John August

In the living room of writer-director John August's Hancock Park home, Hope Davis has just finished singing Peggy Lee's existentialist lament "Is That All There Is?" She has recounted a series of life experiences that have left her cold -- watching her family's house burn down, attending a circus, falling in love for the first time. Davis' character has explained that the only reason she doesn't commit suicide is because she's "in no hurry for that final disappointment."

Most people crave homes that have character, but filmmaker John August wanted a house to be a character. Four years ago, the screenwriter of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Big Fish" and Doug Liman's "Go" attended a Hancock Park open house and found not only a new residence, but also the inspiration and the principal setting for "The Nines," his feature-length directorial debut opening Friday.

Editors' choice: Writer-director John August isn't your typical home buyer. When he first saw his Hancock Park residence four years ago, he thought of a script. The result is "The Nines," which opens Friday. "If I lived somewhere else, the story would have changed," he says. HOME, F1

Editors' choice: Writer-director John August isn't your typical home buyer. When he first saw his Hancock Park residence four years ago, he thought of a script. The result is "The Nines," which opens Friday. "If I lived somewhere else, the story would have changed," he says. HOME, F1

Most people crave homes that have character, but filmmaker John August wanted a house to be a character. Four years ago, the screenwriter of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Big Fish" and Doug Liman's "Go" attended a Hancock Park open house and found not only a new residence, but also the inspiration and the principal setting for "The Nines," his feature-length directorial debut opening Friday.

United Talent Agency named partners Tracey Jacobs and David Kramer to its board of directors. Jacobs is co-head of the talent department and represents actors including Johnny Depp and Harrison Ford. Kramer is a motion picture literary agent whose clients include screenwriters Charlie Kaufman and John August.

The Bible passage that inspired the 1960s folk song written by Pete Seeger also inspired Los Angeles artist John August Swanson, left, to create his own version of the Ecclesiastes. It was a work that, in turn, moved Joan Chittister to put her thoughts to paper in "There Is a Season" (Orbis Books), which features the prints, at right, of the self-trained artist.

You've got your three main halos back, along with the stylish, street-tested director and a penchant for spectacle that takes in everything from motocross to roller derby (think, loosely, angels on wheels and wings -- with a few tanks thrown in). But one primary element from the first "CA" has changed. Charlie's main man, Bill Murray -- who reportedly found his trio of beautiful co-stars less than heavenly to work with -- has been replaced by Bernie Mac as Bosley's brother.

In the profile of director Doug Liman ("All Systems Are 'Go,' " by John Clark, April 7), much space is devoted to the script of his new movie, "Go." We learn that it has an unconventional structure, "interlocking stories and a narrative that loops back on itself." We learn that Liman battled studio executives and lawyers over proposed changes to the script, changes that Liman said threatened to make it "generic." We even get a few lines from the script, examples of what the studio wanted to cut. What we don't learn, because it appears nowhere in an article of some 1,200 words, is the name of the guy who actually wrote the script.

If Ronna (Sarah Polley), an 18-year-old Von's cashier, weren't facing eviction and if her British co-worker Simon (Desmond Askew) hadn't gone off to Vegas, then we might have been cruelly deprived of all the inspired mayhem that makes "Go" such fun. "Swingers," which marked Doug Liman's much-noted 1996 directorial debut, does not prepare you for the heady rush or nonstop comic anarchy of his follow-up feature.

In the living room of writer-director John August's Hancock Park home, Hope Davis has just finished singing Peggy Lee's existentialist lament "Is That All There Is?" She has recounted a series of life experiences that have left her cold -- watching her family's house burn down, attending a circus, falling in love for the first time. Davis' character has explained that the only reason she doesn't commit suicide is because she's "in no hurry for that final disappointment."

Is the number nine having a Hollywood moment? August has brought the release of "District 9," a sci-fi film about aliens landing in South Africa, and "Cloud 9," a German film about sex and infidelity among the elderly, both on the heels of June's stop-motion animated Israeli film "$9.99." Sept. 9 -- yes, that's 09/09/09 -- will see the release of "9," an animated apocalyptic thriller from producer Tim Burton. And on Nov. 25, Rob Marshall's screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Nine" will arrive in theaters.

The new musical “Big Fish” has itself reeled in a big catch: the Neil Simon Theatre.   Based on Daniel Wallace's 1998 novel and the 2003 film directed by Tim Burton, the in-development production has had its eye on Broadway for several years; with a theater now secured, it's set to open Oct. 6 in New York. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, who has five Tony wins under her belt, “Big Fish” will star two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”)