2010-02-08 23:20:31 -

HALLE BERRY is pressing ahead with her plans to play infamous jewel thief= DORIS PAYNE, despite the fact the 79-year-old has been arrested for atte= mpting to steal a coat from a department store.
Payne was arrested as she tried to

leave a Saks Fifth Avenue store in C= osta Mesa, California last month (Jan10) without paying for a $1,300 (=C2= =A3813) Burberry trenchcoat.
Payne was on parole for past thefts when she was caught.
Berry will portray the career thief, who has robbed gem stores around t= he world, in new biopic Who Is Doris Payne? The Oscar winner has been working on the project for over two years wit= h former Malcolm In The Middle star Justin Berfield, who secured the righ= ts to Payne's life story after meeting her in jail in 2006.
Payne, who is known as The Grandmother Thief, has spent much of her adu= lt life pulling off some of the biggest gem heists around the globe.
Producer Berfield tells WENN, "We were stunned and saddened to hear of = Ms. Payne's arrest on January 27th in Orange County. It has always been t= he intention of the producers, writer and rest of the film's creative tea= m to chronicle Doris Payne's journey and career accurately, or as accurat= ely as one can without having lived it ourselves.
"We are currently re-evaluating the script and determining the best fil= mmaker to work with Halle Berry in bringing Ms. Payne's story to the scre= en."