Borgia

Character: Lucrezia Borgia
Director: Neil Jordan
Writer: Neil Jordan
Producer: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Drama

Plot Summary:
Neil Jordan has written a script filled with betrayal, backstabbing and murder, within a family that aspired to be the most powerful clan of the Renaissance.
In 1492, the Pope dies and Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia emerges as the top contender to head the Vatican, despite a litter of illegitimate children. When he gets the papal throne, Rodrigo moves to consolidate his power thereby empowering and alienating various members of his family.

Johansson will play Rodrigo’s daughter Lucrezia Borgia, who’s torn between her family duties and a desire to find true love. Colin Farrell will play Rodrigo’s youngest sun Cesare, a duplicitous and manipulative sibling who considers himself his sister’s closest confidante.

Status:
This project has been a passion of Jordan’s for years. He nearly had the film ready to go in 2002 with Ewan McGregor and Christina Ricci, but the collapse of the Neuer Markt that enabled such international productions left his film short of cash and he moved on.

Now, though, it’s fallen apart again: in February 2006 Jordan himself has pulled out of the movie, “having concluded that he could not make it work with the proposed budget and logistics.” Jordan will head off to Hollywood to direct Terrence Howard and Jodie Foster in The Brave One instead.

Forget About It

Character: n/a
Writers: Elizabeth Kruger, Craig Shapiro
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producers: Tom Lassally, Kendall Morgan, Melanie Johansson
Executive Producers: Robyn Meisinger, Bo Hyde
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Plot Summary:
A woman fakes amnesia in order to avoid her life’s responsibilities and discoves it’s the most empowering thing she’s ever done.

Status:
February 25, 2005: New Line Cinema has bought Caprice Crane’s unpublished manuscript. Scarlett Johansson is to star in it.

A View From The Bridge

Character: Catherine
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer: Andrew Bovell, Arthur Miller (play)
Co-Stars: Anthony LaPaglia (Eddie Carbone), Frances McDormand (Beatrice)
Genre: Drama

Plot Summary:
Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie’s infatuation with his niece places a strain on his marriage and goes on to create a scandal within the family when the teenager falls for a cousin from Sicily. A View From The Bridge is a dramatic study of the tension at work within New York’s working-class Italian community and is generally regarded as one of Miller’s three key plays.

Status:
February 16, 2005: Variety reports the upcoming production. Producers say they will keep it in its original period and shoot it in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which still looks remarkably the same as it did in the 1950s.

Silent Star

Character: Mary Miles Minter
Director: Kimberly Pierce
Writer: Kimberly Pierce
Co-Stars: Larry Gross
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Drama

Plot Summary:
A former actor, Taylor became a director at Paramount, helming Mary Pickford in Johanna Enlists and the teenage beauty Mary Miles Minter in Jenny Be Good. In 1917 he became president of the Motion Picture Directors Association; by 1922 Paramount had made him head of his own production unit. On the night of Feb. 2, 1922, Taylor was found dead in his mansion. Rumors flew about the killer’s identity and motive – most of the rumors centered on Taylor’s lovers, including Minter and Mabel Normand. Neither were formal suspects but both allegedly saw Taylor shortly before his death.

Status:
July 19, 2004: Production Weekly reports that Scarlett will star in this film.

Mission: Impossible III

Character: Lindsey Ferris
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, etc.
Co-Stars: Tom Cruise, Carrie-Anne Moss
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Cruise/Wagner Productions
Genre: Action, Adventure

Plot Summary:
Super-spy Ethan Hunt has retired from active duty to train new IMF agents. But he is called back into action to confront the toughest villain he’s ever faced – Owen Davian, an arms dealer with no remorse or conscience. Hunt assembles his team – his old friend Luther Strickell, transportation expert Declan, background operative Zhen, and new recruit Lindsey – to travel the globe pursuing Davian and rescue Hunt’s love, Julia.

Status
April 28, 2004: Variety reports that Scarlett will star in this film.
May 6, 2005: After a series of delays and script changes, Scarlett pulled out of the film. Johansson’s rep said the actress had to move onto other obligations, including Scoop. Also opting out of Mission: Impossible III was Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss, who reportedly shared Johansson’s concerns about changes in the script and production delays. The role of Lindsey went to Keri Russell instead.

Others

• Was originally part of the cast for Thumbsucker (2005). But shortly before shooting was supposed to start (in mid-2002), finances fell through. Scarlett went on shooting The Perfect Score, Lost in Translation and Girl with a Pearl Earring. The film was made after all, but with different cast. Rebecca Crane was then played by Kelli Carner and main character Justin Cobb by Lou Taylor Pucci (instead of Elijah Wood). Other original cast members in the final version include Keanu Reeves and Tilda Swinton.

• Auditioned for The Parent Trap (1998). The role went to Lindsay Lohan instead.