Malin Akerman, who had been pursued for multiple comedy pilots this season, is set to star opposite Portia de Rossi in ABC’s dueling sisters comedy pilot The Smart One. The project, written by Don Todd, centers on a brilliant and successful woman (de Rossi) who has to go to work for her less brainy but more popular…

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cruise has committed to star for Universal Pictures in Oblivion, the science fiction film that will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who last helmed Tron: Legacy. Production will begin in October. Cruise had been loosely attached to the Radical Publishing graphic novel adaptation when Disney let it go…

Is Alec Baldwin in or out of New Line’s Rock of Ages? We might have a better idea today after Baldwin takes part in a full run-through of the ’80s-flavored rock musical being held in an hour or so on the Miami set where the picture will be shot. Except for Catherine Zeta-Jones (who’s shooting the Gerard Butler starrer…

EXCLUSIVE: The final piece of the casting puzzle is in place for Rock Of Ages, the Adam Shankman-directed adaptation of the Broadway musical for New Line Cinema. Malin Akerman is set to play the role of Constance, a journalist who intends to write an expose on decadent rocker Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise). After a…

EXCLUSIVE: 127 Hours star James Franco is in discussions to play pornographer Chuck Traynor in a Linda Lovelace film that will be directed by his Howl helmers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Kate Hudson has the offer to play the title role in Lovelace, the W. Merritt Johnson-scripted adaptation of Eric Danville’s…

Malin Akerman (Couples Retreat, Watchmen, 27 Dresses) is now confirmed to replace Lindsay Lohan in Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story from director/writer Matthew Wilder’s script, which made the 2008 Black List. “My understanding is that Lindsay was dropped as she’s impossible to insure and the producers loved Malin,” an…

Tribeca Film has acquired U.S. rights to The Bang Bang Club, a drama based on the lives of photojournalists during the last stages of apartheid in South Africa. It stars Ryan Phillippe and Malin Akerman and was written and directed by Steven Silver. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film…

Jenna Fischer will star in The Giant Mechanical Man, which she will also produce alongside Molly Hassell, Michael Nardelli and Brent Stiefel. Written and directed by Lee Kirk, the film also stars Topher Grace, Chris Messina and Malin Akerman. It’s a romantic comedy about a misunderstood street performer and the zoo…