Next for Kevin Hart? A piece of 'The Rock'

YOU KNOW what's been missing from the multiplexes for about five minutes? A new Kevin Hart movie.

Have no fear, Hart-throbs.

Universal Pictures announced yesterday that Hart, who recently teamed with Ice Cube, Will Ferrell and Josh Gad, has gone into production on "Central Intelligence," in which he will team with Dwayne Johnson.

Rawson Marshall Thurber ("We're the Millers," "Dodgeball") will direct.

Says Universal: "The story follows a onetime bullied geek who grew up to be a lethal CIA agent [Johnson], coming home for his high-school reunion. Claiming to be on a top-secret case, he enlists the help of the former 'big man on campus' [Hart], now an accountant who misses his glory days. But before the staid numbers-cruncher realizes what he's getting into, it's too late to get out, as his increasingly unpredictable new friend drags him through a world of shootouts, double-crosses and espionage that could get them both killed in more ways than he can count."

It's "Spy" meets "The D Train" meets "Ride Along."

What's next? "Derivative Buddy Comedy 5."

In yesterday's Tattle we wrote about the ACLU's attempt to improve the situation of women directors in Hollywood.

Following their call, the Directors Guild of America said that networks and studios are to blame for the "deplorable" dearth of women calling the shots.

The DGA, which represents directors of most network and studio productions, said it is "a longstanding advocate pressuring the industry to do the right thing, which is to change their hiring practices and hire more women and minority directors."

"There are few issues to which the DGA is more committed than improving employment opportunities for women and minority directors," the group's statement said.

Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), the only woman to ever win the DGA's top honor and the best-director Oscar, told Time magazine that gender discrimination "stigmatizes" the entertainment industry.

"Hollywood is supposedly a community of forward-thinking and progressive people, yet this horrific situation for women directors persists," she said. "Change is essential. Gender-neutral hiring is essential."

* The Cannes Film Festival unrolled its rouge carpet yesterday with the socially minded "Standing Tall," beginning the glitzy fest on a more serious note.

Julianne Moore, the best-actress winner at last year's fest for her performance in David Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars," declared the festival open. The ceremony featured a ballet performance choreographed by France's Benjamin Millepied that was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo."

Joel and Ethan Coen, who head the Cannes jury this year, also presented their fellow jurists - including Jake Gyllenhaal, Guillermo del Toro and Sienna Miller - who will decide who gets Cannes' prestigious Palme d'Or.

"Standing Tall," starring Catherine Deneuve, received a lukewarm response from critics, but even that was an improvement over last year's glamorous but immediately panned "Grace of Monaco," a Grace Kelly drama starring Nicole Kidman, which went from Cannes to Lifetime.

Director Emmanuelle Bercot received a standing ovation at the opening ceremony. She is only the second woman director to open the Cannes Film Festival (the last time was in 1987 with "A Man in Love," directed by Diane Kurys).

Cannes has sometimes been chided for a dearth of female filmmakers.

Hmmm . . .

* Jennifer Lopez announced Tuesday night on "American Idol" that she is heading to Las Vegas next year for a residency at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Jennifer's stint at the AXIS Theater will begin Jan. 20. The first 20 performances go on sale Saturday. She has live shows set for January, February, May and June.

Tickets prices range from $59 to $219.

Hey, she used to have a little, now she'll have a slot.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.