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NEW YORK -- Donald Petrie has come aboard to direct the Paramount comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," the comedy Kate Hudson has been sweet on. The film seemed all but a go until it lost Danny DeVito, who ankled as director earlier this fall.

Petrie, who last directed the Sandra Bullock hit "Miss Congeniality," had time in his schedule because the film he expected to direct, "Till Death Do Us Part," with Michael Douglas and Billy Crystal, got delayed. Ed Solomon is doing a rewrite on that project and Douglas decided instead to work with his father, Kirk Douglas, in "Smack in the Puss," a comedy that Fred Schepisi is negotiating to direct. The WMA-repped Petrie will likely helm "Death" in the summer.

"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" centers on a womanizer who bets his pals he can stay in a single relationship for more than 10 days. The film is being produced by Lynda Obst, Robert Evans and Christine Peters.