Reel World

— GUYS TALK Last year, Sigourney Weaver and her husband, director Jim Simpson, presented Anne Nelson’s play The Guys at the Flea Theater in New York City. Now Simpson has adapted the work — about the effects of Sept. 11 on the captain of a firehouse — as a feature film starring Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia. While the project wrapped only recently, the filmmakers hope that it might be ready to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival — which will coincide with the first anniversary of the attacks — and soon thereafter snag a distributor. ”It’s a very appropriate piece on 9/11 because it’s so much about the humanity of people and their imperfections,” says producer John Schmidt. ”It’s just a beautifully realized play — and, we hope, film — about the firemen and New York City.”

— LION HEART Andrew Adamson is hogging all the fun: Not only is the co-director of Shrek helping to oversee the sequel, but he’s also signed on to direct Walden Media’s live-action adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. ”I was looking for a small character-based movie [to direct], and instead, I’ve got visual effects, animals, and children — and a beloved children’s book,” says Adamson, with a laugh. ”This has to be an epic film.” While Adamson waits for Ann Peacock (TV’s A Lesson Before Dying) to hand in her script, he’s at work on Shrek 2, which is currently in story development. The gist of the sequel (which will reteam Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz) is ”You know Shrek and Fiona are already married, but where does happily ever after take two ogres?” asks the director. ”Maybe happily ever after doesn’t conform to fairy tales.”

(Additional reporting by Karen Valby)