Early Edition: Meg Ryan Directs, Oscar Pill Franchise, More

We've always had a sweet spot forMeg Ryan(particularly after her uber-adult acting turn in Jane Campion's 2003 'In the Cut'), so we were quite pleased to discover that she'll transfer her talent and charisma to a role behind the camera. According toVariety,Ryan will make her feature directorial debut on 'Into the Beautiful,' a comedy-drama described as a contemporary 'Big Chill.' The project is being produced by Wendy Finerman, whose record includes 'Forrest Gump' and 'The Devil Wears Prada.' Casting will begin soon, with shooting scheduled to start in September in New York.

IsDavid Heyman-- producer of all eight Harry Potter films -- latching on to another gold mine of a franchise? Warner Bros. hopes so. The studio has acquired the FrenchOscar Pillyouth-fantasy novel series for Heyman's Heyday Films to produce. There are five books in 'The Adventures of Oscar Pill' series, which chronicles the adventures of a 12-year-old boy initiated into the Council of the Medicus to fend off the Black Prince of the Pathologus, who want to destroy humanity. Pill's special power: He can travel inside living beings, including other humans. A young, unusual boy battling evil forces. Sound familiar? Author Eli Anderson has been dubbed a French J.K. Rowling. {TheWrap}

R.J. Cutler,director of such documentaries as 'The September Issue' and '"Hick"Town,' will take his first crack at a fiction feature by helming the indie film'Fabulous Nobodies,'based on a novel by fashion journalist Lee Talloch about the life and times of Reality Nirvana Tuttle, a shallow doorgirl at an exclusive New York club. {TheWrap}

Short Takes
Universal Pictures has acquired a spec script, titled'Bait& Switch,' to develop forMark Wahlberg.No word on what the movie will be about {TheWrap}...Craig Gillespie('Lars and the Real Girl') has been tapped by Lionsgate to helm'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,' the Seth Grahame-Smith novel that mashes up the living dead with the Jane Austen classic {Deadline} ...Tyler Perrycranks them out faster than you can say, well, Tyler Perry. He's signed on with Lionsgate to direct and star in 'Good Deeds,' a romantic drama about a successful entrepreneur about to get married who falls for a down-on-her-luck single mom. {Deadline}

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