Dennis and Randy Quaid are in negotiations...

Dennis and Randy Quaid are in negotiations for “At Play in the Fields of the Lord,” the film of Peter Matthiessen’s 1965 ecological novel set in the Amazon. Laura Dern and Kathy Bates have already signed. Producer Saul Zaentz, who pursued rights to the book for over 19 years, and Brazilian director Hector Babenco (“Ironweed”) roll cameras for an 18-week shoot in early May. Jean-Claude Carriere and Babenco co-wrote.

Jeff Daniels has landed the lead role in Wild Street Productions’ “The Grand Tour,” which will mark the directorial debut of screenwriter David N. Twohy. The story concerns time-travelers from the future who come back to a small town to witness a disaster. Production in Oregon begins April 9.

Also at various stages: Twohy scripts for Fox’s “Aliens III,” Warners’ “The Fugitive” and “The Last Gasp,” a supernatural thriller for producer Stanley Isaacs, director Farhad Mann and TJ&M; Productions.

Anthony Michael Hall joins Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest in Fox’s “Edward Scissorhands,” the next film from director Tim Burton. Filming begins in March.

Look for John Candy to put in a cameo appearance as the leader of a polka band in John Hughes’ and Fox’s “Home Alone,” currently filming in Chicago under the director of Chris Columbus.

Nancy McKeon stars in Arrowhead Entertainment’s “The Gravity of Stars,” a love story about a girl disfigured in a fire. H. Gordon Boos directs from a script by Bruce Wagner. Greg V. Sims executive produces. Filming gets under way in early May.

Producer Roger Corman has set Hope Lange for “The Day the Wall Came Down,” his snatched-from-the-headlines suspense drama set in Berlin. Swiss director Thierry Notz begins production this summer at Bavarian Film Studios, Munich, and in East Berlin. Jackson Barr wrote the script.

Lenny Henry, a top U.K. comic, will topline “True Identity,” written by Andy Breckman and directed by Charles Lane for Sanddollar and Touchstone Pictures. The comedy, scheduled for spring, has a black man hiding out as a white.

When he finishes Morgan Creek’s “Young Guns II” in late March, busy Lou Diamond Phillips immediately starts preparing for his starring role in “Death Sentence,” which he wrote. The Spirit Films production is scheduled to begin in mid-April.