Rodrigo Cortes goes 'Down a Dark Hall'; Peter Chelsom heads 'Out of this World'; and More

Rodrigo Cortes is re-teaming with his Buried screenwriter Chris Sparling for Down a Dark Hall, an adaptation of Lois Duncan's novel about "Kit Gordy as she starts at an elite boarding school where dark powers lurk and her personal destiny hangs in the balance."Perhaps the most interesting thing about this project is the involvement of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer as a producer.

Before he directed Simon Pegg in Hector and the Pursuit of Happiness, which opens next month, Peter Chelsom had only directed two movies in the last ten years. He seems to be hitting a groove now though as he's already signed on for his next film, a sci-fi family movie titled Out of this World. And much like 'Hector' this one is also a road movie, only it follows a boy who has returned to Earth after being raised on Mars by scientists. In an effort to find his biological father he road trips across the U.S. with a female companion. [Deadline]

Seven Pounds director Gabriele Muccino has also agreed to helm a sci-fi film, Near Death, about "a near-death survivor who starts predicting future events and acting in bizarre ways while his wife notices the world itself changing all around her in impossible ways. Fearing for her sanity, she investigates and uncovers a massive conspiracy that bridges space and time." Carter Blanchard (Independence Day 2) wrote the script with production to begin in October. [Variety]

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Russell Crowe to Star in 'Fathers and Daughters' for 'Seven Pounds' Director

Italian director Gabriele Muccino made his biggest move into Hollywood directing a pair of Will Smith weepers The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds, the former of which is pretty good while the latter is a melodramatic train wreck. Last year he tried something a little different, and the results were the terrible soccer rom-com Playing for Keeps with Gerard Butler. Having learned his lesson, Muccino has is going back to the type of family drama he knows best, and with an A-lister star in the lead.

Muccino will direct Russell Crowe in Fathers and Daughters, based on a Black List script by Brad Desch. The heart-tugging film centers on a famous New York City novelist suffering from mental illness as he struggles to raise his 5-year-old daughter. The story then picks up 25 years later as the daughter, now an adult, copes with the aftermath of her troubled childhood.

In other words, keep a box of Kleenex handy. No word on when filming will begin as it will be shopped at the American Film Market next month. With Crowe on board it should have no problem finding a buyer. [Variety]

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