A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : TEAM ‘LAMBS’ : Hmmm. A Strong Female Lead . . .

What’s next for Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Ted Tally? It probably won’t be a “Silence of the Lambs” sequel, because of complicated rights problems.

According to several insiders, there’s a good possibility the two will re-team on ex-cop Nancy Taylor Rosenberg’s soon-to-be-published first novel, “Mitigating Circumstances,” a police thriller recently optioned by TriStar.

“It’s definitely a thought of ours,” said TriStar President Marc Platt, adding. ‘but at the moment, it’s just a thought. It’s a little premature at this point.”

Both Platt and TriStar Chairman Mike Medavoy were at Orion when “The Silence of the Lambs” got underway and are anxious to do another film with the “Silence” team responsible for the film that won all five major Academy Awards.

In addition, Medavoy has a long relationship with Demme dating back to “Something Wild” and “Married to the Mob,” both produced at Orion. Industry insiders also believe that Demme will move his production company, Clinica Estetico, formerly headquartered at bankrupt Orion, to TriStar.

“Mitigating Circumstances” is the story of a district attorney who avenges the brutal rape of herself and her daughter. According to Valerie Thomas, Demme’s director of development, there were several things about the book that attracted him. “Jonathan has always been a big fan of the positive female character as the center of a story,” she says. “Not only is it an interesting story, but it’s also commercially viable.”

Tally is currently working on the adaptation of Rosellen Brown’s soon-to-be-published novel, “Before and After,” to be directed by Barbet Schroeder (“Reversal of Fortune”) and starring Meryl Streep. But Thomas says “he’s at the top of our list for this project.”

Rosenberg’s “Mitigating Circumstances” and the rights to her second novel were recently sold to NAL/Dutton for close to $800,000 and there was interest from numerous filmmakers. Peter Miller, Rosenberg’s agent, said the book was optioned by TriStar for $125,000 against a mid-six-figure purchase price. In addition, for every week the book is on the bestseller list, the studio will pay an additional $10,000.

“This is a very substantial figure for a first novel and for an unknown writer,” says a Hollywood agent who specializes in packaging books for movies.

Rosenberg most recently was an investigative probation officer for the Ventura Police Department. As for the possibility of Demme and Tally turning her book into a movie, Rosenberg, who saw “The Silence of the Lambs” three times, says, “I think it’s wonderful. They’re brilliant.”