The Bulletin: Here Comes "Barbarella"

Peter Webber (February's "Hannibal Rising") will direct a remake of "Barbarella" for producer Dino De Laurentiis, reports Variety. "Female James Bond ... in outer-space," is how De Laurentiis, producer of the erotic 1968 original with Jane Fonda (left), defines the new, likely less sexy version. "Barbarella" will shoot at Morocco's CLA studios. No word yet on the cast.

Shawn Levy Will Direct "The Flash"
Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum," "The Pink Panther") will direct "The Flash," an adaptation of DC Comics' speedy daredevil, for Warner Bros. Pictures, reports The Hollywood Reporter. A creation of Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, "The Flash" has the ability to sprint extremely fast, exploit superhuman reflexes and violate certain laws of physics, i.e. time travel. Of a comedy pedigree, Levy will direct "The Flash" with a lighter touch than David Goyer, the co-writer of "Batman Begins" once prime to write, produce and direct a darker version of "The Flash" prior to his departure due to creative differences with Warner Bros. Charles Roven and Alex Gartner will produce, with the possibility of Levy to produce, as well.

Take a Journey "Across the Universe" in the New Trailer
The trailer for Julie Taymor's whimiscal and imaginative pop musical "Across the Universe" (Sept. 28), is now available in glorious HD at Yahoo! Movies. An orgiastic musical synthesis of the tumultuous 1960s, "Across the Universe" is a revolutionary love story that leaps from the dockyards of Liverpool to the psychedelia of Greenwich Village to the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the war zone of Vietnam with two romantics, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), as the tides of anti-war and counterculture, and the timeless songs of The Beatles, disrupt the cosmos.

Roman Polanki to Harness "Pompeii"
The immortal Roman Polanski ("The Pianist," "Chinatown," "Knife in the Water") will direct the $130 million effects behemoth "Pompeii," an adaptation of Robert Harris' novel about the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., reports ICM. Polanski, a winner of the Academy Award for 2002's "The Pianist," and Robert Benmussa will produce the film for RP Productions with Alain Sarde, and Harris will adapt the script. Principal photography for "Pompeii" will begin in the summer in Italy.

Actor Ryan Gosling Now a Director
Ryan Gosling, an Academy Award contender for Best Actor for "Half Nelson," will direct "The Lord's Resistance Army," a drama about child soldiers in Africa, with nonprofessional actors he found in East Africa, reports Variety. Gosling already has all the necessary finances to begin production, and will write the script.

Schwartzman to Experience "Mark Pease"
Jason Schwartzman ("I Heart Huckabees") will star in "The Mark Pease Experience," a comedy about Mark Pease, a jobless actor slow to live beyond his old glory days as the star of his high school's musicals, reports Variety. Ben Stiller ("Night at the Museum") is in negotiations to star as Pease's former teacher Mr. Gribble. Actor Todd Louiso ("Jerry Maguire," "High Fidelity") will direct from Jacob Koskoff's script for Paramount Vantage. Michael London ("Sideways") will produce, with production to begin in March in North Carolina.

Ang Lee to Play "A Little Game"
Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain," "The Ice Storm") will next direct the often put-off "A Little Game," for Focus Features, reports Variety. James Schamus is in the process of a rewrite on the romantic comedy, an adaptation of French play "A Little Game of Consequence," In the American version, a happy Brooklyn couple engages in an experiment: Pretend to break up in order to ascertain the opinions of close friends and family about your coupling. Not long ago, Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz were ready to reunite ("The Mask") and Italy's Gabriele Muccino ("The Pursuit of Happyness"), to direct, but reportedly concerns with the script was reason enough for the production to implode prior to Lee's commitment.

Woody and Cruz in Spain
Spanish enchantress Penelope Cruz, an Academy Award contender for Best Actress for Pedro Almodovar's "Volver," will star in Woody Allen's next film, a production in Barcelona, reports Fox411.

And Speaking of Penelope Cruz ...
Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" (A-), with Penelope Cruz, will be available for rental on April 24. Also on DVD, with The Scout's grade in parentheses: "Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj," March 27; "Turistas," March 27; "The Holiday" (C), March 13; "Black Christmas," April 3; "Copying Beethoven," April 3; and "Bobby," April 10.