HBO is understandably determined to keep The Sopranos star James Gandolfini in the family.  Gandolfini returned earlier this year as one of the stars in the telepic Cinema Verite, and is at the center of two more projects in development at HBO: Taxi 0-22 and Eating with the Enemy.  THR adds one more to the list in Big Dead Place.  Peter Gould (Breaking Bad) will adapt the pilot script from the memoir by Nicholas Johnson—Johnson went to the scientific research center hoping to find “adventure, beauty, penguins and lofty-minded scientists; instead, he found boredom, alcohol and bureaucracy.”

Gandolfini will produce, and may choose to star as the fictional Johnson.  Nancy Sanders (Huff), Mark Armstrong (Hellraiser), Jimmy Miller (Bad Teacher), and actor Brian Swibel will also produce.  Read the book synopsis after the jump.

HBO has greenlit Spring/Fall, a half-hour comedy pilot led by Tea Leoni.  The series is set in the New York fashion world: Leoni plays “half of a dysfunctional partnership between two women with different approaches to career, family, and friendship.”  Kate Robin (Six Feet Under) wrote the script and will produce with Leoni, Jimmy Miller (The Other Guys), and documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler (The September Issue).  Deadline imparts that the pilot will shoot this June.

Leoni will next be seen in Tower Heist, which opens November 8.  Hit the jump for a look how this fits into the overall scope of HBO’s development.

It’s awards season, and while praiseworthy films like The Social Network and The King’s Speech are all critics and press can talk about, comedy is generally consistently overlooked at the Oscars. And while the Golden Globe offers an award for Best Musical or Comedy, it’s nearly impossible to compare the two evenly, and The Hollywood Foreign Press nominates laughless films like The Tourist in that category anyway. Well Comedy Central and MTV Networks have had enough of that nonsense. While laughter might be the best reward for any comedian, the two networks have decided to create The Comedy Awards, a broadcast awards event to honor the best comedy films, actors, TV series, digital content and stand-up acts. It’s about damn time.

More details on the new annual awards show can be found after the jump.

Opening next weekend is director Brad Silberling’s “Land of the Lost”. As most of you already know, the film is based on the classic series by Sid & Marty Krofft and it stars Will Ferrell as Dr. Rick Marshall and Danny McBride, Anna Friel, and Jorma Taccone also star.

I saw a screening last night and have to say it’s a lot dirtier than I expected. In fact, I was quite surprised at how much they got away with for a PG-13 movie. If you thought this was just going to be some safe family film, you’re in for a surprise.

Anyway, to help promote the film we’ve been provided with six movie clips and three featurettes. They’re all after the jump – along with the full synopsis. Take a look: