CONAN:

Conan, the insanely muscled barbarian warrior, may be returning to movie screens in the near future. After seven years of Warner Brothers attempting to ressurect the fantasy action franchise and having hot-name directors like the Wachowski brothers and Robert Rodriguez abandon the project, the studio has lost the rights to the property, throwing open a bidding war in Hollywood. New Line Studios is said to be in the lead to nab the deal. No word yet on who might replace Governor Ah-nold as Conan, but Schwarzenegger has said he thinks Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson should take over the role.

THE ALCHEMIST:

Speaking of Wachowskis and Warner Brothers, Oscar-nominated actor and star of the Matrix movies Laurence Fishburne has rescued the film adaptation of Paulo Coelho's bestselling magic realist novel, The Alchemist, from development hell. Warner Brothers originally bought the rights as a vehicle for Fishburne post-Matrix, but the production encountered difficulties and ended up on a shelf. Fishburne and A-Mark Entertainment have now bought the rights from Warner Brothers, with Fishburne writing the screenplay and set to direct. The Alchemist is about a young Spanish adventurer who seeks treasure in Egypt and finds spiritual enlightenment. The movie version is being described as "Harry Potter meets Indiana Jones," so maybe not so much spiritual enlightenment there. Production may begin this fall or may not, if financial backing doesn't come through.

THE SISTERS GRIMM:

Josephson Entertainment and New Regency Productions have acquired the film rights to Michael Buckley's popular children's fiction series, The Sisters Grimm, the story of two sisters, Sabrina and Daphne, descendents of the Grimm brothers, who are on a quest to find their parents. The initial film would adapt the first three books in the series, similar to what was done on Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events.