Aidan Quinn and John Lithgow will play...

Aidan Quinn and John Lithgow will play missionaries in the Amazon in the ecological drama, “At Play In the Fields of the Lord,” joining previously announced Laura Dern and Kathy Bates. The Saul Zaentz production, directed by Hector Babenco, is scheduled to get underway in Brazil mid-May.

Kris Kristofferson plays a police detective who befriends Drew Barrymore, a teen-ager being stalked by her sister’s killer, in writer-director Richard Danus’ “Tipperary.” The film, produced by Alan Amiel, begins photography May 14 in a still undetermined urban location. Cannon Pictures distributes.

Eriq LaSalle, the young black actor who played Eddie Murphy’s rival for the hand of Shari Headley in “Coming to America,” will replace Denzel Washington in Sanford/Pillsbury’s “Love Field.” Washington dropped out last week, expressing dissatisfaction with the development of his character. The film, written by Don Roos and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Brian Kerwin and 6-year-old Stephanie McFadden (who plays LaSalle’s daughter), begins filming in North Carolina Monday under Jonathan Kaplan’s direction. Orion will distribute.

Meanwhile, Propaganda Films is about to launch its own “Love Field.” Both titles refer to the Dallas airfield where President John Kennedy landed that fatal day, Nov. 22, 1963. While the Sanford/Pillsbury production concerns the relationships a woman forms on a bus trip in the days following the assassination, Propaganda’s film focuses on Jack Ruby and his relationship with Candy Barr, a stripper in his Dallas nightclub. English playwright Stephen Davis is currently polishing his script for director David Fincher, a director of music videos who will make his feature debut. Yoni Sighvatsson and Steven Golin will produce. No production date is set.

Glenn Ford, who received the French Legion of Honor eight months ago, returns to France to star opposite Alain Delon in the English-language political thriller, “Black Sky.” He plays the American ambassador to France in this Italian-French co-production. Director Flavio Mogherini rolls cameras for producer Gianni Massaro in Paris April 23.

River Phoenix will star in Warners’ “Dog Fight,” a tale of young Vietnam-era enlistees whose wager over who will bring the ugliest girl to their favorite bar on a Saturday night leads to unexpected consequences. Once on George Roy Hill’s calendar, the film will now be directed by Nancy Savoca, director of last year’s cult hit, “True Love.” The film, written by Bob Comfort, begins filming early May in Seattle.

Rachel Ticotin, Joanna Gleason, Philip Bosco and Kevin O’Connor join Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy in Orion’s “F/X 2.” Production gets under way in Toronto the end of April under the direction of Richard Franklin. Dodi Fayad and Jack Weiner produce.