BIKO (Marble Arch/Goldcrest). Shooting in Zimbabwe and...

BIKO (Marble Arch/Goldcrest). Shooting in Zimbabwe and London. Richard Attenborough cinematically tackles the life story of Stephen Biko, the South African activist and political poet who was beaten to death in the early ‘70s. Producers Attenborough, John Briley, Norman Spencer and Terence Clegg. Director Attenborough. Screenwriter Briley. Stars Kevin Kline. Distributor Universal. Release date undetermined.

FROM THE HIP (From the Hip Prods. Ltd.). Shooting in North Carolina and Boston. A social comedy focusing on the antics of a brash young lawyer whose unique courtroom tactics are disdained by the legal establishment but nonetheless earn him a rep for success. Executive producers Howard Baldwin, William Minot and Brian Russell. Producers Rene DuPont and Bob Clark. Director Clark. Screenwriters David E. Kelley and Clark. Stars Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins, John Hurt, Darren McGavin and Nancy Marchand. Distributor De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. February release.

THE SICILIAN (Gladden Entertainment). Shooting in Sicily. Mario Puzo’s best-seller is the foundation of this film about Salvatore Giuliano, the legendary modern-day Sicilian hero and his defiance of the church, the Mafia and an army of adversaries. Executive producer Joann Carelli. Producer Sidney Beckerman. Director Michael Cimino. Screenwriters Steve Shagan and Cimino. Stars Christopher Lambert. Distributor 20th Century Fox. Next summer release.

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (Guber-Peters Co./Kennedy-Miller). Shooting in Massachusetts. Jack Nicholson stars in this contemporary drama based on the John Updike novel about three Connecticut women who have a witchlike influence over their men. Executive producers Don Devlin and Rob Cohen. Producers Neil Canton, Peter Guber and Jon Peters. Director George Miller. Screenwriter Michael Christofer. Stars Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. Distributor Warner Bros. Release date undetermined.