The Bulletin: 'The Big Chill' Unfrozen

Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill" (1983), in which old collegemates reunite at a South Carolina respite for the funeral of a friend, will be unfrozen at Screen Gems, with Kasdan and Barbara Benedek's original script as a template in a contemporary African-American update, reports Variety. Regina King ("Jerry Maguire") will star and produce with Reina King and Will Packer ("Stomp The Yard").

Weisz in 'Lovely Bones'
Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener," "The Fountain") will star as a mother afraid her young daughter's been slain in "The Lovely Bones," an adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel, reports Variety. Peter Jackson will direct for Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks. Jackson wrote the script with Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh ("The Lord of the Rings," "King Kong"). Carolynne Cunningham, Jackson, Walsh and Aimee Peyronnet will produce, and Tessa Ross will executive produce with Ken Kamins and Jim Wilson. Production begins in October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand.

Campbell to Direct '36'
Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale") will direct “36,” a remake of the French thriller “36 Quai des Orfevres,” about two rival detectives out to solve a series of violent robberies in order to snag a critical promotion, for Paramount Pictures, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Dean Georgaris (Jonathan Demme’s “The Manchurian Candidate” remake) wrote the script, and Richard Price ("Sea of Love") will do a rewrite.Price will revise Georgaris' script to reimagine the detectives as younger. De Niro’s Tribeca and Georgaris’ Penn Station production outfits will produce. Marc Forster ("Stranger Than Fiction") was previously in talks to direct with De Niro and George Clooney to star, but Price will revise Georgaris' script to reimagine the detectives as younger equals. Production on “36” will begin in New York City later in the year.

Hurt Joins 'Incredible Hulk'
William Hurt will star as Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in "The Incredible Hulk" (June 13, 2008), Louis Leterrier's sequel to Ang Lee's "The Hulk" (2003), for Universal Pictures, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Edward Norton is cast as Dr. Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk; Tim Roth as KGB agent Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. the villainous Abomination; and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross. Zak Penn ("X-Men: The Last Stand") wrote the script. Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd and Kevin Feige will produce, and Jim Van Wyck, David Maisei, Stan Lee and Arad will executive produce.

Vaughan Enters 'Vegas'
Tom Vaughan will replace Julian Farino as director of "What Happens in Vegas," in which strangers Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, in the wake of a night of sinful festivities, wake up with a matrimonial hangover, reports Variety. Farino couldn't direct due to conflicts with another production, "The Year of Living Biblically." Dana Fox wrote the script. Dean Georgaris and Michael Aguilar will produce.

Kinnear, Tierney Board 'Baby Mama'
Greg Kinnear and Maura Tierney ("Liar Liar") will star with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver and Dax Shephard in "Baby Mama," in which a single girl with a desire to nurture a child and cultivate a career hires a surrogate mother, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Kinnear will star as a proprietor of a juice bar, with Fey as the single girl in pursuit of a surrogate. Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn will produce, and Jill Messick will executive produce.

Aniston Dances With 'Goree'
Jennifer Aniston will develop "Goree Girls," a period musical and dramatization of true events in which a gang of female convicts style a sensational country-western act inside Texas' Goree Prison, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Kristin Hahn and Aniston will produce. Margaret Nagle will adapt Skip Hollandsworth's Texas Monthly article about the musicians, "O Sister Where Art Thou," into a script.