Spielberg slated to shoot ‘Vengeance’ in June, potential actress named Variety updated their upcoming production listing this weekend to add Steven Spielberg’s next shoot that commences (tentatively, one would assume at this point) on June 1, 2005.

The project we’ve been referring to as “the untitled Mossad” project is now listed with Variety as the rumored title “Vengeance.” As we previously reported, the film (which tells the tale of the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics game massacre of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian Black September terrorist cell) will be partially based on the 1984 non-fiction work “Vengeance” by George Jonas. Variety could always be jumping the gun on the title as so many have over the last year, but given the reputation of the trade, I’m gonna give it the benefit of the doubt and assume there is finally something to it. If this changes of course, we’ll be sure to make our corrections accordingly, but until I hear different, from here on out I’ll be referring to the property as “Vengeance.”

More important than the title of the film, at this point, is the fact that Variety pegs it for a June 1 production start date. We’ve been reporting a June start date for some time now, but I’d considered it soft at this point due to the fact that Spielberg is currently plowing through the “War of the Worlds” shoot to make the proposed June 29, 2005 release date. It’s not inconceivable to that Spielberg will race from a big summer blockbuster directly into a more serious piece he’s had waiting in the wings (we certainly saw the same thing happen to amazing effect in 1992/1993). At last word, “Vengeance’s” screenplay, originally drafted by Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”) was undergoing rewrites by Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”). If Kushner’s work gets the greenlight by Spielberg, the director could be taking off for Europe (where he spent time early this year on location recces) before “War” even opens in theaters.

More exiting news still was revealed recently in the Quebec news source Le Soliel. In addition to the already mentioned (potential) “Vengeance” cast members Eric Bana (“Hulk”) and Daniel Craig (“Road to Perdition”), French-Canadian actress Marie-Josée Croze (“Taking Lives”) revealed that she had met with Spielberg personally in Paris regarding a role in the film.

Croze says she spent more time talking with Spileberg about extra-terrestrials and the war in Iraq than about her potential role in “Vengeance” (in which she would play a spy), but she said if she does get the role, that her part would take about 5 days to shoot.

Star of "Black Hawk Down", "The Hulk" and "Troy", Eric Bana also returns to Classic Adelaide to drive in the competition section of Classic Adelaide.

Eric last drove in the 2002 Classic and will again bring his V8 Falcon Hardtop he first purchased when he was 14 years old. Bana has been a keen motor sports competitor in the Porsche 944 Challenge Cup series this year to further hone his skills as a race driver.

ERIC BANA CHANGES CARS FOR CLASSIC ADELAIDE Motoring enthusiast and actor Eric Bana, with film titles such as "Black Hawk Down", "Troy" and "Chopper" to his credit, has had a change of plans in terms of the car he is to drive in this year's Classic Adelaide.

Originally Bana was to have competed in a V8 Falcon Hardtop

Bana will now compete in the Classic Adelaide in a Porsche 944, a car that he used with some good effect as a circuit racecar competing in the Victorian State Series.

Bana is on a year-long break and having a holiday back home in Melbourne between films, after production of Steven Spielberg's Vengeance was pushed back to next year.

We hear Jennifer Aniston told hubby Brad Pitt his Achilles costume was a keeper, so what did Bana's wife Rebecca think of his Hector outfit?

"She loved it," he says with a wicked grin. It seems he has laid off the training a bit since finishing Troy, though. "I've got a happy medium at the moment. You can't turn into Humpty Dumpty between films, it's too hard to get back," he chuckles.

Eric Bana's latest career gamble could yet prove to be his safest bet yet. The actor has landed the lead role in Lucky You, a drama set in the world of high stakes professional poker Lucky You will be directed by Curtis Hanson, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Forrest Gump's scribe Eric Roth, according to the international film trade press.

The Warner Bros Pictures production is expected to begin shooting early next year in Las Vegas.

Bana's casting in Lucky You follows persistent speculation that he had been chosen as Pierce Brosnan's replacement for the role of 007 in the Bond franchise. Bana has repeatedly denied the rumours, which stem from a report in last month's News of the World.