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"Bachelor star Gia Allemand has been cast as Ava Gardner in an upcoming biopic about actor Gianni Russo.  According to a statement on the actor&amp;#039;s official website, he hand-picked the swimsuit model to play Gardner in the upcoming movie produced by Brett Ratner and directed by George Gallo Jr.  &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a small role. Gia looks a lot like Ava, but it&amp;#039;s really the passion that she had that convinced me to cast her,&amp;quot; he said.  Allemand - who appeared on Jake Pavelka&amp;#039;s season of The Bachelor and this summer&amp;#039;s all-star Bachelor Pad - added that she has read Gardner&amp;#039;s biography twice and had pursued Russo for the role.  She said: &amp;quot;After I heard about Mr Russo signing on a napkin for The Godfather, I recited Ava&amp;#039;s whole life to him until he agreed to cast me and then I immediately asked him to write our agreement on a napkin!&amp;quot;  Russo starred as Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather before going on to appear in more than 40 films and enjoy success as a singer. The biopic will reportedly also focus on his alleged organised crime connections and friendships with stars including Frank Sinatra.  The movie will reportedly begin filming in January 2011. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/the-bachelor/news/a281042/bachelor-gia-cast-as-ava-gardner/>