Homeward Bound

Sources tell us that Andrei Konchalovsky will return to his Soviet homeland this summer, to write and direct “The Inner Circle,” a drama about corruption within the Stalinist regime that presumably could not have been filmed there pre- glasnost . (Calls to the director’s representatives were not returned at press time).

Konchalovsky, who left the Soviet Union on a visa in 1980, will shoot in Moscow. Tom Hulce is expected to star.

The script, co-written by Anatoly Usov, finds Ivan, an uneducated film projectionist, thrust into a position of power when he’s assigned to screen movies for Stalin. Ivan, who ultimately joins the KGB, finds himself a witness to the paranoia, corruption and brutality of the ruling government.

Along with returning Konchalovsky to familiar physical turf, the project returns him to the psychological studies for which he’s known (“Maria’s Lovers,” “Shy People”).

He also helmed the critically hailed “Runaway Train” (1985), as well as the critically assailed “Tango & Cash,” just out, which he exited before shooting wrapped. Albert Magnoli (“Purple Rain”) completed the filming, but Konchalovsky’s the credited director.