LEO TOLSTOY'S ANNA KARENINA
Sparked by the Jane Austen craze, Mel Gibson's Icon Productions felt the time was right for Karenina. The latest take on the 1878 novel, this time filmed entirely in Russia, stars Braveheart's Sophie Marceau as Anna. Producer Bruce Davey says it's also ''the first to address the relationship of [supporting characters] Levin and Kitty.'' (April)
BRASSED OFF
When an English mine is threatened with closure, the local brass band competes in a national contest, which draws attention to the situation. Drawing attention to the film is Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor. But even director Mark Herman admits, ''A film about the coal industry is tough to market.'' (April 25)
THE SIXTH MAN
Marlon Wayans (In Living Color) and producer David Hoberman turned this drama -- about a basketballer who leads his team to victory with the help of his dead brother's ghost (Kadeem Hardison) -- into what Wayans calls ''a comedy with heart.'' For example? ''There's a scene where I'm in the bathroom talking to him,'' says Wayans, ''but it looks like I'm talking to my johnson.'' (April 4)
KISSED
Canadian director Lynne Stopkewich explores the love triangle between a medical student (Peter Outerbridge), an undertaker (Molly Parker), and her, uh, clients. ''It was tough to do research,'' says the director. ''People don't usually come out and say, 'Hey, I'm a necrophiliac.' '' (April 11)
TEMPTRESS MOON
Two months into shooting this multilayered dark love story between a gigolo and an heiress in pre-Communist China, director Chen Kaige replaced his leading lady with Gong Li (Farewell My Concubine). The switch, a four-month wait for spring, and re-creating 1920s Shanghai doubled the film's $4 million budget. ''Kaige probably learned his lesson,'' says producer Hsu Feng. (April 18)
EIGHT HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG
Reminiscent of What's Up, Doc?'s Samsonite-switcheroo high jinks, Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag stars Joe Pesci as a Mob hitman (shocker!) who loses his satchelful of heads at the airport to a young vacationing couple (Andy Comeau and Kristy Swanson). Unlike Doc, however, this comedy is a bit darker and the language more colorful. Jokes costar David Spade (Saturday Night Live): ''On the first day of shooting, Pesci put us into an R rating within the first 10 minutes.'' (April 25)
McHALE'S NAVY
Tom Arnold stars in this big-screen rendering of the 1962-66 wacky-sailors-thwarting-uptight-brass sitcom. Director Bryan Spicer, himself a TV veteran (Parker Lewis Can't Lose), claims his film is ''not just a remake like...The Brady Bunch or The Beverly Hillbillies.'' Arnold elaborates: ''There's a lot of action. Things are exploding. People get hurt.'' (April 25)
KEYS TO TULSA
This James Spader vehicle involves friends in their 30s who become entangled in blackmail. ''It's very dark,'' says director Leslie Greif. ''Spader plays the antithesis of his usual role.'' The cast includes Eric Stoltz, Mary Tyler Moore, and Cameron Diaz. (April 11)
