New York, NY -- James Gandolfini is getting Ernest in his next role. "The Sopranos" star will play novelist Ernest Hemingway for an upcoming movie that takes place during the time he wrote "For Whom The Bell Tolls." Robin Wright Penn is a possibility to play his love interest, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn.

NASHVILLE -- Toby Keith is spending this week with Merle Haggard. The two country legends are in Nashville recording a pair of duets that will appear on future albums of both artists.

HOLLYWOOD -- "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams will be playing some big screen spy games during his next project: He'll direct Tom Cruise in the third "Mission Impossible" movie. The production is set to start next summer, and marks the big screen directing debut for the writer/director.

NEW YORK -- Brittany Murphy is no stranger to the practice of snooping on boyfriends. The actress tells "Cosmopolitan" magazine that she once stumbled upon an ex-boyfriend's closet full of mementos and love letters from his other ex-girlfriends. Murphy insists she didn't investigate any further than that, but, strangely enough, the script for her new movie about boyfriend snooping, "Little Black Book," came across her radar just about a week later.

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