an invisible sign of my own Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You know, I'm not trying to be crude, but if your average small town prostitute looked anything like Jessica Alba, the world's oldest profession could probably give the modeling industry a run for its money. Variety reports that Alba has signed to play a small town hooker in Michael Winterbottom's noir thriller, The Killer Inside Me.

Killer is based on the novel by Jim Thompson, and Robert Weinbach and John Curran (The Painted Veil) have already written the adaptation. Back in 1976, Stacy Keach had starred in a feature film version of the novel about "a West Texas sheriff and his downward spiral from a boring small-town cop into a ruthless, sociopathic murderer." This time Casey Affleck will pick up where Keach left off as the sheriff, and Alba will play the role of a small town hooker. Now to be fair, I'm trying really hard not to think back to all those interviews where Alba turned her nose up at roles that traded on her sexuality; you know, like playing hookers....or strippers.

Killer is just the latest in Alba's crusade to finally be taken seriously as an actress, and frankly, she could use the help. Between her last summer flop, The Love Guru, and lackluster reviews for her work in Awake and The Eye, it's not like great parts are being offered left and right. Hopefully Killer will change all that, because if the career trajectory of your average starlet has taught us anything, it's that playing a hooker is usually one of the first steps on the road to being an actor with a capital 'A'. Well, that and looking unattractive, but I guess that's what her upcoming role in An Invisible Sign of My Own is for.

As we come out of the weekend, Juno's dad and Claire Fisher's conservative boyfriend are teaming up for a new film. The Hollywood Reporter posts that J.K. Simmons and Chris Messina are joining Jessica Alba in An Invisible Sign of My Own. Described as an Amelie-style film, the indie "follows the transformation of a sheltered, math-obsessed teacher when a new science teacher arrives at her school." No word on who Simmons and Messina will play, but does it really matter when we have Alba not only taking over the whimsical shoes of Audrey Tatou, but also trying to be a math nerd? Strrrange casting!

And have you ever wondered what Thelma & Louise would've been like had they driven all over the place with a corpse? THR also posts that Laura Harring, Jill Marie Jones, and Oded Fehr have signed on to star in a new dark comedy called Drool. Basically, Harring will play an abused wife who accidentally kills her husband (Fehr) as she plans to leave her "better" half with the help of her friend (Jones). What does she do? She decides to "drive the body cross-country." That just doesn't sound sanitary.

To some, he's a dancer from Fame. To others, he's Baz's Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet. (He needs to do more Shakespeare!) To most these days, however, he's Michael Dawson from Lost. And now THR posts that Harold Perrineau is going to executive produce and star in a new indie drama called Case 219. Based on Walter Dean Myers' novel Shooter, the film focuses on three misfit teens after a high school shooting.

And one more little bit: Henry Thomas has joined Dear John.

These people just landed a part in a movie and you didn't:

Sorry boys, but Jessica Alba has officially become a math nerd. Oh yes, Variety tells us the actress has signed on to star in An Invisible Sign of My Own, based on the book by Aimee Bender. Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom) will direct the flick, which follows a woman who becomes obsessed with numbers and math ... and then lands a gig as a second-grade math teacher. Hot, steamy gratuitous love-making scene not included.

Val Kilmer has decided he needs more action in his life, as the dude has hopped onboard the crime thriller Fake Identity for Nu Image/Millennium Films. The film, to be directed by Dennis Dimster-Denk (or Triple D, as I like to call him), tells of a doctor (Kilmer) who, while working in Chechnya, helps a woman escape from her would-be assailant and then watches a whole movie's worth of crazy stuff happen to him. (Variety)

I know, I've totally been waiting for Michael Caine to kick some serious ass too! Luckily, Variety tells us the actor has joined the British crime thriller Harry Brown. Who's Harry Brown, you ask? Well, he's an "elderly former serviceman drawn to vigilantism while living in a run-down 'burb rife with gangs, guns and drugs." Daniel Barber directs, while Emily Mortimer co-stars as a policewoman. And LL Cool J raps ... "Caine gonna knock you out ..."

Please, please, please let this be as good as it could be. The Hollywood Reporter posts that America Ferrera has signed on for a new coming-of-age drama, but it sounds like a little bit more than a pair of magical, traveling pants that fit every friend who tries them on. The project is called An Invisible Sign of My Own, and it's Marilyn Agrelo's first film since her documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom.

My hopes are stemming from the plot. The film is based on Aimee Bender's novel "about a 20-year-old loner named Mona Gray (Ferrera) who as a child turned to math for salvation after her father became ill. As an adult, Gray now teaches the subject and must help her students through their own crises." Now, it sounds like your typical feel-good school story, but I'm really loving the idea of a popular young woman on the big screen who finds comfort in math, rather than makeovers or the rest of the stereotypical scenarios Hollywood throws at us. As long as it's put together in a solid film, this could be really great. That aside, the story is not without its quirks -- this girl has a hidden passion for soap eating and a habit for knocking on wood, but maybe that will come together in a charming manner.

However, I'm not as comforted by the thought that the adaptation comes from Wedding Planner scribes Michael Ellis and Pamela Falk. Please, please, please let this be better than that!