Two US studio films, Brothers Grimm and First Daughter are close to confirming a shoot in the Czech Republic, joining a spate of other planned location shoots, according to sources in Prague.

MGM and Miramax are expected to give the go-ahead to Terry Gilliam's Brothers Grimm for a Prague shoot, according to local production firm Etic, which will be handling production services on the shoot together with another Czech firm, Reforma.

Although the project has yet to receive the final greenlight from the studios, Etic's owner, Petr Moravec, told screendaily.com that local production staff have already been hired and that producers are in town scouting for locations. The addition of Miramax to the Terry Gilliam project was announced earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Alcon Entertainment is set to begin production of First Daughter, a romantic teen comedy starring Mandy Moore and directed by Andy Cadiff in his feature debut. Etic will be also be handling production services for First Daughter.

The film, about a US president's 18-year-old daughter who eludes the secret services to embark on a European road trip, is one of two films with the same title currently in the works. Forrest Whitaker is to direct another film with a similar story line for Regency Enterprises.

The Alcon film is currently scheduled for a shoot at exterior locations in Prague for six weeks starting in June, along with two weeks in the UK and one week in Italy. A final decision on the project is expected at the end of March, although a fledgling production staff has already been hired, Moravec said.

The films join a growing list of projects shooting in Prague this year, including Dreamwork's untitled "Ugly Americans" project, Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy, and Universal's Van Helsing, which is set to wrap in early April.

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