Posted April 18, 2008 -- Halle Berry will star in and produce psychological drama "Frankie and Alice" for Access Motion Pictures in association with Reality Pictures in Motion, reports Variety.

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The story follows a young woman struggling with a multiple personality disorder who is torn between who she is and a racist Caucasian alter-personality that preys upon her mind. No production start date has been set.

Frankie and Alice" is the second independent production for Toronto-based Access Motion Pictures, which recently completed "Phantom Punch," a Sonny Liston biopic starring Ving Rhames and directed by Robert Townsend.

BET Books New Shows

Marvel Comics has signed a deal to turn one of its superheroes, the Black Panther, into a primetime animated series for BET, starting early next year, reports Variety.

BET made the announcement at its upfront presentation in New York as the highlight of a batch of new series being readied for the 2008-09 season, under the supervision of Reginald Hudlin, president of entertainment for BET.

In addition to “The Black Panther,” BET singled out “Brutha,” a docu-reality series featuring producer Jermaine Dupri and focusing on five brothers in a singing group “who learn just what it takes to navigate the treacherous terrain of the music industry.”

BET has also greenlit its first court show, “Judge Karen,” and a dating show called “The Boot, narrated by MC Lyte, each half-hour of which starts with six young singles and narrows the field down to the final twosome.

“Brutha,” “Karen” and “Boot” will premiere in the fourth quarter. The network’s longrunning music-countdown show “106 & Park” has engineered a spinoff called “106 & Gospel,” a 90-minute weekly show that will feature the top 20 gospel videos. The air date of “106 & Gospel’ is early next year.

Murphy Has "A Thousand Words"

Eddie Murphy will star in the DreamWorks film "A Thousand Words" for director Brian Robbins, who also served as a producer in the actor's film "Norbit." 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Murphy will play a man who discovers he has only a thousand words left to say before he dies.

West Wing" veteran Allison Janney, last seen as Ellen Page's forgiving stepmom in "Juno," plays Murphy's boss, the money-grubbing head of a literary agency.