Patrick Dempsey is in early talks to star in Universal Pictures' big screen adaptation of Garth Stein's best-selling book "The Art of Racing in the Rain."

The story follows a family dog that's got a near-human soul and reflects on its life via the lessons it learns from its owner, a race-car driver named Denny Swift (Dempsey).

Variety says Dempsey is an avid racer (I wasn't aware of that), so I guess he's a good fit for the role. No writer or director seems to be attached to the project yet, but Neal H. Moritz is set to produce.

As for Dempsey, the "Grey's Anatomy" star recently apapred in "Made of Honor." He's also signed on to join the ensemble cast of "Valentine's Day."

Here is your dose of film news for July 8, 2009:

• Randall Wallace, director of "We Were Soldiers" and screenwriter of "Pearl Harbor" and "Braveheart," is set to rewrite McG's upcoming "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo." Featuring characters from the Jules Verne novel, the film focuses on Nemo's efforts to build the Nautilus, his advanced submarine. Bill Marsilii and Justin Marks wrote the first screenplay. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane from "Grey's Anatomy" are boarding Garry Marshall's upcoming comedy "Valentine's Day," which follows 10 Los Angeles people whose lives intersect on Valentine's Day. Topher Grace, Emma Roberts, Hector Elizondo, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper and Ashton Kutcher co-star. Dempsey plays a married obstetrician while Dane will play a quarterback. (Variety, THR)

• Brett Cullen, whose credits include "The Burning Plain," "Ghost Rider" and "National Security," has joined the cast of Floria Sigismondi's upcoming music biopic "The Runaways," about the formation of The Runaways all the way to the end of their career as a group. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning also star, and Cullen will play Fanning's alcoholic father. (The Hollywood Reporter)

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