A Cold Case
Potential Cast: Tom Hanks

Perhaps the title was self-fulfilling Before Kathryn Morris's Lily Rush ever solved her first moldy mystery on the CBS procedural with a similar title, A Cold Case was ready to be Tom Hanks's dramatic follow-up to the 2004 comedies The Ladykillers and The Terminal. One Hour Photo helmer Mark Romanek had signed on to bring his acutely dark vision to the film based on the true-life story of New York investigator Andy Rosenzwieg, who before retiring set out to solve the 27-year-old murder of his best friend. John Sayles and Forrest Gump scribe Eric Roth worked on the adaptation of Philip Gourevitch's bestseller, but A Cold Case frosted over when Hanks chose to conduct The Polar Express instead.

Project Status: Romanek has scared up The Wolf Man as his next film, but Hanks reportedly is still attached to the project, so we can only wait and see if Hollywood warms up to A Cold Case again.

NEXT: A Confederacy of Dunces, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book