Hot Irish actor Colin Farrell is only getting hotter. Farrell, 26, currently pursuing Tom Cruise in "Minority Report," has signed to play Officer Jim Street in the feature film adaptation of the 1970s ABC cop show "S.W.A.T.," also to star Samuel L. Jackson, says Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. Both trade papers say he will be paid $8 million for his role, his highest paycheck to date. The actor's bank account has been growing steadily since his 2000 screen debut in "Tigerland." The industry, says the Reporter, took note of him when, as a still relative unknown, he was paid $2.5 million for "Minority Report" and $5 million when he signed last August to star with Al Pacino in "The Recruit." "S.W.A.T.," whose TV cast included the late Robert Urich (who played Officer Street), is slated to begin shooting later this year. And in other industry news, this year's Oscar-winning director, Ron Howard, 48, will not be directing "The Alamo" after all, although it is due to star his "A Beautiful Mind" leading man, Russell Crowe, reports Variety. Howard's withdrawal is being blamed on the Disney studio's taking too much time to get the production off the ground, says the trade paper, which goes on to say that it remains to be seen whether Howard will still be a producer on the picture.