Vince Vaughnwill star in The Untitled David O Russell Project at Universal, playing a know-all radiotalk show host whose life is turned on its head when he starts to become hiscallers.

MandalayPictures, which has a term deal with the studio, will produce with Russell andGregory Goodman, who produced the director's 2004 release I Heart Huckabees and served as executive producer on ThreeKings.

Russell, who wrote the current draft of the picture basedon a screenplay by David Cohen and Tony Lord, said yesterday that there will bethree strong female roles including the talk show host's producer girlfriend.

Universal's vicechairman of worldwide production Mary Parent and vice president of productionDamien Saccani will oversee the project for the studio. Mandalay's executivevice president Elizabeth Stephen will oversee for the production company.

Universalexecutives expect to begin production in the autumn, once Vaughn has completedwork on Universal's romantic comedy The Break-Up with Jennifer Aniston, which begins in June[Screendaily Mar 17 2005].

Russell is represented byEndeavor, and Vaughn is handled by United Talent Agency and manager Eric Goldof Mosaic Media Group.