In the works: Mirren in the mainstream, Niki Caro.

By Alison Willmore on 03/29/2007

Trailers: There's a trailer for Eli Roth's "Hostel: Part II" here — feel the gore! But make sure you wash your hands afterward.

And a trailer here for "The Hawk is Dying," which garnered some pretty dismal word of mouth coming out of Sundance last year despite universal fondness for Paul Giamatti. The film opens in New York tomorrow.

Acquired: Viz Pictures has picked up Japanese submission for Best Foreign Language Film "Hula Girls," which looks at how a group of young women in a small, crumbling Japanese town build a Hawaiian village tourist attraction. Director Lee Sang-il was in San Diego and New York this week for special screenings, and some sort of theatrical release for the film is set for summer. [Viz]

Shadow Distribution has picked up the rights to Shane King and Arne Johnson's doc "Girls Rock!" about a rock 'n' roll camp for young girls. The film will hit theaters in the fall. [indieWIRE]

In the works: Helen Mirren, never one to shy away from setting the crown down for the occasional mainstream project (or the occasional fabulously strange one), will star in "National Treasure: Book Of Secrets" as Nicolas Cage's mom. [Empire] And Ray Winstone has taken a major but undisclosed role in "Indiana Jones 4" — "sources said Winstone will play star Harrison Ford's sidekick." [Hollywood Reporter]

Mark Wahlberg is here, he's there, he's starring in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening," which has been given a June 13, 2008 release date. He'll play "the father of a family on the run from an apocalyptic threat to humanity." [Hollywood Reporter]

Everyone has already predicted career doom for Jennifer Hudson, so watch her next move with your choice of hope, anticipatory schadenfreude or some exquisite mixture of the two — she's in talks to act alongside Forest Whitaker in "Winged Creatures," the upcoming film from "Little Fish" director Rowan Woods. [Variety]

Niki Caro, the director of "Whale Rider" and "North Country," will next adapt and direct Ken Dornstein's memoir "The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky," which traces how, after the death of his older brother David, an aspiring writer, Dornstein attempts to deal with his grief by sorting through David's journals and letters and paying a visit to Lockerbie, Scotland, the site of the plane crash in which he died. [Hollywood Reporter]

Mateo Gil, who's served as co-writer on many of Alejandro Amenábar's films, will write and direct an adaptation of Juan Rulfo's influential early magical realist novel "Pedro Paramo." The novel's been adapted twice before for film; Gil's directed one other feature-length film, 1999 thriller "Nobody Knows Anybody." [Variety]

Not in the works: New York Daily News gossip columnist Ben Widdicombe writes:

Anna Nicole Smith was so desperate to play her icon, Marilyn Monroe, on the big screen, she offered to finance a film about the life of Monroe's one-time husband Joe DiMaggio. But "DiMaggio: Setting the Record Straight" author Marv Schneider says Smith was turned down. "She offered to at least partially finance it, about six months before she died," Schneider told me. "The screenplay was finished in the summer."

Retired AP sportswriter Schneider, who interviewed the Yankee Clipper several times and wrote the book with DiMaggio's former attorney Morris Engelberg, says Smith was not thought right for the role. "It was rejected out of hand. She wasn't considered ready," he said at Zocalo restaurant. "Also, if she got the role, we thought we'd have a tough time getting a top actor to play DiMaggio."

+ Trailer: "Hoster: Part II" (MTV)
+ Trailer: "The Hawk is Dying" (Apple)
+ VIZ PICTURES ANNOUNCES DOMESTIC THEATRICAL SCREENINGS OF AWARD-WINNING FILM HULA GIRLS (Viz)
+ Shadow to Bring "Girls Rock!" to U.S. (indieWIRE)
+ Helen Mirren In National Treasure 2 (Empire)
+ Winstone digging in for 'Indy 4' (Hollywood Reporter)
+ Wahlberg in Shyamalan's 'Happening' (Hollywood Reporter)
+ Hudson may star in 'Winged' (Variety)
+ 'Sky' is falling to Caro (Hollywood Reporter)
+ Gil votes for 'Pedro' (Variety)
+ Anna Nicole's unlikely pitch (NY Daily News)