Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• Watch out Dakota Fanning -- there's a new Dakota out there on the horizon who's bound to give the old Dakota a run for her money. Variety reports that 12-year-old newcomer Dakota Blue Richards (much cooler name if I may say so myself) has been chosen among 10,000 girls in the U.K for the lead role in The Golden Compass. Pic, which will be directed by Chris Weitz (Yes, this time he's really directing it) is an adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy. With a budget of $150 million, Compass will become New Line's most expensive since The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• Hey, remember that Frankie Muniz sex comedy that had Martha foaming at the mouth in anticipation of its release? Yeah, well Dimension Films has snatched up the rights to Parental Guidance Suggested, suggesting that people should actually pay money to go see this thing. Labeled a "sketch comedy feature," pic boasts an ensemble cast that includes a cast full of folks that have the potential to be funny if it weren't for the moronic films they choose to appear in. Yes, I'm talking about you Jamie Kennedy. 
• Well, it appears Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way has taken a small lead in the race to land a Timothy Leary-related film in theaters. Appian has gone ahead and tapped playwright Craig Lucas and Leary archivist Michael Horowitz to develop a biopic based on the famous 1960s icon as a potential starring vehicle for the Titanic star. Now, you may recall that Appian is not alone in their pursuit to create a film about the LSD advocate. In fact, Miramax has already gone ahead and purchased the rights to Robert Greenfield's book, Timothy Leary: A Biography, with similar intentions. And, while all this is going on, director Darren Aronofsky is said to be quietly developing his own Leary project as well. Since there's a good chance we won't see three Leary films hit theaters at the same time, I'm wondering who will nab the top spot? Not for nothing, but these other guys don't stand a chance against, well, the King of the world. My money is on DiCaprio.

Miramax recently purchased the rights to a forthcoming biography of Timothy Leary, with an eye to making a totally groovy biopic about the 1960s icon. Music writer Robert Greenfield's book -- unsurprisingly title Timothy Leary: A Biography -- is based in large part on interviews with Leary friends and associates and is, according to Publishers Weekly, a "'decidedly ugly portrayal of a pathologically selfish, narcissistic yet complex man who lacked basic qualities such as empathy and compassion" likely to evoke in readers a "visceral dislike for Leary." Wow. That was unexpected, huh? Suddenly I'm really intrigued by this project -- it would have been very easy for Miramax to make a "Yay, LSD!" movie in which Leary's contributions to the 1960s were celebrated in a sort of nostalgic way, but their choice of Greenfield's book as their source (assuming someone at the studio has read it) suggests they've got something much more complex in mind.

How and if this project is related to the rumored Leary biopics being planned by both Darren Aronofsky and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company is anyone's guess. It's unlikely, though, that DiCaprio, whose father was a good friend of Leary's, would be interested in anything based on Greenfield's negative portrayal.

Paul Davids' documentary The Sci-Fi Boys is the kind of mediocre effort that makes its way onto DVDs as supplement material, although finding an appropriate special edition to include it with would be tough, as its focus isn't limited to any specific film or filmmaker. Davids, an admitted "sci-fi boy" filmmaker, spotlights other directors like Peter Jackson, Stephen Sommers, John Landis, Roger Corman and William Malone, all who grew up as fan boys before acquiring their own followers. Of course, with all the attention Davids gives to himself (the photo above shows him on the left as a young model maker), he could include the film as an extra on one of his own films, except that it wouldn't quite fit with his '97 debut Timothy Leary's Dead.