BIG SWITCH

A first-time director is out and veteran Arthur Penn is in on MGM’s film noir thriller, “Dead of Winter,� shooting since mid-Feb in Toronto (Mary Steenburgen stars).

MGM took a chance on Marc Shmuger, 28, who also wrote the script. Shmuger earned an Oscar nomination while in college for a dramatic short, “No More New England Winters,� and later directed movie ad campaigns and stage productions. Penn was aboard as exec producer, reportedly as a hedge against MGM’s gamble.

Details were sketchy at press time. An MGM rep would only tell us, “At Mark Shmuger’s suggestion, Arthur Penn has taken over.�