Reese Witherspoon continues to be a powerhouse producer, developing projects for herself or for other top actresses. She's now come aboard to produce Napkin Notes, based on the inspirational memoir by Garth Callaghan. Callaghan began writing little notes for his daughter Emma when she was in kindergarten, placing them inside her lunchbox each day. They became a daily ritual throughout her school-aged years, growing in significance when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. After learning his daughter had been collecting the notes, Callaghan decides he wants to write 826 notes to help get her all the way through to graduation. The search is on for a writer and director, and so far there's no indication that Witherspoon will have a role. Witherspoon recently produced Wild, for which she earned an Oscar nomination, and Gone Girl, which gained Rosamund Pike a Best Actress win. [TheTrackingBoard]
Ralph Fiennes has been indulging in directing more often of late, taking the camera for Coriolanus and The Invisible Woman. Now he's moving on to direct a biopic on famed Russian dancer, Rudolph Nureyev, but he doesn't plan to have an acting role this time. Penned by David Hare, the film will center on the period in Nureyev's life when he defected from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961. Nureyev lived an interesting, but tragically short life. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1984 but continued to work tirelessly until succumbing to AIDS in 1993 at the age of 54. [ScreenDaily]
Carlos Saldanha, known for directing hit animated films like Ice Age and Rio, will make his live-action directing debut with Shadows. A combination live-action and CGI, the film is based on a script by Jason Micallef and is set in the world of cryptozoology, the study of legendary mythical creatures. Micallef has been trying to get a cryptozoology film off the ground for awhile, once working with Jack Black to make it happen some years ago. This sounds like a slightly tweaked version of that story, only now it's being planned as a potential franchise. [THR]
