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NEW YORK -- Steve Buscemi's Interview, a remake of slain director Theo Van Gogh's Dutch feature starring Sienna Miller, has been picked up for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.

Buscemi plays a burned-out political journalist who agrees to interview a popular B-actress (Miller), following her around for a day as they develop an unexpected relationship. A July domestic release is planned.

Interview is based on the 2003 feature by Van Gogh, who was killed in November 2004 in Amsterdam. Islamic radical Mohammed Bouyeri confessed to the slaying and was jailed for life. Van Gogh's killing followed a televised airing of his short film Submission, which portrays violence against women in Islamic societies.

The film was announced as a trilogy of Van Gogh remakes, along with Stanley Tucci's Blind Date, starring Patricia Clarkson, and Bob Balaban's 1-900. Date is now expected to begin shooting in May in Holland, but details about who ultimately will direct and star in 1-900 -- which had some presales during last year's Festival de Cannes -- are still up in the air.

Actress Sienna Miller has been granted high security protection on the set of her new movie Interview, amid fears she may be targeted by Islamic extremists. The film is a remake of Theo Van Gogh's 2003 thriller and a tribute to Van Gogh, who was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri in 2004 after his controversial film Submission sparked anger among the Muslim community. Although Interview has no connection to Islam, there are concerns the association with Van Gogh will trigger another outcry. A member of the production team says, "We are very much aware that it requires a high level of security. We will ensure Sienna and her co-star Steve Buscemi are given the sort of protection that this project requires."...

TORONTO -- Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Bob Balaban have signed on to direct U.S. remakes of three films by the late Dutch director Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh was murdered in November in Amsterdam by Islamic radical Mohammed Bouyeri, who confessed to the slaying and was jailed for life. Van Gogh's murder followed a televised airing of his short film Submission, which portrayed violence against women in Islamic societies. Van Gogh's final feature 06/05: The Sixth of May has its North American premiere Thursday at the Toronto International Film Festival. As a tribute to the filmmaker, the three U.S. actor-directors have agreed to helm remakes of three of his films -- 06, the 1994 Dutch foreign-language Academy Award submission; Blind Date and Interview.

A Dutch court has sentenced a 27-year-old radical Muslim to life imprisonment after he confessed to the murder of film-maker Theo Van Gogh. Van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of the brother of artist legend Vincent Van Gogh, was fatally stabbed and shot in Amsterdam last November. Mohammed Bouyeri felt compelled to kill Van Gogh after he was angered by the director's unflattering portrayal of Islam in his August 2004 film Submission. In his defense, Bouyeri said he had acted out of religious conviction, saying "the (Islamic) law compels me to chop off the head of anyone who insults Allah and the prophet". The Amsterdam court ruled Bouyeri - who hold joint Moroccan and Dutch nationality - had shown "a complete disregard for human life" and condemned the murder as a terrorist act. Van Gogh's 14-year-old son broke down in court during vivid descriptions of his father's murder and was comforted by his mother. Bouyeri was also convicted of attempting to murder several police officers and illegal possession of firearms.

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands -- The Rotterdam International Film Festival on Wednesday canceled the screening of the controversial short film Submission Part 1, by murdered director Theo van Gogh, because of security concerns. The 10-minute short, a critical look at the way Muslim women are treated, was to be shown Sunday as part of a debate about filmmakers' freedom of speech. Van Gogh was murdered in November. In a note left on his body, the assassin indicated that one of his motives for the killing was the film.