February 28, 2005 - Jodie Foster's long-delayed pet project, Flora Plume, has fallen apart once again. Fox's Roger Friedman talked to Foster at the recent Independent Spirit Awards where she told him that the on-again, off-again film is off again, for the time being.

"We lost the cast," she told Friedman.  "But think when it is made: I'll be able to tell the story of how it took ten years."

Flora Plum, which Foster hopes to ultimately direct, is the story of  a poor young girl living in 1930s, who is taken in by a circus performer.  As he falls in love with her, she begins her own career in the circus.

The film was originally setup in 2000 with Claire Danes and Russell Crowe attached to star, but unraveled after Crowe injured his shoulder and was unable to comply with the production timetable.  It was revived in 2002 with Ewan McGregor set to replace Crowe and Meryl Streep signed for an unspecified role.  Curiously, there was a period in 2003 when McGregor was thought to be out and Crowe back in, but that was reversed again when Foster confirmed that McGregor was indeed set for the project. Obviously, neither of them are involved anymore, so none of that really matters does it?

The exact cause of the current casting chaos is unknown, but we'll certainly keep you posted on Plum's progress.