SCREEN NOTES | Hollywood news

Producing is fashionable: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Billy Crudup, David Duchovny and Julianne Moore have begun work on "Trust the Man," a romantic comedy from writer-director Bart Freundlich, Moore's real-life husband. The executive producer of the flick is Philadelphia clothing magnate and philanthropist Sidney Kimmel. The Jones New York chieftain is also financing two other movie projects: "Alpha Dog," from director Nick Cassavetes and starring Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake, and "Neverwas," with Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen, Brittany Murphy, Nick Nolte, Alan Cumming and Jessica Lange.From the land Down Under: Niki Caro, the New Zealand director of 2002's Oscar-nominated "Whale Rider," has nabbed her first Hollywood job. She's set to shoot "Class Action," with Charlize Theron in the lead, starting in January. The Warners' production is based on the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States. (Lori Jenson, who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner, filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.) Frances McDormand and Jeremy Renner are in the cast.Worst remakes: "Alfie," the just-out Jude Law-starring redo of the '60s Brit flick starring Michael Caine, was recently named one of the worst remakes of all time in a poll of 2,000 British film fans. Also on the list: "Get Carter," adapted from another U.K. export starring Caine. That one was remade with Sylvester Stallone in 2000, and quickly tanked.
Source: Knight Ridder Newspapers