HOLLYWOOD -- Director Chris Nolan is not losing any sleep over his next major project.

Nolan, who won two Independent Spirit Awards for his mind-twisting drama Memento, is putting the finishing touches on his new suspense thriller, Insomnia, which opens this summer.

It stars Al Pacino as a homicide detective tracking a serial killer played by Robin Williams. Hilary Swank plays another detective who thinks Pacino may have committed a murder of his own.

Once Insomnia opens, Nolan can devote himself completely to his planned biography of eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes.

He is tailoring the role for Jim Carrey.

"Jim is already involved. His input is invaluable. Just knowing who is going to play the part is most helpful for me at this conceptual stage, and will be even more so during the writing," says Nolan.

"Jim was born to play Hughes. He has this amazing gift to channel real people. I'm convinced his Howard Hughes will be every bit as astonishing as his Andy Kaufman was in Man on the Moon."

Nolan says one reason previous attempts to make a Howard Hughes bio-movie failed was because "Hughes is an astounding figure. There are so many aspects to his character.

"The extremes of his life are the stuff of movies, but you need someone like Jim Carrey to make it all credible. When I met Jim and heard his take on Hughes, I knew we could make this movie work."

Carrey has just signed to work with his former collaborators Tom Shadyac and Steve Oedekerk on the Universal comedy Bruce Almighty.

The trio, who worked together on Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, are developing this comedy about a man who is given almighty powers for one day to learn how difficult it is to run the world.


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