Natalie Portman wooed for film on kidnapping of Getty grandson

WHO Natalie Portman

THE MOVIE “All the Money in the World”

THE DEAL The Syosset-raised actress, fresh from an Oscar nomination for portraying Jacqueline Kennedy in “Jackie,” is being courted for Ridley Scott’s next film, Deadline reports. The movie tells the story of John Paul Getty III, who as a teenager in 1973 was kidnapped in Rome. Portman could play the boy’s mother, Gail Harris, who tried to convince his grandfather, billionaire industrialist J. Paul Getty, to pay the $17 million ransom. Angelina Jolie recently turned down the Harris role due to scheduling concerns. No word on who will play the elder Getty, but Scott has reportedly met with Jack Nicholson.

WHO Common

THE MOVIE “Quick Draw”

THE DEAL The rapper-turned-actor will star in a new action film set in Los Angeles. Though plot details have not been released, the film is being described as a “revenge thriller” featuring “shootouts, choreographed car chases and lightning-fast, hand-to-hand combat.” Common is no stranger to action films, having recently starred in this year’s “John Wick: Chapter 2” and 2015’s “Run All Night.” The writer of “Quick Draw” is Harris Goldberg, whose credits include the infamous Rob Schneider comedy “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.”

WHO James Franco

THE MOVIE “The Disaster Artist”

THE DEAL Franco’s latest film could be an Oscar contender, according to Variety. He directs and stars in the movie, which recounts the making of “The Room,” a 2003 independent film so inept and bizarrely constructed that it became a cult hit. Franco plays writer-director Tommy Wiseau, while his brother Dave Franco portrays young actor Greg Sistero, whose memoir is the basis for “The Disaster Artist.” A work-in-progress screening of the movie at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin over the weekend was greeted by an “ecstatic” crowd and “thunderous rolls of laughter,” Variety reports. No release date for the Warner Bros. film has been set.