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Here's some news: Some people are shooting a movie about Princess Diana, that 20th century saint who kept the glittering-castle fairy tale alive by giving us two handsome princes. And those Filmmaking people have cast an American woman, Jessica Chastain, in the role.

Cor blimey! We can practically see the hand-wringing now. Oh wait. We actually can see the hand-wringing.

"Can an American actress pull off such an iconic British figure?" Syracuse.com asks.

"Which AMERICAN Actress Is Playing Princess Diana In Controversial New Film?" another blog thunders.

Movieline has given it a bit more thought.

"I'm on the record as Team Chastain from way back; she can accomplish anything she wants as far as I'm concerned," S.T. Vanairsdale intones. "Except, that is, appease a nation for whom news of their precious Diana treated as a real woman with complex needs and desires — played by an American, no less — will prove the equivalent of one police baton in the head too many."

So why did director Oliver Hirschbiegel hire Chastain? Other than the fact that, well, she appears to be the only ingenue in Hollywood having a decent year?

Well, two things: One, this isn't going to be the Princess Diana you know and love. It's the skanky, stalkery, desperate Princess who once had an affair with a plastic surgeon. That's the focus of this particular story, not the Diana who hated land mines and loved her sons.

Second: Chastain is having a very hot year. (Think "Tree of Life," "The Help.") Producers like actors who are having hot years. Especially actors who don't yet have big names. That means they're relatively cheap, but will generate oodles of buzz.

"For investors this is a good move," says Bonnie Gillespie of the casting firm Cricket Feet. "It's like catching any of the 'Twilight' kids just before 'Twilight.'"

And lastly, well, when you’re tackling a British legend, sometimes it’s better not to be British.

"A lot of people are going to take issue with this casting, no matter who gets put in the role," Gillespie says. "If she’s a Brit, then the issue will be that she's not from the right place, or she didn't look the right way, or come from the right class."

Would you cast someone else? Tell us in comments.

Hip-hop artist Heavy D died Tuesday after collapsing outside his condo in Beverly Hills, and as the music community and other fans offered condolences, an autopsy was on tap to pin down the 44-year-old's cause of death.

Power producer Russell Simmons on Wednesday remembered his friend, saying in part on the Global Grind, "Rest in peace Heavy, you were the only rapper everybody always loved. You never rapped a mean word about anybody ... you only spread love. You were truly the overweight lover. You will be greatly, greatly missed."

Heavy D, real name Dwight Arrington Myers, had trouble breathing when he arrived home after a shopping trip, L.A. Now reported. He was conscious when authorities arrived, but died later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Authorities said that he may have died from complications of pneumonia, with a source telling The Times' Andrew Blankstein the rapper had seen a doctor for a cough in recent days.

PHOTOS: Heavy D | 1967-2011

Toxicology test results related to autopsy will likely come in six weeks, coroner's spokesman Ed Winter said. Though no illegal drugs were found at Myers' condo, he had been prescribed medication recently and "We need to see what's in his system," Winter said.

Beverly Hills police said in a statement that "there are no obvious signs of foul play, and at this time his death is believed to be medically related." Heavy D, who was 6-foot-4, weighed more than 300 pounds when he died, TMZ reported.

News reached the Twittersphere via Grand Master Flash, who wrote "I was just told Heavy D passed away." LL Cool J on Wednesday posted a picture of himself, Simmons and Jalil of Whodini with Myers, when they were "still teenagers on the grind." Lenny Kravitz, Timbaland, Rob Thomas, Flo Rida, MC Hammer and Kerry Washington were only a few of the celebs noting Heavy D's passing.

The Ministry also liked this tweet, from writer Jamilah Lemieux: "Few rappers have been so LOVING in their references to women as Heavy D. Maybe even less so today than ever. That made me love him."

Pop & Hiss has a rundown on Heavy's claims to fame, which began in the 1980s when he headed up hip-hop group Heavy D & the Boyz and later included the song "Now That We Found Love" (hear it below) and, recently, an appearance in the new Brett Ratner film "Tower Heist." He also wrote the theme songs to "MADtv" and "In Living Color," and performed at the Michael Jackson tribute concert in the UK in October.