Ryan Murphy will direct 'The Normal Heart'

Ryan Murphy's "Eat Pray Love" is hitting theaters this week, and the successful filmmaker already has his next project lined up. He will direct the big-screen adaptation of Larry Kramer's play "The Normal Heart."

MTV confirmed the news earlier today. Murphy, who created "Glee," said, "I'm directing it from Larry Kramer's beautiful script and we're going to shoot that in June of next year." Kramer wrote the screenplay.

Mark Ruffalo will star in "The Normal Heart," the a semi-autobiographical play that focuses on the gay Jewish founder of an HIV advocacy group. Murphy said he is "very excited" to direct Ruffalo in this.

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Stunning trailer for 'Doubt' hits

I guess it's pretty safe to say that we'll see this one at the Academy Awards. Based on John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Doubt" tells the poignant story of a nun who accuses a priest of abusing a young boy at a Catholic school. The film stars Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

As you can see in the trailer just above, "Doubt" promises plenty of spectacular performances, notably by Meryl Streep, who seems to put on quite a terrifying show. I really wouldn't want to run into her like this. Anyway, see for yourself. "Doubt" hits Dec. 12.

Harrower's 'Blackbird' gets big-screen treatment

Variety says Jean Doumanian Prods. is developing a big-screen adaptation of David Harrower's play "Blackbird," the story of a middle-aged man who's confronted by the then-underage girl he once had an affair with.

"When I saw 'Blackbird' onstage, I was really struck by the raw, emotional intensity of David Harrower's characters and their gripping story," Doumanian told Variety.

"Blackbird" debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005, and later moved to London's West End. The play made it all the way to an Off Broadway staging directed by Joe Mantello and starring Jeff Daniels (pictured above) and Alison Pill.

Meanwhile, Harrower is also working on the script for "White Male Heart," a thriller starring Cillian Murphy.