UPDATE! : We’re hearing that Hilary Swank is the frontrunner to play Mary.

Richard Curtis, of the “Bridget Jones” series and of course “Four Weddings & A Funeral” , has his new script “Mary and Martha” in the bag. It’s supposed to be terrific.

The film, we’re told, supposedly starts shooting in Africa and on the East Coast in early July.

HBO have zeroed in on its director for it this week. We hear Phillip Noyce, no stranger to shooting in Africa having done “Catch a Fire” there, is rumoured to have gotten the call.
Sounds like a good fit! (Not sure how this will work in with “Timeless”, which Noyce was set to do around the same time, with Liam Hemsworth starring, but guess all will be revealed in due time).

Expect to hear something official soon.