HOLLYWOOD -- When Steven Spielberg asked Jude Law to star as the sex robot in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, the sexy Brit dropped out of two films to accommodate Spielberg.

Law was set to play the Victorian policeman who is tracking Jack the Ripper in the suspense thriller From Hell, which opens in October.

Johnny Depp stepped in to try to discover the identity of The Ripper and to romance Heather Graham's terrified prostitute Mary Kelly.

Law was also scheduled to play the famous swashbuckler in the Kevin Reynold's remake of The Count of Monte Cristo. That role went to Jim Caviezel, who played Dennis Quaid's son in Frequency.

* John Travolta was scheduled to play the hero in the film version of Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Shipping News.

The film is set in the Maritimes, but Travolta insisted it be filmed closer to his home in New England.

Miramax declined to increase the budget to meet Travolta's demands and sent it to Billy Bob Thornton.

Thornton wanted to rewrite the screenplay and direct, so Miramax passed once again and finally sent the project to Kevin Spacey who now stars opposite Julianne Moore in the role Kelly Preston would have played opposite hubby Travolta or Angelina Jolie would have played with Billy Bob.


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