In the works: Eric Bana and Mark Ruffalo ready to direct, as is the "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" guy.

By Alison Willmore on 08/05/2008

In the works: Eric Bana, the Aussie comedian turned sad-eyed leading man, will make his directorial debut with "Love the Beast," in which he's also starring as... himself, as the film tracks his 25-year relationship with "The Beast," a 1974 Falcon Coupe. The quote from the Australian distributor: "In an unexpectedly emotional journey, Eric explores the importance of friends, hobbies, and what it means to live life to the fullest. Along the way Eric seeks counsel and guidance from household names such as (US talk show host) Dr Phil and (Top Gear host) Jeremy Clarkson." [The Daily Telegraph]

Also stepping behind the camera: Mark Ruffalo, who'll be helming "Sympathy for Delicious," in which he'll star with James Franco and Chris Thornton in the story of, er, "a paralyzed DJ struggling to survive in his wheelchair on the streets of L.A. He turns to faith-healing and mysteriously acquires the ability to cure the sick -- although not himself. Ruffalo plays a Jesuit priest who tries to help him come to terms with the limits of his gift, and Franco a rock singer in a band that exploits the suddenly famous healer." [Variety]

Wayne McClammy, the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" segment producer who directed and co-wrote "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" and "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck," will be directing "Beat Kip," a revenge comedy, for Paramount Vantage. The film "tells the story of three buddies who travel across the country to confront an Ivy League nemesis who stole one of the guys' girlfriends." [Hollywood Reporter]

Hong Sang-Soo's next will be an ultra-low budget (under $10,000, if my currency conversion is right) HD film tentatively titled "You Don't Even Know." "Story tells of film director Gyeong-Nam (Kim Tae-Woo from 'Woman on the Beach'), who is invited to Jecheon to take part in the jury of the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival. There he meets programmer Hyeon-Hee (Eom Ji-won from 'Tale of Cinema'), and later going to Jeju for a lecture, he ends up meeting the wife of one of his colleagues, played by Go Hyun-Jung. Film will shoot in Jecheon until August 15, and then stay in Jeju Island until early September." Hong's last film, "Night and Day," premiered at Berlin in February, but still remains without US distribution. [Twitch]

Music video director Floria Sigismondi, of Interpol's "Obstacle 1" and the White Stripes' "Blue Orchid," will be making a film about the Runaways, the '70s all-girl rock band made up of Joan Jett, Cherie Curie, the late Sandy West and others, with Jett producing. [Variety]

And John Crowley, the director of "Intermission" and, more recently, "Boy A," has signed on to direct an adaptation of Carolyn Parkhurst's novel "The Dogs of Babel," in which a linguistics professor tries to teach his dog, the only witness to his wife's death, to speak, in order to discover if she died as a result of an accident or suicide. [Variety]

Acquired: Elissa Down's directorial debut "The Black Balloon," an Australian coming-of-age comedy starring Toni Collette and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"'s Luke Ford, has been picked up by NeoClassics Films. [Variety]

And Artistic License Films has acquired Pamela Tanner Boll's documentary about the "mothering-versus-working choice," "Who Does She Think She Is?", for an October release. [indieWIRE]

[Photo: Bana in "The Time Traveler's Wife," New Line Cinema, 2008]