Ed Pressman and John Schmidt's New York-based production anddistribution outfit ContentFilm is to remake the 1968 drama The Swimmer in conjunction with Alec Baldwin's ElDorado Pictures and Vincent Farrell's Iron Films.

Baldwin will star in the project, reprising Burt Lancaster's roleas an errant suburbanite who returns home one day by swimming across asuccession of neighbouring backyard pools. Frank Perry and Sydney Pollackdirected the original.

No director has been attached although ContentFilm and El Doradoare in talks with their first choice. The action may switch from Connecticut toLong Island and the Hamptons and production is set to begin by summer 2004.

ContentFilm is in advancednegotiations to acquire worldwide rights from the estate of John Cheever - whowrote the short story on which the original was based - and Sony PicturesEntertainment, which own domestic and international rights respectively.

The deal is being put together by ContentFilm's head of businessaffairs Michael Roban, Andrew Woods of The Wylie Agency, who represents theCheever estate, and Columbia Pictures' senior executive vice president ofbusiness affairs Bob Geary and senior vice president of business affairs JohnGibson.

"Alec Baldwin is at the peak of his acting powers, and we applaudhim for taking on this challenging role, a role that is not without risks,"Pressman and Schmidt said in a joint statement.

"We welcome and embrace his collaboration as a producer, and we'redelighted to be working with Iron Films who is our development partner."

Baldwin appears in the upcoming drama The Cooler, which was produced by ContentFilm andwill be released through Lions Gate on Nov 19.

The company produced Party Monster, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato'sbiopic of the notorious "club kid" Michael Alig that is currently playing in UStheatres.

Upcoming creditsinclude Jonathan Kesselman's comedy The Hebrew Hammer and thrillers Undertow by David Gordon Green and Never DieAlone by Ernest RDickerson.

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