· Sharon Stone is being tipped to play a psychotic schoolteacher in a remake of the 1966 French film Mademoiselle. According to ananova, the film, to be renamed Love Hurts, will be relocated to a small New England where Stone's character becomes obsessed with a widowed author who settles there after the death of his wife. Don Roos is expected to direct the film, which may co-star Ryan O'Neal and Elisabeth Shue, in the spring.
· Rupert Everett is close to signing up to play King Charles I in a new historical drama Cromwell and Fairfax. Tim Roth will play Cromwell, who successfully led the forces of parliament during the English civil war, and Dougray Scott will play Fairfax, the general of the English armies. According to screendaily, the film will focus on the relationship between the two men after the war and the subsequent trial and beheading of King Charles I. Filming is due to begin next month.
· Kim Basinger and Tracey Ullman have signed up to star in a new adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe classic The Raven to be directed by Ron Howard. According to ananova, Greg Kinnear, Linda Hunt and Richard E Grant are also close to signing up for the remake of the 1963 original which starred Vincent Price and Boris Karloff as two rival sorcerers who battle for supremacy. The story has been moved to modern day Los Angeles, with two women fighting for the love of a TV producer. The film is due to go into production next summer.
