GWYNETH PALTROW and WINONA RYDER are tipped to take the lead roles in a $30 million (£20 million) movie of the stage musical CHICAGO.

The duo are "desperate" to team up in the lead roles of ROXY and VELMA, according to sources close to the Hollywood babes.

A senior source tells the ANANOVA website, "Winona is seen as the perfect foil for Gwyneth in every sense. "Gwyneth already has a track record as a class-act singer and has topped the charts in Australia. Winona is the one with it all to do in that department."

The movie is set against the backdrop of a jail after one of the girls is given life for murdering her lover.

MIRAMAX - the company with whom Paltrow won her OSCAR for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998) - are masterminding the transfer of the story to the big-screen, which is due to go into production next spring (02). (KW/WNWCAN)

Source: WENN