Cinefile

It’s supposed to be a secret, but Christopher Guest is currently directing his script of “The Big Picture” for Columbia, a dark comic yarn about a young film maker’s introduction to Hollywood. Kevin Bacon plays the lead in the Michael Tarhol production, which also features Jennifer Jason Leigh, Martin Short and Elliott Gould. . . . Yes, Sean Penn will be trekking through Far East jungles with Michael J. Fox in Columbia’s “Casualties of War,” which goes before the cameras next month. Director Brian De Palma and producer Art Linson re-team to do the David Rabe script.

Bronson Pinchot becomes a screen leading man in Lorimar’s “Second Sight,” a comedy about a clairvoyant. The Mark Tarlov production begins filming April in Boston, with Joel Zwick making his feature directing debut on the Tom Schulman-Pat Resnick script. . . . Ione Skye and John Cusack star in “Say Anything” for writer-director Cameron Crowe at Fox. The James L. Brooks production, described as a “comedy about communicating,” starts filming in late February. . . .