FILM: Camilla Belle as "Mary," Nispel's "Immaculate Conception," & Scorsese's "Silence"

While most people are amazed by the twin productions of mall cop-related comedies (Paul Blart and Observe & Report) and Sherlock Holmes mysteries (Guy Ritchie's and Judd Apatow's), I'm a little more concerned about the sudden popularity of Jesus Christ's mom. What, is it the anniversary of her insemination?

Yesterday, I read that Camilla Belle was tapped to play the lead in Mary, Mother of Christ. I'm not really sure which is worse: dating a Jonas Brother or carrying the burden of pretending to be pure for however long it takes to shoot and promote this film. Well at least religious people will take comfort in knowing that the role of Lucifer will be played by a professional sinner, Tudors' Jonathan Rhys Meyers. However, he'll double-up and sport Gabriel's wings too, which'll be interesting to watch for all us non-zealots.

Speaking of the sinfully inclined, chances are we're they're more likely to see Marcus Nispel's sci-fi-ish Immaculate Conception. He plans to film the story of a girl who thinks her pregnancy is a phenomenon, but is surprised to learn that it was actually a religious experiment conducted by a group who used a rusty old nail (off of Jesus' crucifix) to harvest the DNA on it within her. My only concern is what they plan on doing if it's not the blood of Christ...not that that they could prove otherwise.

Thankfully, Martin Scorsese isn't a trend-follower. But he does know a profitable or amiable climate when he sees one. He's on the verge of casting a religious film that he's been developing for a while called Silence. As usual, he was able to score some big names: Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro, and possibly Gael Garcia Bernal. The film will be an adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel, which is "set in the 17th century as two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity." Soooo...no shooting then?