Cher set for return to the big screen

LOS ANGELES, June 23 (UPI) -- U.S. singer and actress Cher has signed on to star in the contemporary musical "Burlesque," marking her first lead role in a movie in nearly a decade.

Cher had a small part playing a fictionalized version of herself in the big-screen comedy "Stuck on You" in 2003, but hasn't starred in a picture since 1999's "Tea with Mussolini."

Variety.com said she is set to co-star with pop singer Christina Aguilera in "Burlesque," which is to be directed by Steven Antin from a screenplay he penned that was revised by Susannah Grant.

This reportedly will mark the first time Cher, who will play the manager of a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard, will sing in a film in which she is also acting.

The movie is slated to begin production in November, the entertainment industry trade newspaper said.