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SHORT CUTS: Brown's a "Phenom"

Posted Dec. 6, 2007 -- R&B hottie Chris Brown has taken on the role of a basketball superstar in the upcoming Screen Gems film "Phenom.

The "This Christmas" co-star plays a high school hoops legend who goes pro after the media discovers he's the illegitimate son of the NBA's best player, reports Variety. The boy and his dad are on a collision course as their teams eventually face each other on the road to the playoffs.       

Ugly Betty" actress Vanessa Williams and Henry Simmons of the CBS drama "Shark" will also star in the film. Shooting is scheduled to begin early next year. George Tillman Jr. has been tapped to produce the project along with Robert Teitel and Will Packer.

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Wayans Bros. Down for a "Felony"

The Wayans brothers -- that is, Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn -- are moving into a cable series with "The Life and Times of Marcus 'Felony' Brown," a scripted comedy for VH1.

Felony" is all about an up-and-coming hard-core East Coast rapper (Darius McCrary) who, after his debut album goes platinum, is forced to relocate to Los Angeles to record his follow-up. Along for the ride are his self-hyping hype man, E-Z (Vince Green); jet-setting manager, Cash (Jon Abrahams); and hard-partying bodyguard, Tiny (Marcello Thedford). Affion Crockett plays Seville, Marcus' personal barber, while Toni Trucks is Tia, Marcus' assistant.

The cable network has ordered a pilot for the half-hour, single-camera project, an edgy urban comedy VH1 is producing with Wayans Bros. Prods.

Dawson Joins "Seven Pounds"

Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson are in final negotiations to star alongside Will Smith in Columbia Pictures drama "Seven Pounds," the story of a guilt-ridden man who inadvertently falls in love while attempting to kill himself.

Dawson will play a love interest who suffers from a serious heart condition, while Harrelson will portray a motel attendant who becomes intrigued by his suicidal new tenant.

The Pursuit of Happyness" helmer Gabriele Muccino will direct the pic, which Escape Artists and Smith's Overbrook Entertainment are producing. Shooting is scheduled to begin in February for a late 2008 release.

 

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