VANITY PROJECTS

Russell Crowe has signed on as the male lead in the film tentatively titled “Proof of Life,” to be directed by Taylor Hackford (“The Devil’s Advocate,” “Dolores Claiborne”). Crowe will play a “rescue and ransom specialist” dispatched to a Third World country to retrieve a kidnapped American businessman (David Morse; Meg Ryan will play his wife). The screenplay by Tony Gilroy and Bruno Rubeo is based on a Vanity Fair article by Bob Prochnau called “Adventures in the Ransom Trade.” Coincidentally, Crowe’s “The Insider” is also based on an article from Vanity Fair--”The Man Who Knew Too Much,” by Marie Brenner. “Proof of Life” will begin shooting in South America in March. The film is a Castle Rock production and is tentatively scheduled to be released late this year by Warner Bros. Incidentally, co-writer Rubeo is best known as a production designer (he worked on the Hackford films mentioned above). His most recent films include last year’s “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “Pushing Tin.”

IT’S NOT BLACK-AND-WHITE

Magazine writer Steve Garbarino conducted a series of exclusive jailhouse interviews last year with actor Robert Downey Jr., and the result was to be the cover story of the upcoming debut of the new Us weekly. But publishing insiders say Garbarino flew the coop, taking the story with him. His plan was to sell the piece to another high-profile magazine. But Wenner Media, which owns Us, threatened to sue anyone who publishes the story (which is pegged to the actor’s upcoming movie “Black and White”), claiming that it owns the story because Garbarino wrote, researched and traveled for the story on their dime. Meanwhile, Downey’s scenes with heavyweight boxer and ex-convict Mike Tyson in the James Toback film are said to really pack a punch. “Black and White” will be released April 5, but there’s still no word on where Garbarino’s Downey story might land.