He's already stirred things up with last year's controversial Turkish war movie called Valley of the Wolves: Iraq. Now Billy Zane has been cast in something that should be a little more palatable to US moviegoers, but still won't be inspiring patriotic nostalgia, unless thievery is the way to your patriotic heart. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Zane has signed on for a role in producer Paul Bruel's Belgian WWII movie -- The Hessen Affair. This will be Bruel's directorial debut, from a script by Oscar nominee Nicholas Meyer, the pen behind The Human Stain, and Ronald Roose (Collateral Damage). With a tidy sum of $20 million, the thriller has got Zane joining Lyne Renee, Michael Bowen (Lost), and Noah Segan (Brick), who are all coming off of John Daly's upcoming film, The Box Collector.

Based on a true story, Hessen "is set in 1945 and revolves around victorious American officers who uncover a stash of German jewels that they smuggle to New York to fence." Zane will be played one of the officers, or someone else in the army, as THR says he's donning an Army uniform for his role. Bruels says: "The script is the base of it all, and there is no doubt that this one is among Nicholas Meyer's best work. Good scripts attract good actors, and this one is no exception." The film will begin production this month in Canada, and then fly off to Belgium to wrap in February.

If you're still itching for more Zane man, he's got a ton of projects on the way. There's his starring role in the action/thriller Perfect Hideout, a supporting stint in the swing dance movie Love N' Dancing, something more Western with The Man Who Came Back, time as Ciara's manager in Mama, I want to Sing!, and possibly a 4Chosen film cherry topper.

According to a recent report in Variety, the Lakeshore Entertainment adaptation of Philip Roth's 2001 novella Dying Animal has added Peter Sarsgaard (whose latest film Year of the Dog opens this week), Dennis Hopper and former Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry to its cast. These three will be joining the previously cast Penelope Cruz, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. In the film, Cruz will play a graduate student who has an affair with a much older professor played by Kingsley. Cruz's character returns years later with a revelation. According to Wikipedia, the novella Dying Animal marked the third appearance of Kingsley's character, Professor David Kepesh, who had previously appeared in The Breast and The Professor of Desire. No word on how these three new additions to the cast will fit into the story.

The film is being directed by Isabel Coixet, adapted by Nicholas Meyer (perhaps best known for his involvement in the Star Trek film franchise) and produced by Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi. Lakeshore International will distribute the film overseas, selling territories at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. The company is also currently in production on Pathology (the story of two medical students trying to commit the perfect murder), the Clive Barker adaptation Midnight Meat Train and the serial killer film Untraceable. Since the Variety article refers to the film as untitled, I can envision a meeting in which someone said, "Dying Animal? Who's going to pay to see a movie about road kill?" Whatever it ends up being called, it starts shooting next month in Vancouver.

Don't get me wrong, I think Felicity Huffman is a great actress, but I never really understood why people liked Desperate Housewives so much. I dropped in and out of the series during the first two seasons and I could never get into it, which is saying something considering how addictive my TV viewing habits can be.

It looks like Huffman is making a smooth transition into more full time movie gigs. Variety announced that Huffman has been signed to star in the film version of the British miniseries The Politician's Wife. The original story was about the wronged wife of a charismatic MP, who quietly plots her revenge against her husband and his cronies. I'm assuming there will have to be some changes to the script since I can't see Huffman doing an accent.

The series was produced for Channel 4 in the UK and included Minnie Driver, as a high-end escort. I remember seeing the series years ago on PBS and I was pretty entertained by the whole thing, and nobody does reserve and repression like the British. Nicholas Meyer, who has some experience with adaptations, having adapted Philip Roth's The Human Stain, wrote the script and Bob Berney is on board to direct. So even if the movie is just another Hollywood re-hash, for me, it beats the shenanigans of Wisteria Lane any day.

[via JoBlo.com]