Reeves may embark on a Sinbad 'Voyage'
Keanu Reeves is in talks to headline Columbia Pictures' long-gestating Sinbad picture ''The 8th Voyage of Sinbad." Rob Cohen (''The Fast and the Furious") is in negotiations to direct the film.
''Sinbad" has been in the works for several years, with John Singleton most recently attached to direct.
The story follows the continuing adventures of Sinbad and his crew, who are marooned off the coast of China in the eighth century. Once ashore, they embark on a quest for the lamp of Aladdin, teaming up with an empress to battle fantastical creatures and a rebellious Chinese general.
The studio has produced and released a number of Sinbad adventures over the years, including 1958's ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen.
LAWRENCE MEETS 'AWFUL END': Francis Lawrence, who directed Reeves in ''Constantine" for Warner Bros. Pictures, is reuniting with the studio to helm a feature film adaptation of Philip Ardagh's children's fantasy novel ''A House Called Awful End." The movie will involve both live action and animation.
''Awful End" tells the story of an 11-year-old British boy who finds himself in the questionable care of Mad Uncle Jack and Mad Aunt Maud when his parents become ill. The relatives turn him over to St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans, where he stages a breakout with other orphans. The book is the first of the ''Eddie Dickens Trilogy."
ON THE BENCH: Jon Heder, who starred in ''Napoleon Dynamite," is to join Rob Schneider and David Spade for the comedy ''Benchwarmers." The film, which is being produced by Adam Sandler's production company, is about three useless athletes. Jon Lovitz is also starring.
'WICKER' MEN: A remake of ''The Wicker Man" gained speed this week with news that Nicolas Cage and director Neil LaBute will revisit the 1973 cult horror classic.
Variety reports that Cage will reprise the role of the ill-fated policeman originally played by Edward Woodward. The 1973 version has the policeman stumble upon a mysterious pagan island community while investigating the whereabouts of a missing girl.
LaBute, known for ''Nurse Betty" and ''In the Company of Men," has written the screenplay and transferred the action from Scotland to a matriarchal society descended from the Pilgrims in America.
Material from wire services was used in this report.
