• Frank Miller’s next directorial effort “The Spirit” is coming to the big screen a little earlier than expected. The Hollywood Reporter recently announced Lionsgate moved up the release date to Dec. 25, 2008. The film, based on the graphic novels by Will Eisner, was originally scheduled to hit theaters Jan. 16, 2009.

• No details have been released yet, but David Chase, the creator of TV’s sensational series “The Sopranos,” has signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to write and direct his first big-screen flick, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

• Ellen Page has signed on to star as the titular character in the new BBC Film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre.” No director has been confirmed yet (Variety).

• John Waters’ next film is a comedy entitled “Fruitcake,” and Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey are in negotiations to star, says The Hollywood Reporter. The film tells of a boy who runs away from home and finds shelter with a woman raised by two gay men. Knoxville also starred in Waters’ previous film “A Dirty Shame.