"Cold Case" Star Kathryn Morris Scores "Moneyball"

Former "Cold Case" lead Kathryn Morris is heating up since switching casting agencies this past April.

In her first move since signing with the Gersh Agency, the actress is in negotiations to star in baseball drama "Moneyball" for Sony Pictures, according to Risky Business.

Morris will play the second wife of the lead character, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). She loves baseball as much as her husband, so she understands and shares his passion for the game.

Bennett Miller directs the film, which stars Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stephen Bishop. The script was written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin and will shoot some scenes at Oakland Colliseum over the summer.

Morris is a solid actress, and I think a role like this could be a breakout part for her. She was always great on "Cold Case" and she also has been solid in supporting roles in “Minority Report,” “Resurrecting the Champ” and “Paycheck.”

The book "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis was fascinating, even for people who aren't baseball fans. With such a great cast and excellent director like Miller in place, "Moneyball" is a project to look forward to.

Filming kicks off in Los Angeles next week.

ABC Family Picks Up "The Blind Side"

ABC Family is on a theatrical buying spree, picking up network rights to the Sandra Bullock feature "The Blind Side.”

According to Variety: Just a night after Sandra Bullock took home the Academy Award for best actress for "The Blind Side," ABC Family is announcing that it has secured the network TV rights to the movie.

"The Blind Side" pickup also follows on the heels of another high-profile acquisition for ABC Family, the box office hit "Alice in Wonderland."

"The Blind Side" tells the story of Michael Oher, a young athlete taken in by the Tuohy family of Memphis. He would go on to a stellar high school career and now is in the NFL.

The film has grossed a little more than $250 million at the domestic box office--as most theatricals fetch around 10% of gross, that means a pricetag of around $25 million for the cabler.

The deal continues a relationship between ABC Family and Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution, which sold the title to the channel. ABC Family also has the rights to the first six "Harry Potter" features, with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" set to air in late 2011.

This is a great idea for ABC Family because the film is a perfect fit for the network. I thought the film was pretty good (although I think the Best Picture nom was a bit of a stretch) and that the book was fantastic.

Like "Alice in Wonderland," ABC Family will debut "The Blind Side" in 2012.

Pitt Tackles The Economy In "The Big Short"

Paramount Pictures and Plan B have picked up film rights to Michael Lewis' non-fiction tome "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" says Variety.

According to Variety: Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B are closing in on a deal to the film rights to “Moneyball” author Michael Lewis’ upcoming Wall Street book, "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine".

Lewis's book, which comes out in March, chronicles the recent free fall of the American economy (in particular the crippled housing market), seen through the eyes of a large group of characters. It also centers on the various decisions by Wall Street power brokers, banker and mortgage agents that led to the complete collapse of the housing market in the fall of 2008.

Pitt clearly likes Michael Lewis. Pitt was slated to star in Steven Soderbergh’s adaptation of “Moneyball” which stalled out last year and is now in Bennett Miller’s hands. Hopefully this time around the film will actually get made. Pitt will produce and also consider starring.

“The Blind Side”, which is an adaptation of one of Lewis’ books, just got two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Best Actress (Sandra Bullock), and his new book just might be a Brad Pitt starring vehicle. I guess it’s a great week to be Michael Lewis.

No production dates have been set.