The Sopranos star James Gandolfini is in negotiations to play Ben Affleck's surrogate dad in a DreamWorks SKG comedy entitled Surviving Christmas. Affleck will play a rich neurotic who finds his real family too much in the festive season, so hires a 'perfect' family to spend the holidays with. But the fake family, headed by Gandolfini, are even worse than his real folks. Sources say the deal hinges on the ability to schedule shooting around Gandolfini's commitments to other projects and, of course, the fifth season of The Sopranos.
Calista Flockhart, Tim Blake Nelson and Toni Collette are the latest big names to be linked to the Walt Disney mob feature, Providence. The film, which is based on true story, revolves around a young film-maker who is given millions of dollars to make his first movie by a mysterious benefactor on the condition that he shoot it in Providence, Rhode Island. But the film-maker eventually discovers that his film's producer is an undercover FBI agent. Alec Baldwin and Matthew Broderick are already confirmed in the two lead roles.
