The Hollywood trades are reporting that Jessica Alba, best known for her work on the James Cameron-produced TV series, Dark Angel, will play the key role of the stripper Nancy in the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller Sin City film currently in production in Austin Texas.  Alba will join a cast including Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, and Carlo Gugino.  Alba, who gyrated quite effectively in the dance film, Honey, should have plenty of opportunities to show off her stellar form in Sin City.

The good news for retailers concerning this project shows no signs of abating.  In addition to announcing the hiring of cult favorite cutie Alba to play the pivotal role of Nancy, Variety confirmed that the plot for the new film 'unites storylines from three of the seven graphic novels in the long-running cult series, Sin City, That Yellow Bastard, and The Big Fat Kill.'  While mass merchants and chains can do well with toys and DVDs, the most consistent movie tie-in moneymakers for pop culture retailers are books and fans will need three of them to get the full story for the Sin City movie.