to help her find her way.

Most of the other dogs will be voiced by Latino actors, including Salma Hayek, who plays a spirit guide who helps Chloe learn her Hispanic roots, and George Lopez, who plays another Chihuahua who attempts to woo Chloe. Other unspecified roles have been cast with Cheech Marin (who voiced the cartoon Chihuahua character in Disney's Oliver & Company), Paul Rodriguez, Plácido Domingo, Edward James Olmos and Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo. Andy Garcia will also be voicing a dog, one which doesn't seem to be of the Latino variety. The Cuban actor is voicing an ex-K-9 German Shepherd. I assume that the character will have a German accent (as long as they're going so racial) and that he will end up the true love interest for Chloe -- though I don't think this is physically appropriate.

Those who go to Lucky You expecting a Drew Barrymore performance that is, at long last, devoid of her half human/half sunflower kitsch will be disappointed. The role is more or less straight drama, but much like Bruce Willis has a writer on standby whose job is to inject "Bruceness" into the scripts he likes, someone seems to have shoehorned in a number of cutesy Shirley Temple-style comedy moments for Drew, and downgraded the maturity level of her character to late teens, as opposed to thirty-something. At one point, sitting beside her boyfriend Huck (Eric Bana) at the poker table, she tells him that it was only right that he lost a hand, since he won the last one -- the other guy should have a turn to win. Huck is a semi-pro whose lifelong attempt to chisel a living out of cards has left him broke, and the film opens with him pawning a family heirloom for a couple hundred bucks. You get a feeling from the start that Matt Damon and Ed Norton dream of this guy.

Hopes rise early on with a funny cameo from Robert Downey Jr. as a friend of Huck who runs some kind of one-man telephone scam. He keeps several cell-phones in front of him on a table and is continually picking them up and putting them back down like three-card monte. Once he makes it clear that he has no money to lend, Huck moves on and we meet some of his less colorful friends, including a compulsive (male) gambler who agreed to get breast implants if he lost a bet, and did just that. Charles Martin Smith is an interesting choice for a mobbed-up loan shark, but the film sort of lets his character die on the vine after one sharply-written early scene with Huck. It also becomes weirdly obvious early on that the film was intended to be titled Lucky Town, since that title makes more sense and since we hear an extended sampling of Bruce Springsteen's Lucky Town. Lucky You sounds more like a lost Matthau-Lemmon comedy from the early 70s.