REEL WORLD

— HEAD CASE The hero of The Crowded Room, the proposed film version of the 1981 nonfiction book The Minds of Billy Milligan, is a young man with 24 personalities — and as the project has made its tortuous way to the screen, it’s attracted almost as many filmmakers and stars eager to jump aboard. Director Danny DeVito is the latest to take on the project, and this time the actor being courted is Titanic’s Leonardo DiCaprio. Originally optioned by James Cameron, Room was set up at Fox in 1992 to star John Cusack. But when Cameron opted to direct True Lies, producer Bruce Berman, then a Warner Bros. exec, picked up the option and has since attempted to get it made with various combinations of directors (including Joel Schumacher, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, and Gus Van Sant) and actors (like Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, and Sean Penn). Soon, this Room will be booked. — Gregg Kilday

— RAGING BULLOCK After the disastrous Speed 2, Sandra Bullock is escaping the action and returning to her female-with-feelings roots — with producer’s duties to boot. ”It’s not necessarily that she’s going back to dramas,” says Bullock’s rep, ”but that she’s fortunate enough to have a company that’s helping to develop great material.” That company, Fortis Films, has landed a three-year, first-look deal with Warner Bros., and is the producing power behind Bullock’s next two projects: Hope Floats, a drama about a divorced mother, and Practical Magic, in which Bullock and Nicole Kidman may play witchy sisters. (Fortis is also developing a film version of the kids’ series Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? for Disney.) While Bullock’s career may be taking a different path, her bank account is holding steady: She’s pulling down a reported $11 million for Hope Floats.