Ol' Brown Eyes? Martin Scorsese says he's still struggling to come up with a screenplay for his planned biopic of Frank Sinatra, but he's got a leading man in mind: "My choice is Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro as Dean Martin." Since Scorsese has decided to focus on various periods of Sinatra's life, however, the iconic singer/actor might be played by more than one person. "We can't go through the greatest hits of Sinatra's life. ... So the other way to go is to have three or four different Sinatras. Younger. Older. Middle-aged. Very old," Scorsese said. "You cut back and forth in time -- and you do it through the music. ... It's very tricky." We'll see how all this plays with Tina Sinatra, an executive producer of the film, who had advocated for George Clooney in the role back when Scorsese was still considering Leonardo DiCaprio. Frankly, we can't see any of those guys playing Sinatra, old or young. Hey, Marty -- it might be time for a good old-fashioned casting call.

The final reel Daniel Day-Lewis is reportedly the frontrunner to play Charles Dickens in "Out the Window," a recount of the author's secret affair with an actress, from director Armando Iannucci ("In the Loop"). Runner-up, in case Mr. Day-Lewis declines, is "Bright Star's" Ben Whishaw, 23 years his junior. ... Sam Rockwell will play "Joe" in "Sweet Baby Jesus," a modern-day retelling of the Nativity story. He'll be joined by Kim Cattrall as Mary's mother, Bette Midler as a hotel owner (innkeeper) and British pop singer Pixie Lott (reportedly replacing Britney Spears) as Mary. ... Jesse Eisenberg is reuniting with "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer, playing a pizza delivery driver alongside Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride in the action comedy "30 Minutes or Less."

CYNTHIA DICKISON