Sofia Coppola Heads to 'Fairyland'

Sofia Coppola's famous daddy Francis Ford Coppola has scooped up the rights to Alysia Abbott's novel, Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father. While the plan right now is for his daughter Sofia Coppola to co-write the script only, the subject matter, dealing with a young girl and her famous father, sounds like a perfect fit for her sensibilities.

Coppola, who last directed the celebrity crime film The Bling Ring, will pen the script with Andrew Durham, the producer of her debut short, Lick the Star. Roman Coppola will also get in on the producing action, with the film centering on a young girl living in San Francisco with her bisexual father, a poet and gay rights activist, during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

Sounds right up her alley, and it's worth noting that Coppola has directed every script she's ever written. Chances are she'll end up behind the camera for Fairyland, as well.

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Bill Murray, Patricia Arquette, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead join A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III

The Coppola family has been very good to Bill Murray. The last time he was nominated for an Oscar it was eight years ago for his stunning performance in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. Now with her brother, Roman, preparing his first film in over a decade, Bill is coming along for the ride, signing on for a role in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III.

Along with other new additions Patricia Arquette and Mary Elizabeth Winstead(*swoon*), Murray joins the film about a successful and famous graphic designer, with a charm that makes him irresistible to women. But when his girlfriend suddenly breaks up with him, his life goes into a tailspin.  Charlie Sheen stars as the title character, with Jason Schwartzmann, Katheryn Winnick, and Aubrey Plaza.

For Murray, he tends to be choosy on the roles he takes. Just look at the way he's held Ghostbusters 3 hostage for what feels like an eternity now. With production already underway on 'Charles Swan', here's hoping this further cements his decision to not rehash that long dead franchise. He's better than Ghostbusters at this point, and is making far more interesting films now than he ever has in his career. [Variety]

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Katheryn Winnick joins Roman Coppola's A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charlie Swan III

It's impossible to predict which role will make someone a star. Sometimes an actor will work steadily for years without a breakthough, and then one small but memorable role in a well-received film will do the trick. For Katheryn Winnick, she's been relatively busy since 1999 but has yet to shatter the ceiling into the Hollywood notoriety. Over the last few years she's mainly been eye candy in some pretty good flicks, starring in the Kaufman-esque indie comedy Cold Souls(starring Paul Giamatti) and last year in Love & Other Drugs. Most will recognize her as Booth's smokin' hot ex-girlfriend in the previous season of Bones. Now she's set to join Roman Coppola's first film in over a decade, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charlie Swan III. Maybe this'll be the part that does it for her?

Starring Charlie Sheen in a role tailor made for him, the story centers on a famous graphic designer, who's wealth and charm have made him irresistable to women. Winnick will play Swan's girlfriend, who sends his life into a deep spiral after she breaks up with him. Jason Schwartzmann and Aubrey Plaza co-star. Roger Neil, who did the fantastic scores for Beginners and Tanner Hall, is working the music.

No word on when production will kick off, but the film is expected to open some time in 2012. [Variety]

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Sure Shots: Aubrey Plaza; 50 Cent; Matthew Vaughn

* If Roman Coppola wanted to draw attention to his long awaited(over a decade!) sophomore directing effort, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, then he made a smart choice in snagging Charlie Sheen for a role that sounds eerily close to his own wacky life. But if Coppola wants the film to be any good, he'll need more help than that. And so along with co-star Jason Schwartzmann, he's now added the sardonic wit of Aubrey Plaza(Funny People). The story centers on Swan, a successful and irresistable graphic designer whose life goes into a tailspin after his girlfriend breaks up with him. [Variety]

* Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. >sigh< I know, it seems like the rapper/bullet magnet is in another film every single week. It's not that far from the truth, as he's hooked up with producers Randall Emmett and George Furla who are making movies just for him. The next is The Pursuit, about a cop and a criminal teaming inadvertently teaming up to capture a bank robber, each for their own personal reasons. They are pursued by a US Marshall trying to get to the robber so he can face proper legal justice. [Deadline]

* So chatty comic book creator Mark Millar has finally started to accept that Kick-Ass 2 may not even happen, and if it does Matthew Vaughn likely won't be back as director. Awesome. That doesn't mean the two won't work together again, though. In fact it seems like a certainty, as Vaughn has picked up the film rights to Millar's comic, Superior. It's a really good story, actually, and one of Millar's best. It centers on a young boy suffering from multiple sclerosis, who idolizes a comic book hero by the name of Superior. When an alien being arrives on earth and chooses the boy to have one wish fulfilled, he gains the ability to turn into his idol.

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