Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Filmmaker Rod Lurie is hoping that next week's DVD release of "Nothing But the Truth" takes a bit of the misery out of the political thriller's abortive big screen past.

Lurie recalls riding a wave of high expectations — and advance kudos for his leading lady, Kate Beckinsale, and the rest of the film's cast — last fall, then walking into his office one day to find The Hollywood Reporter phoning to get his response to the distributor's declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

With the Yari Entertainment Group going under, the movie's "alleged release" for Academy consideration occurred without so much as a poster being put out, says Lurie, the man who brought us "The Contender" and TV's "Commander in Chief." The general release that was intended to follow never did.

"The person I feel sorriest for is Kate. Look at her situation. Here is a woman who made the decision to, more or less, take a 95 percent pay cut to do this movie," he says. "She has to fly back and forth to see her child. She's making the movie for one reason. It gives her the chance to show off the extraordinary acting chops she has, which maybe she felt got a little lost in the action films she did …

"There was talk of a Best Actress nomination for Kate and Best Supporting Actress for Vera Farmiga …

"Then, all of a sudden, it was: 'Guess what, Kate? Your movie is not coming out.' I've spoken to her several times. It was extremely sad for her," says Lurie, who's now in the casting process for his planned remake of "Straw Dogs."

Beyond all that, there's the fact that the real-life news association that initially added heat to interest in "Nothing But the Truth" is now dead. The film is inspired by, but definitely not, the Valerie Plame case in which former New York Times reporter Judith Miller went to jail for three months days rather than reveal her sources.

"Yeah, too bad," shrugs Lurie. "But listen, I will trade that for Bush not being in office any day."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Reid Scott, who stars in TBS's comedy "My Boys," tells us the show feels like it's finally hitting its stride now that they are in their third season.

"We all agree that this season has been the most fun and the strongest as far as material. We've really gelled as a cast, and we got back to something we really enjoyed the first season, which are episodes that can kind of stand on their own. They don't necessarily rely on a huge series-wide arc," says Scott, who plays a former hard rock radio DJ.

The character shares Scott's own love of music that only continues to grow as he gets older. "I now have nine guitars and five amps. I'm constantly either playing or listening to music. It influences probably everything I do," he says. However, he tells us he has no plans on switching career paths into music anytime soon. "I've always been a huge music fan, but as far as playing music, I've only come to that in the last 12 years of my life. I don't know anybody who wouldn't love being a rock star for a minute, but it's never been something I would want to pursue. Maybe as a lark someday I'll record a song and put it on iTunes just to see what happens, but it's mostly just my own form of personal therapy."

One thing Scott will be branching out into this summer is life behind the camera. "I have some directing gigs lined up, so I'm excited about that. I wrote this little short that I pitched to Sony, and they loved it and asked me to turn it into a web series, so that should keep me busy."

THE INDUSTRY EYE: Even as moviegoers are laughing at the hilarious trailer for Will Ferrell's June 5 "Land of the Lost," director Brad Silberling is getting ready to do some additional shooting. Casting sources tell us they're looking for an actor who will have "one good scene" with Will in the picture. Production began in March 2008.

Angelina Jolie's "Salt" started production March 3, and casting is now underway for the role of a Soviet Olympic wrestler in the spy thriller originally expected to star Tom Cruise. The actor who pins that athlete role is slated to work mid-May.

HELLO, AGAIN: It's like a Whatever Happened To party — "The Little Foxes" is opening in a month at the Pasadena Playhouse, with the cast toplined by Kelly McGillis, Julia Duffy and Marc Singer.

With reports by Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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