<i> Films going into production: </i>

Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies (Steiner Films). Shooting in L.A. Karen Black and Pat Morita in a deliciously black comedy with Black as the title character. Auntie’s favorite recipe involves herbs and spices but Chief Cole (Morita) suspects the woman of more sinister persuasions. Producer Gerald M. Steiner. Director Joseph Robertson. Screenwriters Robertson and Steiner. Also stars Michael Berryman, Kristine Anne Rose, Ava Fabian and Huntz Hall.

Indian Runner (Indian Runner Prods./The Mount Co.). Shooting in Omaha. Sean Penn’s directorial debut (Penn pens it, too) stars Gene Hackman and Sandy Dennis in the story of a Vietnam vet who returns to his farming family and a tepid reception. Producers Thom Mount and Don Phillips.

Jungle Fever (40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks). Shooting in New York. Spike Lee’s next concerns a black man from Harlem and his interracial love connection with an Italian-American from Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst section. Wesley Snipes, Shadow in “Mo’ Better Blues,” stars alongside Annabella Sciorra. Also stars Lee, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Samuel Jackson, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Distributor Universal.

Mississippi Masala (Cinecom/Masala Films). Shooting in Mississippi and Uganda. Masala is a Hindi word that translates loosely as “a collection of hot spices of different colors.” Denzel Washington stars in this comedic tale set in the Bible Belt dealing with an unusual racial mix. Executive producer Cherie Rodgers. “Salaam Bombay!” director Mira Nair reteams with screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala on this endeavor. Producers Michael Nozik and Nair. Also stars Sarita Choudhury and Roshan Seth. Distributor Cinecom (domestic), Odyssey/Cinecom (foreign).

The Projectionist (Bonivento Film Prods./Mosfilms). Shooting in Moscow. Tom Hulce and “Blaze’s” Lolita Davidovich topline this period piece from director Andrei Konchalovsky. It’s a drama, sprinkled with perverse humor, with Hulce as the fellow who screens films for Soviet dictator Josef Stalin until his passing. Producer Claudio Bonivento. Screenwriters Konchalovsky and Anatoly Usov.