Early Edition: Uni 'Unbroken' With Laura Hillenbrand; Trio Joins 'Dead Circus'; More

Universal is on a roll withLaura Hillenbrand.Her latest book,'Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption,' which has been on The New York Times bestseller list for 18 weeks, will be made into a Uni feature withRichard LaGraveneseset to adapt andFrancis Lawrenceattached to direct. And everyone should be happy with this arrangement. Uni's previous adaptation of a Hillenbrand work -- 'Seabiscuit' -- was a big hit for the studio and director Gary Ross. LaGravenese has worked once before with Lawrence -- he adapted Sara Gruen's 'Water for Elephants,' which Lawrence directed for Fox 2000 and which is scheduled for an April 22 release (Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christoph Waltz star). 'Unbroken' is the true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic track prodigy who endured unimaginable hardship as a WWII POW at the hands of Japanese prison guards. {Deadline}

James Marsden, Michael C. Halland Oscar-winnerMelissa Leoare attached to star in'The Dead Circus,'an offbeat drama revolving around the death of singer Bobby Fuller, whose Bobby Fuller Four had a hit with 'I Fought the Law' in 1965. After the single climbed the pop charts, the 23-year-old Fuller was found dead in an automobile parked outside his Hollywood apartment, a 1/3-full gas can by his side. His death was ruled a suicide, but some pundits have a more conspiratorial take on the death; one of his bandmates thought Charles Manson had something to do with it, while others pointed to the Mafia. 'The Dead Circus,' by John Kaye, who wrote the film's script with Adam Davenport, weaves fact and fiction into a spculative thriller. Davenport will make his directing debut with the film. {Deadline}

Anything can be turned into a major film if Hollywood has a mind to. To wit: DreamWorks has made a deal for an untitled pitch based on a Dec. 10 article in The New York Times about the last gasp of the last lab that processed Kodachrome just before Kodak abandoned the process and gave in to digital cameras; Kodachrome fans flocked to the Kansas lab for the"last rites."The film will turn on a father-son road trip to reach the lab and process photos before the images are lost forever. The project is beng put together as a potential directing vehicle for helmerShawn Levy.{Deadline}

James Spader, Carla Gugino, Ryan Phillippe, Treat WilliamsandKim Coateshave joined the cast of'By Virtue Fall,'about a pair of ATF agents who end up enemies after one frames the other for a crime. Eric Bana is already attached to play one of the two leads, with Jeremy Renner a potential candidate for the other lead. The film will be helmed by screenwriter and first-time director Sheldon Turner, who also co-wrote the Oscar-nominated 'Up in the Air' screenplay. {The Hollywood Reporter}

Those'Madagascar'penguins are getting a film of their own. 'Megamind' writers Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons have been tapped by DreamWorks to handle the screenwriting chores for the film, which will feature the four paramilitary avians from Antarctica. The penquins' popularity has skyrocketed since the first 'Madagascar,' and they have starred in DVD shorts and a Nickelodeon TV series. Although no release date has been set for the penguins film, it will most likely be after the third installment of the 'Madagascar' franchise, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2012. {THR}

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