Players

By VARIETY STAFF

Stacy Edwards has landed on "The Next Big Thing" where she joins Madonna, Rupert Everett and Benjamin Bratt in the pic about a straight woman and a gay man who have a child. Family problems ensue when the women falls in love with another man prompting the father to fight for custody. Edwards will play a friend of Madonna's character.

John Schlessinger directs the Paramount/Lakeshore film from writer-producer Tom Ropelewski's script. Leslie Dixon also produces.

Edwards will appear on the bigscreen in the upcoming James Toback feature "Black & White" and "The Bachelor," starring Chris O'Donnell.

Edwards is repped by Theresa Peters and John Burnham at the William Morris Agency and manager Tracy Samuels at Interlink.

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Newcomer Shane Edelman has joined Clea DuVall, Kevin Corrigan, Richmond Arquette and Jennifer Aspen in the cast of indie pic "See Jane Run."

He plays Arnie, who has unrequited love for Jane (DuVall), a suicidal waitress who turns to a life of petty crime.

"Go" helmer Doug Liman is producing the dark comedy along with Nicole LaLoggia and Eden Wurmfeld. Sarah Thorp writes and directs the pic, which is currently shooting in L.A.

Edelman was repped by the Gold Marshak Liedtke agency.

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Rosario Dawson has been cast in Miramax's "Down to You," an offbeat romantic comedy starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles. Pic currently is lensing in New York.

The 19-year-old recently wrapped "Light It Up" for Edmonds Entertainment and Fox 2000. Dawson also appeared in Spike Lee's "He Got Game."

Dawson is repped by Allison Levy of Innovative Artists and Evan Hainey of Edmonds Management.

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Mitch Rouse, co-creator of Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy," has just inked a deal to star in a new 20th Century Fox Television pilot.

A series regular on "Secret Lives of Men," Rouse also co-created and starred in the sketch comedy show "Exit 57."

Rouse is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, the Gersh Agency and attorney Kevin Morris of Barnes, Morris and Yorn.

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Judson Mills, who last starred in the pic "Major League 3," now will bat for Chuck Norris as a series regular on CBS' "Walker, Texas Ranger."

Mills will play Gage, a deadly mix of ex-cop-kick-boxing champ who works undercover with Walker.

The deal was closed by Cynthia Land and Philip Leader of Don Buchwald and Associates. Mills is managed by Dino May.

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"Late Night with David Letterman" standup comic Jeffrey Ross has been added to the cast of the NBC pilot, "Thicker Than Water," with Valerie Harper.

In "Water," exec produced by former "Seinfeld" and "Saturday Night Live" scribe Steven Koren, Ross will play Artie, a ticket-scalping buddy of a med school dropout (Danny Zorn).

He was repped on the deal by William Morris' Brian Stern, Mike August and Jane Rosenberg. Ross is managed by Barry Katz and Vincent Nastri.

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John Savage has signed to star in both "The Captain on the Starfleet," a two-part episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" on UPN and "The Virginian," for TNT.

Savage's "Trek" appearances will include the season's cliff-hanger finale and next season's opener.

Both deals were made by Savage's manager-attorney Michael Wallach and The Artists Agency.

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Carmine Giovinazzo has been cast as the lead in the Columbia TriStar pilot "Shasta McNasty" for UPN. Neil Moritz exec produces the show, written by Jeff Eastin and produced by Tracy Ormandy.

Giovinazzo also co-stars opposite William Hurt and Nigel Hawthorne in "The Big Brass Ring," which recently closed the L.A. Independent Film Festival.

The actor's deal was brokered by Michael Corbin and Jerald J. Silverhardt of MB Artists Management and Mitchell Stubbs of J. Michael Bloom & Associates.