Proud Alvin and the Chipmunks star David Cross has gotten Demoted. In the comedy to be director by American Pie 2 autuer J.B. Rogers, former Alias star Michael Vartan "will play Rodney McAdams, a hotshot Treadline Tires sales associate who delights in tormenting his less-than-cool colleague, Ken (Cross)," sez the Hollywood Reporter. "But when their boss suddenly dies, Ken is promoted and assigns Rodney to a secretarial job as payback, giving the male chauvinist a taste of his own medicine." No word yet on whether Patton Oswalt turned down the part first.

Sacha Baron Cohen, who already has that Sherlock Holmes comedy on his plate along with something called Dinner for Schmucks, has sold a pitch for Accidentes to Fox Atomic. According to Variety, Cohen will play an ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyer who "transforms from contingency attorney to hero of the working class when he helps an immigrant win a judgment against his wealthy employer after a landscaping mishap. He also becomes the enemy of L.A.’s power elite." We're rooting for him already.

Finally, some good news for those of us who feared Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York might be buried alive after the suits could make heads nor tails of it at Cannes. Sony Pictures Classics is close to picking up the film for domestic distribution, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "The special effects-filled $20 million film received mixed reviews on the Croisette. The original cut was a little more than four hours, and after its Cannes premiere, Kaufman said the two-hour, four-minute version he debuted there might be whittled further. Producers apparently are aiming for a late 2008 release for awards-season qualification."

Related:
David Cross Digs Deeper
Charlie Kaufman Does Not Save His Urine in Jars