According to Production Weekly, Josh Hartnett is in negotiations to star in The Black Dahlia, the film of the James Ellroy classic noir novel with Brian De Palma on to direct.

The film, scripted by Josh Friedman is a fictional account of the notorious murder in 1947 of an actress in Los Angeles and the investigation into the case. De Palma replaces David Fincher who was long attached to direct but dropped out earlier this year.

The Black Dahlia was released September 15th, 2006 and stars Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, Patrick Fischler. The film is directed by Brian De Palma.