Chron society columnist Shelby Hodge has the scoop:

You loved Mike Farrell as Dr. B.J. Hunnicut on TV's M*A*S*H, but will you love him as Ken Lay in the CBS-TV movie The Crooked E?

The lanky Farrell with the hangdog expression has signed on as the beleaguered former Enron CEO for the movie based on Houstonian Brian Cruver's book Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth From an Enron Insider.

The wraps are off the cast of characters who are lined up to portray the Enron figures in the movie that begins shooting in Winnipeg, Canada, next week.

Cruver should be smiling. Handsome Christian Kane, who co-starred in last summer's baseball flick Summer Catch with Freddie Prinze Jr., will play Cruver. Houston native Shannon Elizabeth of American Pie and American Pie 2 fame will have the role of Cruver's wife, Courtney.

As mentioned Monday, Brian Dennehy will play Cruver's friend "Mr. Blue," a pseudonym for an Enron exec. Cameron Bancroft, who played Joe Bradley on Beverly Hills, 90210, will strut through the film as one of Cruver's hip trading floor buddies.

Getting short shrift from the filmmakers are Jeff Skilling and Andrew Fastow.

"The film is Brian Cruver's story and Skilling and Fastow have lesser roles. They are being played by unknowns, not by biggies," said Alys Shanti, Los Angeles-based executive producer of the film.

As for the Winnipeg shoot, Shanti said, "We would have loved, loved to come to Houston to make this film. But we simply couldn't afford to do it there." The advantage of the weak Canadian dollar and tax incentives made Winnipeg a more attractive locale.