OK, so perhaps I should say interesting directors get interesting projects, but they are big … in my heart (cue emotional soundtrack).

Mira Nair, director of Monsoon Weedding (which I thought was lovely) and vanity Fair (which I didn’t see) is teaming up with Jhonny Depp to make Shantaram. The film, based on the novel of same name, will see Depp as a heroin addict who escapes prison and becomes a doctor in the slums of Bombay.

The movie is yet another example of Depp seeking out source material and producing movies for himself to act in, instead of just waiting for the right script to fall from heavens. This is a smart approach, and one that other successfully big stars like Will Smith and Tom cruise also take. Of course, Johnny Depp being who he is, his projects tend to be, shall we say, more colorful than those of other big names.

And it looks like we might get to see the next Darren Aronofsky movie sooner than later. And that movie will be Black Swan, a thriller about the twisted relationship of a veteran ballet dancer with a rival. Considering this is an Aronofsky film the final product should be even more strange than the outline implies.

Universal has put the project on the mystical “fast track”. So, it should be done, like, fast.