I was talking with a friend the other day about the shocking decline in the quality of Kevin Spacey's films. It seems as though that Oscar for American Beauty was some sort of horrific curse, sending him into a long run of ill-advised, disastrous movie projects. Look at the man's filmography pre and then post Beauty. It's distressing! But Variety is reporting on a flick that sounds like it might turn things around. HBO Films' Recount will tell the story of the Florida results in the 2000 election, one of the most controversial political events of recent years. As Monika recently told you, Sydney Pollack was supposed to direct but dropped out due to "an undisclosed illness." Jay Roach, a director primarily known for broad comedy (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Meet the Parents, and their lesser sequels), will now direct. Danny Strong wrote the screenplay. The film will document "the legal and political maneuvering from the point of view of both the Bush and Gore camps."

Spacey will star as Ron Klain, "former chief of staff to vice president Al Gore and one of the lead attorneys who challenged the voting results in Florida." In addition to Spacey, Recount has lined up one hell of a supporting cast: Laura Dern will play Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state who certified that George W. Bush had won the state. Denis Leary (what went wrong on this season of Rescue Me, DL?) plays Michael Whouley, a Democrat pollster. John Hurt plays Warren Christopher, a key player for Gore. Tom Wilkinson plays James Baker, brought in by the Republicans to see that the disputed results held up. And two Christopher Guest alums will duke it out in the courtroom. Ed Begley, Jr will play David Boies, the lawyer who appealed the results and argued for the Democrats. Bob Balaban plays Ben Ginsberg, head attorney for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. See what I mean about that supporting cast? You won't have to demand a Recount -- look for the film on HBO during the 2008 presidential election.

Ah, election years. Everybody's talking about politics instead of Paris Hilton for a change. The Daily Show gets really good. And everyone wants to know who's supporting who. As far as Hollywood is concerned, we have some answers. CNN Political Research Director Robert Yoon has looked at the July presidential fund raising disclosures and pulled out the celebrities to see where they stand. You can read the full list over at Deadline Hollywood Daily, but let's take a look at some of the highlights, shall we?

Tom Hanks, Danny DeVito, and Tobey Maguire are some of the big names who contributed to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Will Smith and Jamie Foxx are all about Barack Obama. Oliver Stone digs John Edwards, (but secretly suspects him of starting the Vietnam War). Bill Richardson must contribute to the Director's Guild, he's got Steven Spielberg, William Friedkin, and James L. Brooks on board, in addition to Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer (no word on how The Ghost and The Darkness voted). Rudy Giuliani got some highly coveted Mafia support from The Sopranos' Tony Sirico. John Lithgow surely made an over-the-top theatrical gesture of placing his check in the mail for Chris Dodd. Dennis Kucinich has the lowest profile group of supporters, with Hector Elizondo probably the biggest star of the bunch. Note: This is the first time Hector Elizondo has been the biggest star in anything, including delicatessens.

I always assumed that when a studio bought a script on spec alone, it meant that the idea was so great that they just couldn't stand to miss out on it, or that it was a guaranteed moneymaker. The latest purchase by Warner Brothers, however, has me wondering what the big rush was, because if Jayson Rothwell's Invaders is a diamond in the rough, I'm just not seeing it from where I'm looking.

Variety announced that Warner Bros. has bought the spec script by Rothwell for Thunder Road and Pierce/Williams Entertainment to produce. Rothwell has a pretty short resume; he has a script for an Alice in Wonderland re-imagining titled Malice in Sunderland in production and is also on board to write The A-Team big-screen remake.

Invaders is the story of a gang of thieves forced into service for a U.S. government agent to retrieve a sex tape starring the president and the wife of an Arab sheik (yes, we're serious). Now, I know that action flicks don't always rely on the most logical of plot devices but I can't help but think the premise of this one is not only goofy but also downright tacky. I doubt the film is going to win any UN awards, but Warner Bros. seems pretty keen on the idea, so I doubt they'll waste much time getting the film into production.